Jaclyn Townsend, Vice President of Marketing at TGS

Welcome to the podcast Above the Cloud: Stories from the Boardroom. In every episode, we interview business leaders who are navigating the complex world of B2B marketing. Whether you're trying to grow revenue, swoop into a new market, or launch new products, we promise you've landed in the right spot. And now, your host, Richard Bird. >> All right, welcome to the podcast. Today, we have a very special guest, Miss Jacqueline Townsen, and she's the vice president of marketing for TGS. Jacqueline, welcome to the show.

Thank you. Appreciate uh you asking me to be on. >> Yeah. Well, I'm happy to have you here and I know you've your uh schedule's been crazy, so I'm I just really appreciate you taking the time to to come on. Well, so the first question we ask on this show, it's a bit of a tradition, is if your company was a bird, what kind of bird would you be? >> You know, it's funny. Before uh I joined the podcast, I was kind of reviewing other people's answers on the podcast and I found somebody's to be really funny to listen to all of the different and it's cool um to all the different birds.

But I will answer on behalf of myself and then what I think the company would be if I had to be a bird. I think I like harmony. So I'm the type of person that just likes to make sure that things get done but also that everybody is aligned. So, if I were a bird, it would probably be a dove. Um, full of hope and peace and love and all those things that, you know, are true to me. But I think if TGS could be a bird, I think it would be an eagle because we always kind of have our eye on something, whether, you know, it's a new technology, a new investment, I always feel like we're ahead of the curve.

And so, as an Eagle, you kind of have to have, you know, line of sight everywhere. And I feel like that is that is who TGS is. And you know, our leadership over the years has been great in kind of directing us to where we need to be as the market changes and evolves. So that would be my answer. Um, in terms of myself, but also TGS. >> I love it. And I like how it's contrasty, right? You got the peaceful dove and you got the eagle. It's awesome. It's awesome. Eagle eye. You know, doves are interesting because they are they are birds that mate for life.

And if you ever if you ever notice when you see a dove in your backyard, you always see two of them. >> Wow. Hello. >> And if you don't see two of them, it's because something bad happened to one of the doves. But but yeah, so be on the lookout for that. There's you'll always if you just see one, look around a little bit more and you'll probably see another one. Somebody told me that and I didn't uh and I didn't realize it and I was like, "Yeah, you're right." It's like they always are in twos. Well, so Jacqueline, you've had a really interesting career and uh why don't you tell the the audience, you know, how you got your start and where it all where it all began for you and how you got to where you're at today.

>> So, I am a born and raised Houstononian, which I believe is a rare thing these days because our city is so diverse and there's so many people kind of in and out from all over the world. Um, but I was born and raised here and went to University of Houston. And at that time, probably like many college students, well, at least the ones that I knew, didn't really know what I wanted to do per se. So, you know, I chose a path in a certain direction. It was actually education and quickly realized that was not for me.

So, I, you know, had to pick another major because, you know, money's on the line, time is on the line, and I just needed to figure it out. So, I decided to go into business and I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do. So, I went, you know, to the counselor, kind of talked through and chose marketing. Um, and that's what I graduated um with a degree on was a a business uh business degree in marketing. And that was a while ago. Uh and when I finished uh college and I was working throughout college mainly at like legal firms, legal assistant, things like that, you know, working my way through college and also going to college as well.

When I graduated, um my mom was actually working at a company called OARE, which is now Aer Solutions, and mentioned that the VP of marketing was looking for a new graduate from the University of Houston. I interviewed I got the job and to be honest I had I didn't know exactly what the job was about was from marketing analyst to support sales and business development kind of like what Salesforce does today but a more manual process so it's kind of in charge of like keeping track of you know upcoming sales and you know developments in technology and things like that and um started the job had a team and I think six to six to eight weeks into that most of the marketing team was let go.

There was a restructuring of the company and I was basically it was me and one other person the graphics person I think like an internal marketing person like part-time and that was it. So and they basically said you know we're keeping you and you just need to figure it out basically. So it was a challenge. It was scary. I really didn't know what to expect. I just knew there was a lot of things that needed to be done and I was willing to do it. And I guess if people know me personally, I'm just kind of a get it done type of person.

Even if I don't really know what I'm doing, I will figure it out. And that's what I had to do. I mean, they were like, you know, this is there's this trade show coming up. What's a trade show? I didn't I didn't know. I was hired on as an analyst. Um, and it's called Offshore Technology Conference. It's at, you know, back in the day it was called Reliance. Um, you have to set up a booth and I'm like, what's a booth? How do I do these things? So, I'm on the phone with the organizers of the offshore technology conference probably, they're probably thinking, who is this person?

