Kajabi CMO Orlando Baeza: 'My purpose is to leave a bridge behind me'

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Kajabi CMO Orlando Baeza doesn’t want to talk about himself.??

“I don't love being in the spotlight. I like to hide in my comfortable dark corner and do great work.”

Yet Baeza says he recognizes the importance of telling his story. He’s passionate about developing future leaders and knows a large part of that is sharing his own experiences.?

“I come from very, very humble beginnings,” he says. A first-generation American (his dad was born in Cuba, his mom in Puerto Rico), Baeza grew up in the Bronx and was the first person in his family to graduate from college.

“I’ve faced adversity and the odds not being necessarily in my favor my whole life, and have always leaned into my work ethic and willingness to outwork everyone around me to continue to progress in my life,” he has said .

Baeza says he comes from the “Space Jam School of Learning,” which he describes as “graciously taking superpowers” from people he’s worked with in previous roles at Nike, Buzzfeed, Paramount and Activision.?

?If those industries sound different, Baeza says that's intentional.

“It has forced me to think about the parallels in my approach to the work regardless of industry. It’s also forced me to evolve and stretch my thinking,” he says. “It’s made me a much better marketer, much faster than if I hadn’t been willing to take those risks.”?

His role at Kajabi , a software product that allows entrepreneurs to build businesses selling online courses and coaching, sits at the intersection of the knowledge economy and the passion economy , which have grown in popularity as more people explore side hustles, entrepreneurial efforts and monetizing their expertise.?

Despite his aversion to the spotlight, Baeza says he lives for the people part of his job. The self-proclaimed “extroverted introvert” talks about the impact of paying it forward and how affecting change in one person’s life can make a difference to so many more.

His hope is that as he charts his own path, he leaves behind stones that allow others to find their way forward.?

“My purpose is to leave a bridge behind me,” he says. Below, he shares more of his story.?

1. What has had the most impact on your perspective as a marketer?

No doubt about it, I’d say it is my willingness and ability to adapt and navigate different industries and still find success from a marketing perspective in each. It has forced me to think about the parallels in my approach to the work regardless of industry. It’s also forced me to evolve and stretch my thinking, people management styles, team structures, communications and creative approaches based on the industry, different consumers, price points of product/software, resource/budget level, etc. And ultimately, it’s made me a much better marketer, much faster than if I hadn’t been willing to take those risks.??

My ability to bring the experiences I have from these different industries and approaches I’ve taken in the past allows me to iterate and learn quickly to optimize and get the team humming rather quickly.

I’ve worked in FIVE completely different industries now. At this point, I feel very confident in my ability to step into any industry, any business model, any target consumer demo and architect a marketing function, team, and strategy that when executed accordingly will generate value for the business.?

2. What’s changed the most about your job as a marketer over the course of your career?

Consumers and the landscape. And it’s forced brands to think about behaviors over communications. What I mean by that is you can’t just rest on solid comms in an ad campaign to do the work needed to gain consumer trust and loyalty. Everything has shifted and what matters more is how your brand behaves and not just how it speaks to consumers. People want more than words today. It’s about action, or as I call it, brand behaviors. How do you back up the words? How do you truly embrace your consumers and help enhance something they care about deeply? This is the time for brands to truly have a POV and lean all the way into it.?

3. What’s the hardest part of a marketer’s job today??

Threading the needle when it comes to comms in moments of crisis. We are in a time where it seems there are landmines all around you. One tweet or Instagram post or creative that wasn’t thoughtful enough could send a brand into crisis mode overnight.

However in my opinion, great marketers earn their keep in times of crisis. I think great marketers find the opportunity in those moments -- opportunities to really SHOW UP for your consumer base and ultimately turn a moment of crisis into tailwinds for the business. You’ve seen countless examples of this already from great brands who have leaned into their mission, purpose and POV and by doing so found tailwinds in a cultural crisis moment. Think Nike/Kaepernick or DoorDash during peak-COVID (great work Kofi Amoo-Gottfried !), etc.?

