Jordan Howell: Full Episode Transcript‍

Hello, everyone. Welcome to Question Everything, a podcast all about learning from the successes and the failures of those who dared to, well, question everything. This podcast is part interview, part therapy, and part Price is Right. We have our own game board stacked with questions that'll make even the most successful CMOs totally sweat. I'm your host, Ashley Walter, CMO and partner at Curiosity. On today's episode, I sit down with Jordan Howell, Senior Director of Marketing at Splenda. Jordan's journey includes huge marketing wins across SC Johnson, Crayola, and Fisher-Price. Plus, his insight skills are in the top 5% of the CPG industry, and you're about to find out why. Today, you're going to learn how to turn cultural headwinds into tailwinds, why data should always be the backbone of the brief, and how the brand reacted to Nicholas Sparks' viral chicken salad recipe. Yes, it's created with 16 packets of Splenda. Let's dig in.

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Learn more about Splenda on their website

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Jordan Howell: Introduction

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Jordan Howell is the Senior Director of Marketing at Splenda, the number-one low-calorie sweetener brand. Explored is also, drumroll please, Curiosity's newest client. That little yellow packet just hit our roster. Before Splenda, Jordan held epic stints at SC Johnson, where he was global marketing director for Glade and Ziploc, and gone for two years. Now, he's well known in the industry for his killer insight, instincts, confidence in the face of cultural pushback, and marketing wins across four continents. No big deal. So just know that wherever this conversation leads, I think it's going to be pretty sweet. Welcome to the podcast, Jordan. Thank you. I love the intro. You can keep going if you want to. I would love to. I actually just stole you out of a room upstairs.

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You and your team are here for an onboarding. Yeah. First day here with your team. It's great. 

Everyone's curious, which is exactly what we expected. So it's been good so far. Oh, I love that. Well, we are so excited to have you on this podcast. Your background is absolutely fascinating. Thank you. You know that the way this thing works, I have 12 super spicy questions here on our fun little game board. We're actually in the studio today, which is fun. A lot of these we do virtually. So it's awesome to do this in person. And the power is all in your hands. You don't really know what's behind each of these numbers. So this is going to be fun. Where do you want to go first? Let's go lucky number seven.

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Jordan Howell: What happened to Jordan’s Curiosity cookbook

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Number seven. All right. So, OK, this is great. So a curiosity. We launched a cookbook for the holidays and all of our employees created fun recipes and told fun stories. And we sent you one. And then I get an email that says my cookbook has been stolen. So we heard your cookbook was stolen. What happened? I mean, what happened? I shared it to too many people, I guess. I loved it when I saw it. And it embodies who you guys are. So I wanted to share with the team. Everybody loved it. I thought it was hilarious. Two weeks later, I thought, oh, I'm going to take this home, show my wife, you know, she'll love it, too. It's gone. I don't know where it went. I don't know who took it.

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I, you know, hopefully, they're trying all the recipes, but that's the story. Whoever took it. Keep it. Yeah, exactly. Enjoy it. And actually, Jordan, you actually bought another cookbook. And we had everybody at the company that day sign it for you. So hopefully that made up for it a little bit. Thank you. The cookbook thief. I love it. All right. Back to the game board. Awesome. Let's go. Let's go. Number five. Five. I'm going to stick in that same row here. All right. So we all know Splenda is responsible for the yellow packet. The packet is iconic. So are there any challenges with being so well known for one product, but having like such a vast portfolio of products that you have to support? Yes. Good question. So it's a blessing and a curse, right?

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We're definitely grateful that everyone knows us as the yellow packet. They use us. It's part of their routine. But then the curse comes in. The challenge comes in that we do have tons of other products that, you know, perform great and taste great. And people just don't have them yet in their routine. So I think the challenge for us is how do we take the great yellow packet that we have and introduce that? You know, that benefit and that great product to other people through other occasions and other products, the full portfolio. So anything that you can tease that maybe is coming up or like any new products, you're excited about? I will say new new flavors within our portfolio are coming out. So be on the lookout for that.

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Learn more about Splenda on their website

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Jordan Howell: Why chemistry is critical in every client-agency relationship

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Love that. All right. Back to the game board. Let's go with the first one. Number one. Number one. OK, so we just started working together. And one of the things that you said was just how much you really enjoyed meeting the team and how great the team chemistry was. A lot of our listeners are considering agency switches or they might be in the middle of an agency switch. So any advice you could give other people in marketing on why like chemistry is so critical in terms of like that agency client relationship? Yeah. You can't duplicate or create culture. You know, culture is something, something that just is. So when we were looking at some different agencies, we wanted to definitely get a client that had a similar culture, a similar vibe as us.