What's going on? You know, I'm like, why do I need electricity for a booth? How do I determine, you know, how do I get a booth built? And they're like, well, you here's some people you can call. And then I had to figure out a budget. And I mean I was just kind of thrown into it. I did have support some support with other colleagues around the world but it was kind of up to me to you know lead it and figure it out. I also had people within that building who worked for different sectors of aer at that time to help me and guide me but it was kind of all on me.

And so that was kind of my first year and then you know I had to figure out what an ad was how to you know who are all these publications that I have to place an ad with who's developing the content how do I get creative you know so at that time it was working with a lot of agencies because we had you know it was just me and a designer you know so it was a lot of learning but I was willing to learn and I think that's that you know looking back that's really what shaped me and grew my passion for marketing like understanding like that I am helping this business um you know grow by you know bringing awareness to our key customers like you know making sure people understand who we are not only as a as a corporation but what products and services we sell I mean basic things but to me it was so big at that time because I just I was also learning about the business and then trying to promote the business and learning how to do that all at the same time.

So just being thrown into it kind of understanding the challenges of you know my stakeholders but also the challenges I was facing was I I I don't think I could have set it up better for me to really dive into everything marketing at that time because remember I was just supposed to do this one tiny little job and it ended up being everything. So that's how I started my career. I worked for AARE and they actually rebranded to Aera Solutions when I was there. I left shortly after that and I went to work for um company called Cerscell and then I went to a company called Microsnake and then ended up at TGS and that's just and it's just been an evolution of responsibilities um leading teams and again just understanding the business to um help them meet their objectives.

That's that's the goal for any marketer, you know, is to really be in tune with the company that you're working for so that you can understand and help them grow. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about. >> Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And I love that story because, you know, it's just like next up, who who's in line and you're and all of a sudden you look around, you're like, "Oh, it's me. I'm the person who has to step up and do all this stuff." But that's what definitely we call doing drinking from the fire hydrant.

You know, just trying to learn. And I can imagine that you're, you know, for those who who don't know, OTC is a is a fairly high-profile uh trade show for the oil and gas industry, and it is a big deal. I don't know what year that was, but you know that it was ma they had massive attendance. It was the biggest trade show. It was in the heyday when it was massive when it when it took up all of Reliant and the Astrodome and outside and whatever space >> I mean hundreds and thousands of people attending.

So that >> like >> and it wasn't even a you know it wasn't a 10 by 10 booth. It wasn't like a popup. It was it was a like 70 by 80 two decker double-decker trade show booth. Wow. No pressure. No pressure at all. Like there's nothing like learning on the big stage, right? >> Yeah. We figured it out. >> Oh man. And there's, you know, the thing I I always think about trade shows. I don't like trade shows, by the way. It's just it's kind of a dirty secret about me as a marketer. I should love them. But uh you know, I always because I always feel like there's like so many things that can grow.

It's just a million details. And if you miss one detail, you're never going to hear the end of it. You know, even if it's something silly like the people that had to work the booth didn't like the coffee, like you're going to hear about that coffee for the rest of the year. They're going to complain about the coffee or the the padding for the carpet was not thick enough and their feet hurt. They're gonna you're just going to get hear about it like non-stop. It drives me crazy. >> Customer service next level.

And you have to have a thick skin because, you know, you can't please everybody at the end of the day. We're not there to put up a booth for TGS people, you know, we're there to put up a booth for our customers and create gauging experience, right? So, those types of things. I I mean, I'm at the beginning of my career, I did take those things to heart, but now it's okay. >> Yeah. It's like you'll get over it. >> Take note of it and we'll make sure we address it next time. >> Our global events manager is a champ.

She has to manage so many events. TGS attends over, we used to attend close to a hundred events a year, but we scaled down, >> but still we attend a lot of events. So, she she has it down, her team has it down, and uh yeah, we run into those challenges. But at the same time, you know, those those types of events also drive value um depending where you're at, especially in in um different countries like Brazil and Africa where customer relationships are huge and having that personal interaction and creating that experience for our sales and business development teams is really important.

