Missing wagyu. A Michelin inspector who might be in the dining room. An ingredient that runs out with one service left to go. And somehow, the plate still makes it to the front of the house. That’s The Bear.
The kitchen in The Bear runs on chaos, but it also runs on structure. There’s a hierarchy, an operating model, and a team that has to keep solving problems in real time. And in this episode, we dig into what that means for B2B marketers with our special guest Catherine Solazzo, CMO at Appfire.
Together, we explore how to pivot when things go sideways, why customers shouldn’t need a decoder ring to understand what you do, and why Catherine’s Michelin star has nothing to do with marketing awards.
About our guest, Catherine Solazzo
Catherine Solazzo is Chief Marketing Officer at Appfire, where she leads a “CMO+” organization spanning product marketing, demand generation, technical documentation, enterprise platforms, partner programs, and field marketing. She brings more than 20 years of global experience leading modern marketing functions, digital transformation, and channel development at high-growth technology companies. Before joining Appfire, Catherine held leadership roles at Syntax, Tech Data/TD SYNNEX, and IBM.
About Appfire
Appfire is a leading global provider of enterprise apps that enhance and connect platforms like Atlassian, Microsoft, monday.com, and Salesforce. As a top Atlassian Marketplace partner, Appfire helps teams get more out of tools like Jira and Confluence with apps for workflow, automation, and more.
What B2B Marketers Can Learn From The Bear:
Define your Michelin star before you chase it. In The Bear, the Michelin star is always there in the background, but the team is really chasing overall excellence. Catherine says marketing teams need to decide what their own star is, and for her, it isn’t a trophy. “My Michelin star is did I support our EBITDA targets, and am I contributing to the revenue of the company? That’s my Michelin star.” Awards are great, but only when they line up with what your audience actually cares about.
Service doesn’t stop - so build an operating model that can flex. In the kitchen, there’s always another service tomorrow. Catherine sees the same rhythm in marketing: what you do with yesterday’s lessons makes today better or worse. When the team in Season 5 runs short on an ingredient during a crucial service, they figure it out on the spot. “Something comes in at us we didn’t expect. You have to pivot, think differently, and still send that plate out to the front of the house.” A strong operating model gives teams structure, plus enough room to adjust.
Speak your customer’s language, not your own. The Bear teaches you restaurant vocabulary without ever feeling like a lesson. Tech, on the other hand, is famous for acronyms and jargon. Catherine is pushing her team to cut the vague language from Appfire’s content and product names. “They shouldn’t have to have a decoder ring in order to go through our website and understand what we do.” If your buyers have to decipher what you do, you’ve already lost them.
Quote
“I would much rather have my team be known for delivering 30% of the revenue for the company than winning an award in Cannes. That’s personally where I would feel that we are accomplished.”
- Catherine Solazzo
Time Stamps
[1:45] Meet Catherine Solazzo, CMO at Appfire
[2:15] Why The Bear? The Creative Brain vs. the Operational Brain
[3:22] What It Means to Be a CMO+
[5:12] What Is The Bear? Grief, Chaos, and Real Kitchen Service
[7:50] Service Doesn't Stop: Lessons From Season 5
[11:23] Let Them Cook: FX, Showrunners, and Protecting Your Teams
[14:08] Launch, Relaunch, Relaunch
[15:37] Front of House, Back of House: Breaking Down Silos
[17:27] Insider Language and the Decoder Ring Problem
[22:02] Show the Warts and All
[25:55] What's Your Michelin Star?
[33:51] Coming Back to Your Core Competency
[36:40] Content Strategy in the Age of AI
[39:14] Final Thoughts and Takeaways
Links
Connect with Catherine on LinkedIn
Learn more about Appfire
About Remarkable!
Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com.
In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK.
Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.
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