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Yeah. And so I love when we talk to you guys, you know, you guys are just as curious as we are willing to try new things. And so that was a natural fit for us. And I think everyone on our team gravitated to, yes, let's go with curiosity. So, yes, culture is very important to us and we're happy to find someone who values it as much as us. I think that's really important because it's really important on the agency side to like finding clients where you feel like you're going to work really well together. There's going to be good vibes. We can push each other, ask hard questions, and it's not going to be met with any like contempt or ill will.

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Learn more about Splenda on their website

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Jordan Howell: Why data serves as a strong foundation for any brief 

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It's going to be met with positivity and I don't know, like this, like we're all in it together, kind of a vibe. So, yeah, that's great. Yeah. And the creativity flows from there, right? If you can get it to work, you're going to get it. If you have two teams that are open to trying new things, it's it's a cool space to be in. Yeah, I'm excited for that. All right. Back to the board. Let's go with number let's go with number four. All right. Number four. So we heard your insight skills are in the top five percent of the CPG industry. Please school us. So someone has been doing some digging on my LinkedIn page, for sure. Guilty. So, yeah, no, it was.

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It was a training I did a little over ten years ago and actually it was here in Cincinnati. So that was my first visit here to Cincy. CPG, capital of the world. Yeah, there we go. And what the training taught me is it's important to dimensionalize data. So anytime you're looking at a data set, you want to first look at the position of the data and then the direction of the data. So, you know, I've used that a lot when I'm looking at either different brands in the portfolio or different subcategories within a brand just to see how they're performing and how they're doing year over year. And so, I don't know, it's worked well and it's guided the insights, guided the recommendations. But that's I guess that puts me in the top five percent.

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So I know I read that and I was like, holy cow, I mean, we've had twenty-two people, I think, on this podcast. And I don't think anybody has had that recognition. Does that help you when it comes to things like writing briefs or like evaluating creative things like that? Yeah. And I've yes. And I've learned you have to trust the data, right? Because if you're looking at the consumer data or the POS data, the data never lies. So there can be a lot of opinions in the room. But if everyone goes back and consults the data, that's the true source for, you know, whatever you're trying to do. So, yes, I found it's helped as long as I anchor briefs or work or innovation in data. Yeah. That's great.

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Learn more about Splenda on their website

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Jordan Howell: How Jordan’s global experience shaped his marketing POV

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Do you ever go against the data? I try not to, but there are times when it is necessary. But no, I try to stick with the data because, you know, it makes the most sense. Data never lies. All right. Back to the game board. Okay. Let's go with number ten. Number ten. Okay. You have marketing experience working across four continents. You speak fluent Portuguese. How has your global experience shaped your marketing point of view? So I think what I would say is it has helped me have empathy for a lot of different cultures and backgrounds and people. And in marketing, you know, not only the people you work with, but also the people you work for and the consumers that you serve, they all come from different backgrounds. They all have different stories.

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And, you know, I've loved having the experiences across four different continents to be able to share. I've been able to understand a little bit more about what people are dealing with, what's important to them. And it's, you know, it's guided me in my career as I've gone to different brands, looking into the insights and how best to serve them as a marketer. Yeah. What were the four continents? Yeah. So Europe, North America, South America, Asia. And it's a combination of, you know, I've done internships, service, study abroad. And then I've done a lot of other things. And obviously my career here in the U. S. Do you have a favorite? Oh, that's tough. Brazil will always hold a special place in my heart. So I spent two years there doing service.

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Amazing experience. You know, eye-opening for me. I was 19 when I went down there to live for two years. The people down there are incredible. Food is great, too, down there. So, no, really cool experience. And just the opportunity to dive deep and learn the language as well was a fun experience. Can you say 'curiosity' in Portuguese? Curiosidade. Oh, OK. I'm going to have to practice that. I love that. All right. Back to the game board. Let's go.

Learn more about Splenda on their website

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Jordan Howell: How Splenda is navigating the “Make America Healthy Again” movement

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Number two. Splenda faces cultural headwinds in 2025 with the Make America Healthy Again movement. What's your number one tip for going toe to toe with cultural trends? A little spicy. Yeah. No. Embrace them. Yeah. Right? Yeah. So I would say with what we're seeing happening, I think they're tailwinds for us personally.