So, you know, it's kind of a catch 22 in terms of uh execution and and making sure all the stakeholders are happy. Um, but they can actually really drive value, too. So, we've got to do it. And it's a main channel for a lot of >> uh Yeah, I know. I said I didn't like them and I and I don't like working them, but I do appreciate the value of them big time because the uh you know, I think we've seen a big upswing on trade shows lately. I think the last couple years especially people are really driving a lot of value at trade shows and they're really doing a lot of business there and I think people I think maybe it's a hangover from COVID where right where you know I think when even when the pandemic was over and people were going back to trade shows and those types of things I think it was I think it kind of we saw a ramp up and now it is like at the at fever pitch and people really are want to get out and and attend these trade shows and um learn from their peers.

And I always say trade shows are really good for three things. It's like people only go or people only go there for three reasons. It's like to see their old friends, learn about technology, and see what the industry is doing as a whole. And so that's, you know, as long if you're delivering those three things for clients at the trade show, you're gonna have a great booth. >> Definitely. >> Yeah. Uh well, talk to me about TGS. So, how how um for the people who don't know who TGS is, tell me a little bit about what you guys do and maybe a little bit about your team and what your marketing team does here.

>> Well, the elevator pitch which every good marketer should know about their company is that TGS is a is the leading integrated energy data company and we provide um advanced technology and uh solutions across the energy value chain. So our core business which is basically rooted in geoscience decades of geoscience expertise helps exploration companies make the best and smartest decisions for exploration and production um worldwide. Uh so our customers are you know the NOC's the majors you know everybody in between.

Um and again at the end of the day our job is to come alongside our customers to really help them in those exploration decisions providing the best subsurface data and acquisition technology and imaging technology that we can provide to help them make you know their their decisions for exploration. Um our our mission at TGS is to enable energy for all. So, it's interesting because um you know, I think a lot of people, you know, whatever your opinion is of of the energy industry, we're always going to need it.

And our CEO actually reposted a quote from the Petra CEO who said, and I have to read it because I don't I can't remember what she said, but she said verbatim, "There is no future for an oil company without exploration because that's how we replenish reserves. Exploration is absolutely mandatory and must be continuous. So without exploration, we have no energy essentially. We don't have oil and gas and we all need oil and gas to make the world go around. And there's even countries that don't have what we have.

You know what we're privileged to have in Western countries, you know, the energy and access to energy. So you know, there's still a lot of work to be done in providing energy to those areas around the world that that still need it. So, you know, oil and gas is here to stay and so is TGS. You know, we have, you know, the tools and the expertise and the solutions to provide those companies who are exploring with the right data that they need to make the best decisions, you know, for their investment.

>> Yeah, you guys, you know, I've always followed TGS for a long time, even when I was on the competitor side of you guys, and you have amazing, super talented people there and amazing technology and all those things. You have to I don't think people think people realize how much a seismic company is just a technology company. So much goes into it. >> Exactly. And that and that really is our focus. You know, we we do we do what we can to make sure that we're investing in the most um you know, robust technology advancements.

You know, not only from a marketing perspective, but from a company perspective. We're always exploring those new opportunities. And you asked about, you know, what does what does the TGS marketing team look like? Well, we're small and nimble. You know, we we all wear a lot of hats. Um, we recently merged with one of our biggest competitors, PGS, and so we were able to grow our team a little bit, but, you know, in scale, you know, we're servicing more customers, more government, >> more stakeholders.

So, we have to get creative. You know, we act as kind of a marketing agency internally. Um so we have you know specialized resources from digital marketing to creative to content and strategy. Um but we have we have to have focus right TGS offers a lot of different products and services um hundreds if you're including the different seismic surveys around the world. So it's important for us to be aligned with the with the business objectives. So I think a lot of marketing teams can struggle with what do we focus on, right?

Because so my thing is is we're not a taco truck. You don't come in and put your order in, you get what you want. Sometimes you do depending, you know, sometimes you do if it's aligned with the business objectives. And this this is something I've been saying to my team for a long time and when they watch this they'll probably have a little chuckle because you know we try to be strategic and I think it's really important for any marketing team no matter what business you're in is to be very aligned not only with your sales team of course but also where's a business going what is its fiveyear plan you know how can marketing help drive business growth that is that will then provide you the focus that you need.

And so that's kind of how we work. Um, and things change and that's okay. And I also think it's really important to be agile as well, you know. Uh, so that's kind of how we're structured as a marketing team. At the end of the day, our job is to support the business and help it grow. >> That is that is such a great attitude to have in a in a in-house marketing department. you know, work we've we've seen other companies who, you know, they they kind of treat their internal clients like just kind of pain in the neck co-workers like here they come ask us for work again, right?

