LITTLE BLACK BOOK: HOW LIZ VANZURA REBUILT SOLO STOVE’S MARKETING

 
In the latest episode of ‘Eat In or Dine Out’, Liz Vanzura, chief marketing officer of Solo Stove, joins host and HATCH CEO Jennifer Harrington to share how she’s rebuilt the company’s marketing around a lean internal team and proprietary tools developed in-house, including Solo’s own media mix model and a growing set of AI models the team uses to guide media-spend decisions.

“We’re building our own AI models, but you still need the human in the loop,” said Liz, who joined Jennifer to toast s’mores on a Solo Stove Mesa. “We’re not using it to replace people. We’re using it to enhance their decisions.”

Liz said she leans on what she calls her team’s ‘curious learners’ to run scenarios and double-check data. She also treats outside agencies and specialists as an extension of her staff, scaling up for bigger moments and back down when the work is done.

“I love the way Liz describes her team as a core team with extensions,” said Jennifer. “It’s not really internal or external. It’s a fluid machine.”

Liz has led marketing for some of the country’s best-known brands, including Cadillac, Volkswagen, Hummer and Wahlburgers. She has served on the Solo Brands board since January 2025 and was named the company’s chief marketing officer in July 2025.

On Eat In or Dine Out, Jennifer invites marketing leaders into her kitchen to share how they get the best work done, whether by building in-house teams, partnering with agencies – or, in the case of Solo, mixing both. Episodes are available now on HATCH’s YouTube channel and here, with new episodes releasing regularly.

HATCH is an independent, women-owned agency that serves growth-hungry brands a customizable combo of creative capabilities and expertly sourced talent, all from one partner. Because as marketing leaders flex, adjust, and pivot to stretch fluctuating budgets, hit moving targets, and stay ahead of the competition, they need on-demand access to both fresh creative ideas and ready-to-roll talent. So, what’ll it be today?

This article was originally published in Little Black Book.