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So I think with people trying to be healthier, with people understanding a little bit more about what they're using, what they're putting into their bodies, Splenda is an amazing choice. And it helps people feel better, helps people manage their weight, helps people manage their diabetes, their blood sugar. So I think it's tailwinds for us. And as long as we can communicate our product benefits and what we do for people, I think we'll be in a good space. So turn those headwinds into tailwinds is what it sounds like. OK. Good advice. 

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Learn more about Splenda on their website

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Jordan Howell: How Jordan balances being an amazing husband, father, and successful brand leader 

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All right. We have another question up there. I think about a little bit about that, too. I hope we get to. OK. All right. Let's do number 11. Number 11. OK. So I get asked this question a lot as a woman and as a mother.

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So having a father on the podcast, I feel like I just have to ask this. So how do you balance the challenge? How do you balance the challenges of being a successful brand leader and being an amazing husband and father? First shout out to my wife. You know, she carries a lot of the load. So I love her for that. I think it's taught me how to prioritize because obviously my career is important to me. Marriage is important to me. My kids are important to me. So for me, it's been about being the best that I can be in the place that I'm at. So if I'm at work, you know, give it 100 percent. If I'm at home, dedicate myself to that and 100 percent to that.

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And it does take prioritization. You know, sometimes work will need to be done at home. And again, thankfully, my wife is understanding about that and vice versa. You know, stuff comes up at home when I'm at work and sometimes I need to step away for that. But yeah, I think it's just trying to prioritize and be where I'm at. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's very fluid, like I've heard people say, like, work-life balance and it's like it's not actually a balance. Yeah. Like, have you ever tried to balance on a balance beam? Like, it's really hard. Like, that's really difficult. But if you can find ways to make it a little bit more fluid, I think you become a more successful human, like in all endeavors.

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Are there any like tips or tricks or anything that you do or like part of your routine to give you any of that flexibility? I obviously am on driver duty at night, yeah. Like basketball practices and more. So, I think having stuff that's scheduled forces you to be away from your phone or from work. So, yeah, we try to stay busy during the nights doing either family activities or practices or whatever comes up on the schedule, yeah. So. All right. Here we go. Let's go. 

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Learn more about Splenda on their website

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Jordan Howell: How brands can leverage viral social media mentions

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Number eight. Number eight. Okay. I love this fact. So, Nicholas Sparks revealed that he was going to play basketball. His friend has revealed his chicken salad recipe contains 16 packets of Splenda. Are stories like these unusual? And how does the brand leverage these viral preferences?

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They're not unusual? No. So, Nicholas Sparks, obviously mentioned in his New York Times article, that he loves Splenda, puts a lot in his chicken. I would recommend he puts even more in, but that's just me. So, no, we learned about that. But it's not unusual. Create a brand partnership with him. He has a new book coming out, Counting Miracles. So, we'll do some work for that as well. But no, we hear it all the time. Like Katie Couric, an article came up recently about her using Splenda in her coffee. So we sent a nice gift package to her and the coffee shop that she goes to. So now it pops up and it's our job to be listening for those and capitalize on those and make some good connections.

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So have you ever made the recipe, the chicken salad recipe? We did make it in the office. And yeah, one of one of our employees, Justin, did a great job making it. I think he added a few too many jalapenos. But yeah, but personal preference. It was great, though. Everyone in the office tried it. I think Nicholas Sparks has; I think he does have the right number of Splenda packets in there, but definitely onto something for sure. All right. We'll link to the recipe, I think, if we can get our hands on it. Yes. For everybody to try it at home. Okay. Awesome. All right. Let's see. You want to go back to the board? Let's do number nine. Number nine. Splenda plays a pivotal role in the wellness of diabetes patients, which you just kind of briefly mentioned.

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Learn more about Splenda on their website

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Jordan Howell: The way Splenda has built trust within the diabetic population

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So how did the brand build trust with this community or even other communities in which you're a staple? Yeah. So we've done this for years. Right. So we build trust with the diabetic community through working with the people that they trust, which are the health care professionals. So it's taken a lot of outreach from our health care marketing team, working with those professionals, sharing the tools that we have for them to use with their patients. And by creating that relationship with the healthcare professional, we have a really good relationship relationship now with diabetics. So whether it's pre-diabetics or those that have diabetes and are trying to manage their blood sugar, we have that relationship and we've done well enough that we now have the number one recommendation from healthcare professionals within the local sweetener space.