And I'm like, "Yeah, man. You're a cost center. You're you should treat them like an internal. You should treat them like a client. You should treat them like you're an agency and you have one big client and uh you service that client like you would if you were running an agency. And if you do that, they're going to love you. >> Yeah. Well, I mean, our stakeholders, our sales and business development teams, our executive team, our imaging and technology team, all I mean are our clients, you know, we have to engage with them and understand, you know, our external customers, but at the end of the day, we also have to equip our sales and business development teams with the right tools they need to be able to market, to sell, etc.

So, I I agree with you on that for sure. you know that that's the the focus of this podcast is always talking to sales and marketing professionals and uh in technical industries or industries that that are tough and I can't think of many industries that are more technical than seismic. How many PhDs do you work with on a daily basis? >> Well, well that's one of my favorite things actually is with all the smart people I get to work with. I mean, we we're always learning. At least I can only speak for myself, but I feel like I'm always learning, whether it's from a a geotechnical expert or, you know, a data analyst or somebody on the GIS team.

I mean, there's always something to learn at DGS. So, that's what I enjoy. I get to work with a bunch of smart people all the time and, you know, hopefully make the sales and business development teams look good. >> I love it. Yeah. That to me is the best thing about working with technical companies is the smart people you get to meet. I just cannot, you know, you you walk into a room and you go, "Well, it didn't take me very long to figure out I'm not the smartest person in this room." Oh, I love it.

Um, so how many people are on your are on your team? >> I think it's 14. Um, 14 15 something like that. Um but we but you know we we scale when we need to in terms of working with freelancers and things like that if the budget permits. Um but with technology evolving in the marketing space like AI you know we are able to do quite a bit on our own. Um you can't replace people. I understand that. But it does allow for us to work smarter uh and you know scale what what we can put out there in terms of content.

>> Yeah. For sure. I think that is um and I want to talk to you a little bit about that a little bit more later because I think you know AI is definitely here to stay and we see it as such a efficiency game for for generating content and for uh doing research and um desk research has changed forever. I mean, it's just about like it's we haven't even used it that long, but I'm like, how archaic does Google search sound now, right? It's like, oh my god, I can't believe I sat there for hours going looking at a bunch of stupid websites that weren't really what I was looking for for hours on end.

>> It's amazing what the capabilities are. >> Yeah. Um, well, so you've been How long have you been in your role now? Um, well, I've been with TGS for six and a half years. Uh, >> and have had a few few different roles as the company's evolved and all the mergers and acquisitions we've made. So, I was hired on as the director of global marketing and then was director of corporate marketing and now VP of marketing. I've been in the role for threeish years, something like that. >> Well, what what's one thing you know now that you wish you would have known on day one?

>> That's okay to challenge the status quo. like right away. You know, I feel like not that we were doing things wrong or anything like that. It's just I feel like whenever you start a new role, you know, there's like a period in which you kind of have to wait and understand, you know, sometimes there's politics, there's sometimes, fortunately, there's bureaucracy. But from a marketing standpoint, I think it's okay, again, as long as you're aligned with the executive team and the core objectives of the business, it's okay to make changes.

And and um sometimes ripping off the band-aid sooner is better. And I think there are some instances where I I would have done things slightly differently or been maybe a bit more bold with, hey, no, this is what I think needs to happen. And you know, sometimes the answer is no. you know, sometimes the answer is no. This is the way we want to go. And, you know, it's important to listen and it's important to be agile. But I think I think that would be my biggest um wish you would have known known on day one.

Um but, you know, you have to approach those things carefully. Now, with experience obviously in knowing TGS and kind of, you know, wearing the TGS sweater, you know, I I understand more now that there's more flexibility to do that. And so that would be my number one number one thing is it's okay to challenge the status quo sooner rather than you know what you have planned. >> I love that. Yeah. You know, and I think you're right, too. You know, you touched on there's got to be a little bit of a balance when you come into a new place.

You do have to learn and see what's going on um and get a sense of what the ground truth is. But I'm also a rip the band-aid off fast kind of guy. Like I was like, "Come on, we know what we need to do. Let's go." Uh, one thing I got I got some really good coaching early in my career and because I was like really gung-ho when I got my first management role and I was like we're gonna stop doing that and we're never doing that again and you know all these things and my boss said look hold on slow down like don't tear down a gate until you know what it's keeping out and I thought good point and so I think that I needed to be tempered back to be slower right and Uh, and I think that was one of the some of the best advice I've ever got in a in a management role.

