The Kula Ring

Hosted by Kula Partners

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Episodes

373

Latest episode

Jun 2026

Language

EN-CA

About the show

The Kula Ring is a podcast for manufacturing marketers who want to drive real growth inside complex B2B organizations. Hosted by Jeff White and Carman Pirie (Kula Partners), each episode features candid conversations with industry leaders centred on practical, field-tested ideas you can actually use. Expect smart takes on account-based marketing (ABM), sales + marketing alignment, demand generation, positioning, content and website strategy, and the realities of modern industrial buying. If you market to engineers, plant managers, procurement teams, or multi-stakeholder buying groups, this show is built for you. New episodes released weekly, subscribe to stay in the loop.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

June 16, 2026Episode 39533 min

Long Sales Cycle, Short Buying Window: How Manufacturers Win at ABM

Account-based marketing isn’t new to manufacturers, but the way they have to run it is unlike anyone else’s. In this episode, Demandbase’s Nick Cholakis unpacks the defining tension of industrial ABM: a sales cycle that can stretch past two years, punctuated by a buying window that slams open and shut in weeks. With most research now happening anonymously and offline — increasingly inside LLMs — Nick explains how signal aggregation helps manufacturers spot in-market accounts, why behaviour should override firmographics when tiering, and how to arm distributors and channel partners with the context they need to act before the window closes.

June 9, 2026Episode 39424 min

Making LinkedIn Work for Niche Manufacturing: A Solo Marketer’s Playbook

As a solo marketer in a 30-person engineering firm, Reshmee Bissundyal has built something most industrial companies struggle to achieve: a LinkedIn presence that actually drives inbound leads. In this episode, Reshmee walks us through how she dramatically grew Mechanical Solutions’ LinkedIn following. Reshmee shares her approach to content planning and why she often leads with emotion rather than promotions. And how she has navigated the tricky task of getting engineers to participate in marketing.

May 26, 2026Episode 39224 min

The Outsider Advantage: A Non-Traditional Marketer Inside a Highly Technical Niche

Helene Tessier didn't plan a career in marketing. She started at the French consulate in China and taught English abroad. When COVID brought her home, she stumbled into TPAC as an interpreter. Soon after, leadership asked her to run marketing. In this conversation with Jeff and Carman, she explains why TPAC's PhD-heavy, flat organizational culture wanted someone willing to learn. She also shares how she rebuilt the company's go-to-market strategy. Her approach centered on trade shows, application-driven web content, and a bold brand presence at the World Conference on NDT (non-destructive testing) that the industry still talks about. Helene also digs into why technical, engineering-led firms struggle with brand rollout. She explains how regulatory and certification changes act as buying triggers in NDT, and what a five-person buying committee means for content strategy. To close, she offers a refreshingly grounded take on AI for marketers entering the field today.

May 19, 2026Episode 39130 min

Beyond the Brochure: How to Structure a Sales Narrative Around Total Cost of Ownership

Teikoku USA makes the canned motor pumps that the chemical, hydrocarbon, and nuclear industries reach for when leaking is not an option. For years, growing public awareness of dangerous chemicals quietly expanded the company's addressable market for them. Then, leadership asked the sales and marketing team to grow faster anyway. Chaitanya Sakhalkar joins The Kula Ring to share what came next: modularizing a product that had always been engineer-to-order, building decision trees so the sales team and channel partners could tell the right story to the right buyer.

May 12, 2026Episode 39033 min

Be the Guide, Not the Hero: A Fractional CMO’s Playbook for Manufacturers

Most small-to-mid manufacturers know they’ve under-invested in marketing, but where do you even begin? Javier Lozano, Founder of Bolder Media and a fractional CMO, joins Carman and Jeff to lay the foundation. He explains why your founder's origin story falls flat, how to mine real differentiation from customer interviews, and why your brand should be more Yoda, the guide, than Luke, the hero. Plus: how to find a wedge in a “red ocean” without making yourself unfindable, and what a fractional CMO actually does that a consultant or full-time hire can't.

