• by Alan Hart , June 6, 2018

In this week’s “Marketing Today” podcast, I talked with Casey Hurbis, chief marketing officer at Quicken Loans, the company that revolutionized the mortgage business and, in the process, grew to employ more than 17,000 team members in Detroit while bearing witness to the resurgence and revitalization of its hometown. Just recently, at the beginning of 2018, Quicken Loans became America’s largest lender.

Born and raised in Detroit himself, Hurbis has kept the home fires burning as a self-described “Detroit guy.” He attended college in nearby East Lansing at Michigan State University before starting an automotive marketing career, both on the agency side with BBDO Detroit (and later with BBDO Worldwide) and on the client side at Fiat Chrysler, before assuming the chief marketing role at Quicken just 13 months ago. Hurbis has spent his entire professional career in the city he calls home. 

During the course of this conversation, Hurbis touched on how important joining forces with partners from the worlds of sports and Hollywood has been for Quicken Loans. “We have equity we can borrow from each other,” says Hurbis. “So we have a lot of these opportunities that are presented to us — I wish we could do them all. But finding the right ones, and being in contextually relevant space, is something we absolutely strive for.”

Highlights from this week’s “Marketing Today” podcast include:

• Hurbis talks about his 25-year, Detroit-centric career: “It’s been epic.” (1:17)
• Hurbis tells the story of Quicken Loans becoming America’s largest lender and using a Super Bowl spot to proclaim it. (5:57)
• Working in the cultural space of brand tie-ins involving sports and Hollywood. (8:53)
• Choosing brand partners: “We’ve got to make sure, when we do something, it’s authentic.” (13:34)
• Quicken Loans’ in-house agency team gives them “the best of both worlds.” (15:01)
• Quicken Loans is very intentional in the way they recruit talent. (17:53)
• When he does turn to outside creative partners for creative jump balls, Hurbis is always pulling for his in-house team to win. (21:35)
• Words from an early-career mentor that inspire Hurbis to this day: “Sometimes in life, babe, you’ve just got to kiss the chaos.” (24:44)