Beyond Football: How Ethan Braden Is Building the Texas A&M Brand

Jim Stengel (0:00)

What's the first brand you remember making an impact on you as a young boy?

Ethan Braden (0:03)

There were a bunch, but the one I remember the most vividly is Nike. And it's because at the time, in addition to being a gymnast, I was playing tennis. And for some darn reason, I thought I wanted to be Andre Agassi. And it was when he really changed the game on, especially at Wimbledon, but otherwise, the apparel.

And he had an incredible sweatsuit with the best tear-off sweatpants you've ever seen. I don't know why we don't have more of those these days, and I can't wear them to work, but I had just the most incredible Andre Agassi get up from my parents for a birthday, and I felt like a better tennis player.

Jim Stengel (0:36)

Hi, I'm Jim Stengel. I've helped hundreds of major brands discover and activate their purpose.

Because when a brand's purpose is clear, compelling, and authentic, profit naturally follows. Each week, I welcome the CMOs, the chief marketing officers of your favorite brands, to speak to how their job is so much more than marketing. These leaders share their inspiration and challenges, along with how they try to build a full, healthy, and happy life in and out of the office. And it's that energy that reaches everyone they touch. And we're glad you're here to feel that energy and to learn from these remarkable leaders. So here we go.

There's an old Texas A&M Aggie saying, From the outside looking in, you can't understand it. And from the inside looking out, you can't explain it. Well, for decades, that captured the unique culture of Texas A&M. But today's guest, Ethan, looked at that phrase and saw a marketing challenge. If one of America's largest and most influential universities couldn't fully explain itself to the rest of the country, how could it build a reputation outside Texas that equaled its strength inside Texas? Texas A&M was founded in 1876 Today, it's home to more than 79,000 students and supported by a network of over 590,000 former students. It's one of the nation's leading public research universities with more than $1.5 billion in annual research expenditures. Yet despite the scale and impact, much of the country still knew it primarily for football. But that sure has changed, as you will see. Before joining Texas A&M, Ethan helped transform the Purdue University brand, where he spent five years. Ethan also worked for more than a decade at Eli Lilly, where he learned to think of marketing not as a creative function, but as a business discipline grounded in strategy, customer understanding, and measurable impact. This is my conversation with the leader who was a child gymnast in New Mexico, then a college football player in Oregon, before discovering his love for marketing in Indiana at the Eli Lilly Corporation. Here's Ethan.

Ethan, welcome to The CMO Podcast. Now, the origin story of this show traces back to the Kellogg School Summit last May. We had some correspondence before that began. You said you loved the show, you'd love to be on sometime, you have a great story to tell.

So obviously I got into it, and you do have a remarkable story to tell on the potential of marketing to make a giant positive impact. So I'm so excited about the show, I can't wait to jump into it. Thank you for being here.

Ethan Braden (3:02)

Thank you, Jim. It's an honor.

Jim Stengel (3:03)

The first thing we have to talk about, though, is your wife and Melissa Hobbly. There's a big grin on your face to those who are listening. Melissa Hobbly is a global marketing head of Tinder, one of my favorite guests. She's been on the show a few times on panels, as well as a one-on-one interview. It's still a fabulous show.

There's a story there, right? You have some connection to Melissa, your wife does.

Ethan Braden (3:24)

Yeah, I think the nice thing is that great women and great marketers appear to come out of the state of Indiana. And so that's true of Melissa and her sister, Gwen, who is dear friends with my wife, Betsy.

And it's been a pleasure following Melissa and all of her impact and all of her accomplishments. And you're right, while you have many, she was certainly one of the greatest episodes you've had. And so it's been fun to just admire all the difference she makes and the way she thinks. And she and my wife and her sister are all Muncie Indiana products, so they're having a ball.

Jim Stengel (3:55)

I love it. Now your wife, as you said, from Muncie, she went to Purdue.