May 5, 2026Episode 38930 min

Stop Competing, Start Defining: Q-Pac's Category Design Playbook

Brandon Clark, VP of Marketing at Q-Pac, joins Jeff and Carman to unpack what it really means to create a new product category within a deeply traditional industry. Q-Pac makes multimotor plenum fans, a commercial HVAC product that looks like a fan array on the surface but operates as a fundamentally different technology. Brandon explains how the company defined the category and why they invested $1M to build the world's largest airflow test tunnel based on the AMCA 270 standard to silence skeptics. He also shares some advice for any marketer who finds themselves selling something that genuinely doesn't fit an existing bucket. He also reflects on making the leap from grocery retail into manufacturing marketing.

April 28, 2026Episode 38831 min

AI, Hiring, and the Future of Entry-Level Talent in Manufacturing

AI is transforming more than just marketing; it’s reshaping how manufacturers hire, train, and build their future workforce. In this episode, Friddy Hoegener, President of SCOPE Recruiting, joins Jeff White and Carman Pirie to explore how AI is impacting recruiting, from automating interview notes to flooding applicant pools with polished, AI-generated resumes. The conversation dives into a critical emerging challenge: the erosion of entry-level roles that traditionally help develop future leaders. As AI takes over repetitive tasks, companies risk losing their talent pipeline unless they rethink how early-career roles are structured. Friddy shares insights on how forward-thinking organizations are adapting by creating AI-augmented roles that emphasize strategy, cross-functional thinking, and innovation. They also discuss the growing importance of soft skills, the pitfalls of over-automating hiring processes, and why smaller, more agile manufacturers may have a unique advantage in attracting talent in this new landscape.

April 21, 2026Episode 387

The Future of B2B E-commerce: AI, Amazon, and the Changing Buyer Journey

B2B e-commerce is evolving rapidly, and manufacturers can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. In this episode, Meghan Flynn, VP of E-commerce and Digital at Justrite Safety Group, joins Jeff White and Carman Pirie to unpack the forces reshaping digital commerce in industrial markets. From generational shifts in buying behaviour to the rise of AI-driven and agentic commerce, Meghan explains why traditional assumptions about B2B buyers no longer hold. She explores how personalization, content, and customer journeys have become more complex and more critical than ever. The conversation also delves into the growing influence of Amazon Business, the importance of balancing e-commerce with distributor relationships, and how marketers can position their brands to win in an increasingly automated, competitive landscape. If you’re a manufacturing marketer navigating digital transformation, this episode offers practical insights and a forward-looking perspective on where B2B commerce is headed.

April 14, 2026Episode 38626 min

Turning Culture into a Competitive Advantage in Manufacturing

What happens when a manufacturing company truly lives its mission? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Ian Antioch from NorthGate shares how the company formalized its people-first philosophy into the Be Ready Enrichment Program. Investing over $125,000 annually in employee development, financial planning, and life services, NorthGate has created a model that not only transforms lives but also strengthens recruitment, retention, and brand storytelling. Ian discusses the challenges of marketing both capabilities and culture, the power of authentic storytelling, and why manufacturers are sitting on untold stories that can differentiate them in the market.

April 7, 2026Episode 38524 min

Dad Marketing: Why “2012 Facebook” Can Still Win in Family-Oriented Manufacturing

What happens when a Gen Z marketer joins a legacy manufacturing company and throws out the modern social media playbook? In this episode, Lizzy Anderson of Hoosier Crane explains how she discovered that “cutting-edge” tactics weren’t resonating and why a return to simple, community-driven content worked better. From “2012 Facebook” style posts to highlighting local involvement and company values, Lizzy breaks down how manufacturing marketers can build trust, attract talent, and stay top-of-mind without overcomplicating their strategy. It’s a refreshing look at aligning marketing with audience reality, not trends.