🎙️ Episode 2 – Alex Gauthier, Director of Marketing at Heuberger Subaru

Podcast: The 100 Marketers Project

Hosts: Andrew Street (DealerOMG), Matthew Davis (TradePending)

Guest: Alex Gauthier, Director of Marketing at Heuberger Subaru

In Episode 2 of The 100 Marketers Project, Andrew Street and Matthew Davis talk with Alex Gauthier, the Director of Marketing at Heuberger Subaru—one of the highest volume Subaru dealerships in the U.S. Alex shares what it’s like being one of the only marketers going through the NADA Academy, how he’s reigniting old-school channels like email and text with smart targeting and AI, and why owning first-party data is now mission-critical for dealers. From creative branding insights to the tools that actually make a difference, this is a must-listen for retail auto marketers who want to level up.

⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro: Why we're interviewing 100 automotive marketers
01:45 – Meet Alex: His role and why Heuberger Subaru stays independent
04:10 – What it’s like being a marketer at NADA Academy
07:30 – Data vs. intuition: Knowing when to trust your gut
09:55 – Brand vs. demand: How Heuberger balances both
14:20 – Subaru’s national branding and community expectations
17:10 – The month-end chaos: How marketing handles pressure
19:45 – Tools in the marketing tech stack
21:30 – Connecting advertising to real sales with first-party data
25:40 – Why targeting is the real key to great ads
28:00 – How AI is saving Alex hours—and helping him rebuild a VW van
35:20 – The power of AI in summarizing insights and scaling personalization
39:10 – What’s working: SMS and email that beat salespeople's response rates
44:00 – Lessons from high-performing email marketing
47:15 – Knowing your customer isn’t you: Avoiding marketer bias
50:10 – Owning vs. renting your data in automotive
55:00 – The future: Activating small, high-intent audiences at scale
58:00 – Closing thoughts: Be the dealer doing something different

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