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So it's it's done well for us and it's something we continue to do because it's it's in our mission as a brand. Right. We want to help people live happier, happier, healthier, longer lives. So the more we can do that, the more we're going to be able to do that. With this community, the better. That's great. All right.

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Learn more about Splenda on their website

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Jordan Howell: The most iconic campaigns Jordan has been a part of during his stints at SC Johnson and Crayola

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Let's go number six. Number six. OK, so before your stint at Splenda, you spent seven years at SC Johnson. Tell us about some of the iconic campaigns that you worked on during that time. Awesome. Happy to. So my my favorite campaign that I worked on there was called the 'Protection Campaign'. OK. You guys, I know are very familiar with it. Through your through your work with a different client.

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But yeah, the protection campaign, the big idea came up that the only time people think about repellents is when they're being bitten by a mosquito. And at that point, it's too late to put it on because you don't have it with you. So the campaign was all about reminding people that prevention is the best protection. So in order. Yeah. In order to protect yourself from mosquitoes, you've got to put it on before you go out to the outdoor concert, before you go on a walk with the dogs. Before and some markets before you send your kids off to school. So it was all about occasions where people should put the repellents on before doing that activity. That's great. How did you guys get to that insight? Was that something you came to internally, an agency?

Yeah. So we worked with an agency for that. They brought a couple of different ideas for us to choose to act on. So one of the ideas was the protection or protection. Prevention is the best protection. The other idea they came to us with was an idea around anchoring a little bit more on skin feel. OK. For us, we like the idea of the occasion based marketing. So, yeah, they did a great job for us bringing that to life. We did a couple other cool things with that. We worked with Google on a partnership where we developed a mosquito tracker. So similar to looking up your seven-day weather forecast. With Google, we developed a mosquito forecast. So you plug in your zip code and it brings up your seven-day mosquito forecast so you can prepare for it.

And again, all about prevention. I think that should be like you. There should be a partnership with Zillow, too. Like when I'm looking for a new home, I want to know, like, what's the like mosquito index? Yeah, I like I don't know. I think I might be allergic to mosquitoes. I'm not sure. But when I get bit, it's like awful. And like or like my husband, I'll be sitting outside. I'll like end up with 20 and he'll have none. I'm like, I don't know. Maybe it's like my blood type or something. I don't know if there's any science behind this. We've we've seen it definitely that that certain people react differently and worse to mosquito bites than others. I'm the same way. Like if I get 

a mosquito bite, it's there for weeks.

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So, no, it's I've definitely adopted the campaign that we developed. And yeah, that was that was my favorite campaign there, SCJ. Now you worked at Crayola, too. I did. Yeah. Any like fond memories of that time? Lots of fun memories. So, you talk about turning a headwind to a tailwind. So at Crayola, we knew that one of the headwinds we were facing was technology. Right? So we have all of these great physical tools for creativity. And we knew that kids really wanted to play on their devices and that was a tension for mom. So what we had to do was figure out a way to bring to life creativity on a device, using our physical tools like crayons, markers, colored pencils. So that was that was another innovation, like a product launch or that was through a product launch.

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So the innovation we brought to life was: whatever you colored with Crayola tools, you could bring to life on your device. So if you color a dragon, you can see that dragon come to life on your device in 3D. That's cool. And interact with it. So it's really cool. So, yeah, definitely a fond memory from Crayola. I love that, man. We are a Crayola household for sure. And, I mean, the device thing is it's real; like even my three-year-old is like, 'Can I watch YouTube Kids?' and I'm like, 'Oh my god, how do you even know what that is? Um, that's awesome. Yeah, all right back to the board. We are rolling through these my friend. We might we might clear the board; I think we've only ever done that once.

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Learn more about Splenda on their website

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Jordan Howell: How Jordan’s beekeeping hobby helps him in his job

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Okay, awesome! All right, uh number three, all right. So you have a side hustle and I love it. Your side hustle is beekeeping so how did you become the founder of Howl Hive Honey and what's the importance of a creative outlet as a side hustle when you're in marketing? Yeah, so my side hustle is beekeeping; um, how did that come about? So it was a pandemic hobby, all right. Some people made bread, you exactly! I i got bees, so uh yeah, it was it was something actually my wife; she was the one that brought up the idea, okay and then something like that i'm gonna share to everyone on the chat and i'm curious what your side hustle Somehow I was the one that ended up doing it. So she introduced it.