You can >> I would also add I would also add and this is kind of just over the past few years like don't overprocess yourself. You know, like processes are necessary, okay? Especially if you're if you have a larger team, but processes can also weigh you down and delay things. Like just get it done, you know? Let's just get it done. >> Yeah. No, you're right. And I I probably heir more on the side of what you just described. Let's just go. Why don't we need a process for this? But luckily, I've processed people in my organization and go, "Wait, slow down." >> Yeah.

Processes, but just maybe not for everything. Or maybe it just needs to be a one two three-step process, not, you know, >> Yeah. a 48 step process where everything's out. Well, because, you know, I think one of the things that I would say is >> I feel like business is changing so fast, right? So, what if you have a really regimented super strong process and it doesn't include AI? >> Well, you're not gonna you're not gonna use AI because it's not part of the process, right? It's not any it wasn't in anybody's process two years ago in marketing.

>> Yeah. I mean, there has to be flexibility, right, built into the processes. But anyway, yeah, that that would be in my other >> um so from from a sales and marketing perspective, what do you what do you see as the biggest obstacles in your industry? >> In our industry, the biggest obstacle from my perspective is breaking through the noise in a highly technical industry, especially when your competition is kind of doing the same thing. Um, so from a marketing perspective, it's, you know, making sure that we're differentiating ourselves and really driving the value of of what it is that we do.

And a lot of it is technical. And so, you know, especially when buyers are really focused on price over over anything else, whe you know, over quality, over insights, over service, this requires like a continuous education. um and storytelling that you know re-emphasizing our differentiators, re-emphasizing you know the value that we bring to them. You know it goes back to the positioning work that you know should be done before you put anything out. You know who are our customers, what are their pain points and what value can we bring to them?

How can we help them? So, I think from um from our industry's perspective, which has gotten a little bit smaller over the years, you know, you're kind of fighting for that voice and um you know, technical marketing has been, you know, a a big uh focus for us, which which it is from, you know, anyone in the industry really. Um making sure that we're there to uh really drive value for our customers. So, I would say that that's the biggest obstacle is just kind of cutting through the noise. And we think we have all these channels, but we really don't.

You know, we've got, you know, a handful of channels that the rest of your competitors and, you know, the rest of the vendors are are all trying to fight for, you know, time, screen time, >> and everybody has the attention span of a goldfish these days. So, you've got to be quick, but it also has to be meaningful. And we can talk about this when we talk about AI, but be that's just so you know, most marketers know when other marketers are using AI. So my goal is like, okay, we're going to use AI, but we can't be like everybody else using the same words and, you know, positioning things the same.

We went to a uh trade show recently and our marketing rep reps on the ground made a comment that every it it looked like the rest of everyone used AI and because they were the same words, the same called actions. So, you have to be careful when you use AI trying to break through the noise and trying to differentiate. I mean, you really do need that human aspect um because it does make a difference. Oh man, I've noticed that same trend. And I think you know like for me the value of AI is to use it as a brainstorming tool or whatever, but it's never should be your final product like without have without having gone through the human lens and humanized or made it closer to your brand and what you're trying to do as a company and what your goals are because AI is just this amalgamation of like everybody's goals and proc you know what they're trying to achieve.

The other thing you hit on there that I really liked, and I think this is so true for almost every technical industry that we work with, is yes, there's millions of channels out there, but really using those channels to get to a certain set of eyeballs, right? >> And if those eyeballs are only on six of your channels, then guess what? Anything that you spend outside of those six channels is a waste of money. >> It gonna you're going to have to explain that negative ROI on those on those channels, right?

>> Yeah. Exactly. What what would you say what would you say is the biggest misconception about your industry? >> I think one of them like if we're talking about just the industry as a whole and not necessarily TGS or anything like that is that I just heard not from people in the industry maybe people who don't know the ins and outs of the energy industry is that um the industry is can be slow to innovate. It's kind of like an old school kind of industry, right? So, in reality, we're constantly advancing, leveraging things like AI, leveraging things like um cloud computing and new imaging technologies.

So, I think it's easy, you know, if you're not in the energy industry to think like, oh, well, you're just going out there and drilling a well and getting some oil. What else can you do? Right? And so I I think that we're always we're always innovating, right? Like now we have cleaner energy. Now we have more sustainable ways of of um acquiring data for instance. So I think that's a big misconception. And of course that we're the big bad oil companies that are, you know, destroying Earth. I I I that's just not the case.