Brian Harrington
Marketing Consigliere
About me
I've been a marketer for over twenty five years. I've experienced huge successes and utter failers, both of which left me breathless. I've been a part of large public companies with big budgets and small lean and mean startups with limited cash, struggling to find product/market fit. Along the way I've learned a ton about leading human beings, building engaging brands and managing for success within complex organizations.
I'm eager to share my experiences with CEOs, marketing leaders and investors as a trusted, empathetic and knowledgeable advisor and consultant--what I call a marketing consigliere.
My background
Most recently I was a co-founder of a flexible space operator called Hana (Hana means craft in Hawaiian). I helped create the business and had specific responsibilies as CXO for marketing, product and culture. Prior to that I was EVP and CMO at Zipcar, the iconic car sharing brand. In between I served as Boston College's first entrepreneur in residence, mentoring and teaching students. Earlier in my career I was part of the founding team of UPromise and had my own travel-related startup. I reside Newton, MA, where the MBTA Green Line rumbles by my house every 12 to 14 minutes.
Why I'm different
At times I'm unconventional--I think of it as taking reasoned risks.
In creating Hana, I challenged convention in the flex space category by creating a product offering focused on accomplishment vs. community. This made our brand attractive to customers who actually wanted to do work in the space.
When faced with growing competition from Uber and Lyft while at Zipcar, I championed a rethinking of our value proposition to focus on the brand's importance in customers' personal mobility models. I also introduced the use of direct response TV.
In order to gain "street cred "witih sales people as a marketer, I once accepted a VP of Sales role. It helped me better understand and bridge the sometimes prickly relationship between sales and marketing
Throughout my career I've been willing to show up with energy and passion, listen well and speak my truth. That's given me a perspective I now share with others.
Copyright © 2022 Brian Harrington
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