I thought it was a cool idea. So I went to the library and I got Beekeeping for Dummies, the book. Okay. Oh, my gosh. And, you know, read into it and just started researching and then purchased the equipment, purchased the bees from California. Wow. They come across on a semi-truck. And I started out with two hives. It grew to five hives over a couple of years. Oh, my gosh. So they're still up in Wisconsin. Okay. I need to bring them down in the spring to Indiana. So that's my spring project. But as far as a creative outlet, so, I mean, beekeeping, I think, does two things for me. One, it's kind of a relaxing, you know, space for me.

So when things get busy on the weekends, I can go out and hang with the bees for an hour, you know, open up the hives, see how they're doing. The honey harvests we do. Twice per year in the summer. That's always fun as well. And then as far as the creative outlet, the second thing is, you know, I get to try my skills at design, which they're not good, but I get to try them. So putting together a website, doing graphics for the jars of honey and for the website and the brand. So, I don't know, it's been a fun hobby. I wouldn't say I'm great at it, but it's fun for me. That's really cool. Do you ship, like, across the nation? Are you only selling at, like, local markets?

No, so our goal is once we get enough honey, we do want to go to a local farmer's market and sell. In the meantime, though, yes, on the website, we ship anywhere in the U. S. All right, we'll put the link to that on the show notes, too. Sounds good. That's really cool. Does anybody else in your family get involved, or is it just you and your wife? It's my wife and I. It started with my wife and I and the kids, and one of the kids got stung, which scared them all. I'm out, yeah. Yeah, so they're out. They love the honey, but not the work for some, I don't know, and I don't blame them. My wife still helps out quite a bit with them, which is good. Okay.

Have you ever, like, made the connection, like, honey, Splenda, like, is there a? There's got to be something there, right? I know, I didn't think about that. There's got to be something there. Yeah, both sweet. I don't know. If you're looking for zero calorie, though, it's got to be Splenda. It's got to be Splenda. It's got to be Splenda. 

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Learn more about Splenda on their website

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Jordan Howell: What role social media plays in Splenda’s marketing mix

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All right, let's see. Last one. Yeah, let's go 12. Let's go 12. Let's finish off the board. You did it. Alright, so with a massive B2B and B2C business, what role does social media play in your marketing mix? It's going to be big for us, right? It's the connection with the consumer, and it's a good place for the consumer to react to us and give us feedback.

So, I mean, it's going to be huge for us going forward. We'll still play in the traditional space, because we think those are important for the different parts of the path to purchase and the funnel. But social is a unique space where we can interact with our fans. What's your take on organic social as a whole? Like, you know, people talk paid, people talk organic. Like, what value do you think that can bring to your business? It's a place to test and learn. And actually, you know, in the onboarding today, I'm gaining even more appreciation for that. That it’s a space where you can try new things, test it out, see what people think before you go bigger with it.

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Learn more about Splenda on their website

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Jordan Howell: Closing Remarks

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So I think we will definitely be doing that in the near future, understanding what people like to see from the Splenda brand, what they expect to see from the Splenda brand. And then we can take that and make that even bigger. More to come. Yes. I like that. All right. Well, we end this podcast every time with a fun little game that we call 'This or That.' So don't overthink it. Okay. Okay. First thing that comes to mind. Let's roll. Okay. Brazil or the Midwest? Oh, you can’t put that up there. Midwest. Midwest. We’ll go Midwest. Okay. We'll go Midwest. For the food? I'm just kidding. All right. Product manager or brand manager? Brand manager. Okay. Wait, do I give an explanation or do I just do this or that?

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Yeah, tell me. Brand manager, you not only have the product, but you also have stewardship for the brand, which I like. So that's why I would lean toward that. All right. Ride to work in a car or on a motorcycle? Motorcycle. Now, let me give some context here. I rode a motorcycle when I was younger for the great parking at universities. So love that. Cheat code. I made a promise to my wife, no motorcycle until the kids are out of the house. So for now, it’s a car, but definitely motorcycle. It’s coming back. It’s coming back. All right. Splenda or Hal Hive Honey? Oh, Splenda. Splenda. All day. All right. Well, thank you so much, Jordan, for coming on the podcast. This is an absolute blast. Did you have fun? Thank you. A lot of fun. Yeah. Thank you, guys. Good. If anybody wants to reach out to you, what’s the best way to contact you? Yeah. Contact me on LinkedIn. Always happy to have a conversation. So shoot me a note on LinkedIn. All right. Thank you. Thank you. That’s a wrap.

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