4. Tell us about the marketing campaign you’re most proud of working on in your career.

I’ve had the great fortune of working on some really amazing campaigns and initiatives from bringing Call of Duty to China for the first-time ever; to hosting NBA All-Star Weekend in LA when I was at Nike; to having fun opening movies like Mission Impossible, Office Christmas Party or Fences at Paramount Pictures -- so this is an impossible question to answer.?

But I’d have to say one I’m really proud of was what we pulled off at Kajabi in September 2020 with ‘Get Out Of Your Own Way .’ For a host of reasons -- but here’s a few:

1. It was the first brand campaign in the company’s history (thankful for our CEO and President for trusting me to make this.)?
2. First time showing up on TV from a media perspective so stakes were higher than normal.
3. ?Likely one of, if not the most integrated organization-wide efforts that we had pulled off to that point.?
4. It was also a first initiative at that scale for many of the folks on my team and they stepped up in a huge way and delivered a great campaign that was executed brilliantly.?
5. We had to produce this with a host of new challenges (and learnings) given we produced this in the pandemic summer of 2020 with our awesome partner, Observatory.

We tapped into a rich consumer insight that most entrepreneurs suffer from imposter syndrome and injected some humor (in a time where the country was feeling anything but humorous -- so a little counter-programming). We created an authentic, relatable and vulnerable look at the grit and determination our Kajabi Heroes (how we refer to our users) display every day to overcome imposter syndrome as they’re building the business of their dreams. It was a great starting point for how we will continue to build our brand going forward, which is highlighting our community of incredible Kajabi Heroes and their amazing stories. It’s how we breathe life into the software. They are the life behind the brand.

?5. What’s a marketing campaign you wish you’d thought of and why?

I’m going to get nostalgic here. It would definitely be those early Nike/Jordan years. I mean they could do no wrong. From Banned to Mars Blackmon , Nike couldn’t miss! And the reason why is simple -- they changed culture -- and in turn, the entire trajectory for Nike going forward.

As a guy who obsesses about culture and consumer behavior, what they did in that time changed everything.?

6. What’s your must read, watch or listen for all marketers??

I’m going to go with Shoe Dog by Phil Knight just to get the inspirational juices flowing.?

?7. What’s an under the radar brand you’re watching and why?

I’m watching HyperIce disrupt and innovate what ‘recovery’ means in such a cool way. It’s?a percussion massage device and they have pioneered an exploding category it seems, with brands popping up all over the place trying to take advantage of this wave of consumer interest, but they continue to impress me. They’re doing big partnership deals with the professional sports leagues like NBA, NFL, UFC, which create credibility and makes a ton of sense. Then to have the software be intuitive and add to the product experience is exceptional. And having it tap into fitness platforms like Strava and Apple Health allows you to tie your workout regiment directly to how you recover using their product is a really thoughtful approach. Also, it just feels so damn good when you’re sore after a tough workout.??

And is it too selfish to shout out Kajabi here? Within our target consumer (entrepreneurs), we aren’t under the radar, we’re the market leader. However, in the overall landscape, there’s a surprising lack of awareness in my opinion. The category is exploding and we are a mission and customer-focused org that is helping to impact the lives of entrepreneurs all over the globe who have now made more than $2 billion in revenue through their businesses on Kajabi.?

We’ve also got some VERY big news coming real soon that I think will open up plenty more eyeballs. Stay tuned.

8. Name a product you can’t live without (that doesn’t connect you to the internet) and tell us why.

As a relatively new father, I’ll have to say the Nanit baby monitor is the product I can’t live without. It’s pretty incredible and gives me peace of mind watching over my little princess.

9. Finish this sentence. If I weren’t a marketer, I would be…

Coaching basketball or working my way up the front office ranks (I think I’d be a solid GM) of a professional franchise. I mean, give me a good opportunity at that now, and I might just jump at it regardless. Love me some basketball.

But don’t be surprised if you find me in venture capital at some point in the future. I must say, I really enjoy building and scaling businesses, figuring out new ways to scale, emerging industries and markets. Could be pretty fun.

10. Finish this sentence: The marketer I most want to see do this questionnaire is…

This is where Everette backed me into a corner, haha. How about Mr. Jason White ? He’s got more than a few stories to tell, trust me. You’re up next JWhite.

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