In this interview series by Website Planet, I talk to executives from the best digital companies, who share their stories, tips and perspectives on what it really takes to create a successful website and online business.
A deep dive into decades of hands-on experience and technical expertise to learn untold truths and practical advice that will immediately help you build and grow your website.
Mitchell Holder is the VP of Marketing & Growth at EQL, a company that helps brands and fans experience better product launches.
His 12 years experience in marketing and digital spaces started as Project Manager at Microsoft in 2009, additional stops include SoleSavy, Los Angeles Lakers, Ogilvy, Kobalt Music, and more.
Under his guidance, EQL has been recognized as one of Fast Company’s Top 100 Most Innovative Companies with over 1 million products delivered, thousands of launches, millions of users and billions of signals analyzed. It was also one of three finalists for the prestigious LVMH Innovation Award.
What pain point(s) do you solve for your customers? What was the “aha Moment” that led to the idea? Can you share that story with us?
My background is in sports and entertainment marketing so I know what it’s like from a business perspective to interact with and serve super passionate fans. And on the flip side, I’m really into sneakers. I’m a member of that community, so I know first hand what it’s like to line up in the middle of the night or sit at my computer all day hitting refresh to try to get a pair I really want.
I can’t say there was a single “aha moment”, rather a growing frustration as time went on that the tech wasn’t available to better serve fan communities. So when I met Andrew Lipp and Patrick Donelan, the founders of EQL a few years ago and heard what they were up to, I was immediately onboard.
EQL powers’ brands cultural potential throughcommerce that’s built specifically for passion. We’re solving common pain points brands face during high heat launches including web infrastructure, payments, bots, etc. Which may sound kinda boring but what it all adds up to is how the brand shows up for it’s most engaged and passionate customers and how showing up in that high heat moment impacts that customers loyalty and advocacy moving forward.
You said “marketing isn’t just about reach, but resonance”. Can you explain what you mean with that?
There are definitely benefits to marketing activities that drive reach, especially for new brands and products. You have to get in front of potential customers after all. However, how valuable is that reach if your messaging isn’t breaking through or sticking?
It’s not about how many people see your message
It’s about how much they care
If I asked you to share the key ingredient in your “secret sauce”, what would it be? What makes your company REALLY stand out?
A strong vision and values system around what we believe about retailers and fandom. We believe that traditional eCommerce tools weren’t built for brands that sell the world’s most in-demand products to the world’s most passionate fans. We believe that we can give them more control and flexibility, so that they can build stronger businesses and communities, and fans get to enjoy more of their passions.
Every launch powered by EQL is certified as Run Fair®. This is a guarantee that the launch rewards genuine participants and filters out bad actors (No bots or resellers).
EQL analyzes millions of signals to prevent bots, scammers, and duplicate entries. This way only legitimate fans can participate in your product launch.
Each participant undergoes a multi-step verification process to confirm he/she is human.
EQL enforces a strict policy of one entry per launch per retailer. This prevents individuals from creating multiple accounts and ensures that all fans have an equal chance to purchase in-demand products
Participant’s chances of winning increase after each unsuccessful attempt. This encourages legitimate buyers to persist and improves their experience.
“The EQL Team is leading the way when it comes to innovation in launch and fairness, and we couldn’t be happier with the partnership across the Pacific marketplace.” Ashley Reade, VP/GM pacific at Nike
What’s the one key lesson you’ve learned about product launches that you wish you knew when you started? What’s the story behind this realization?
The story matters. There are a lot of brands out there that want to make things feel limited or exclusive without building the story around why that product matters more than something you can find online right now. They rush the process. The best brands embrace storytelling, build experiences around their products, and know how the best stories make their fans feel and remember something.
What are the most common mistakes you see people making with their product launch campaigns? How can we STOP making these errors now?
The most common and biggest mistakes I see brands making is not seeing high heat launches as their own channel. We’re talking about a completely different type of commerce that plays by its own rules. It should be treated as such. As a result, it’s their customers and fans who miss out. It’s a different kind of go-to-market approach that doesn’t look at the launch as a single moment, but a fully baked strategy inclusive of teaser campaigns, partner marketing, post launch offers and more.
The other thing I’d mention here is that marketers’ entire world should be built around generating demand, and if you’re a savvy marketer, you’ll understand that letting that excess of demand go to waste is a massive missed opportunity. A launch platform like EQL helps you turn all of that energy into more opportunity, and lets you see the full picture of demand, not limited to just purchasers.
In your opinion, what trends and technologies are currently underestimated or overlooked, but can significantly impact your industry? How are you going to adapt?
Good brands understand demand, how it works, where it comes from, and what to do with it when you have an excess of it.
Better brands understand audiences deeply, know how to turn customers into fans, and can foster that passion into community.
The best brands protect the interests of their communities, and are thinking about platforms and tools to serve them.
With the emergence of social media (in earnest) over two decades ago, we had this period of online connection. Lately, I feel like there’s been a lost art in how brands strike the balance in maximizing revenue but also unlocking more passion and community building.
With over 13 years of experience in SEO and managing content websites, he has coordinated over 5000 product reviews and interviews with the biggest names in eCommerce, web hosting, cybersecurity, SaaS, AI, and online marketing, to provide newbies and experts with untapped, actionable insights from the top experts in the industry on how to build and grow websites.
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