Marketing With Purpose Kit: Customer Connection in a Data-Driven World
Dan Wheeler, Chief Marketing Officer at K9 Resorts, joins Mike Liwski on The Bliss Business Podcast's Marketing With Purpose Kit to explore emotional resonance in marketing: using data to create more human experiences in a data-driven world, and turning features into trust.
Emotional resonance in marketing is what keeps customer connection human when data is everywhere. In this week’s Marketing With Purpose Kit from The Bliss Business Podcast, host Mike Liwski sits down with Dan Wheeler, Chief Marketing Officer at K9 Resorts, a luxury pet care brand where dog parents hand over a member of their family. Dan has scaled brands including Dunkin, Baskin Robbins, Wahlburgers, and Uncle Julio’s.
In this episode we explore:
• Why more data does not automatically mean a better understanding of customers
• Balancing short-term performance marketing with long-term brand storytelling
• Why Dan calls the customer funnel outdated and prefers a customer tornado
• Aligning teams around one guest before opening a new market
• How listening inside the resorts reshaped K9’s messaging around healthy, happy, and loved
• Using technology to make marketing feel more personal, not more robotic
Dan’s starting point is that data has never been more available, and it can be overwhelming too. Data brings clarity, but empathy is where the most meaningful connection happens.
On growth, he describes sprints and marathons. Performance marketing drives leads and bookings today for franchisees, while brand storytelling builds trust for tomorrow. Guests rarely book straight from a social ad, but showing up still matters on a journey that is more tornado than funnel.
His best insight came from listening. When Dan started at K9, he spent two weeks in the resorts and saw how nervous first-time customers were. Messaging moved from cleaning products and HVAC details to what cleanliness means: a healthy dog. Expert staff training became a loved dog.
Proof of marketing’s value works the same way. Franchisees have dashboards, but it clicks when a first-time customer walks in from an adoption event they sponsored. He names a siloed tech stack as the biggest obstacle, and integrated systems are bringing faster follow-ups.
That same instinct, using data to inform the human side of a brand rather than replace it, guides how Zero Company approaches paid search and social.
Key Takeaways
• (2:36) On the purpose of data: “What matters most is, as many people say, using that data to create more human experiences, not to replace human experiences.”
• (5:04) On balancing short-term and long-term results: “Sprints are where our performance marketing drives leads and bookings today for our franchisees. The marathon is where our brand storytelling comes in to make sure that we’re building trust and relationships for tomorrow.”
• (8:58) On the customer journey: “I think that the customer funnel is an outdated concept, to be honest with you, Mike. I think it’s more like a customer tornado.”
• (14:36) On turning features into feelings: “It’s not about what kind of, you know, cleaners do you use. It’s about, is my dog going to be healthy?”
• (18:47) On proving marketing's value to franchisees: “I think the most persuasive proof is when they actually feel the impact, not just when they see it in a dashboard.”
• (21:12) On marketing technology: “I think the key is to use technology to make things feel more personal and not more robotic”
FAQ
How do you balance data and human connection in marketing?
Dan Wheeler, CMO of K9 Resorts, says data should be used to create more human experiences, not to replace them. Data brings clarity, but empathy is where marketers get the most meaningful connection with customers.
Is the marketing funnel outdated?
Dan Wheeler thinks so. He describes the customer journey as a tornado, not a linear path, so brands need long-term storytelling to be known and a way to be booked at the moment of need.
How do you turn product features into emotional messaging?
Dan Wheeler says K9 Resorts stopped leading with cleaning products and HVAC details and talks about what they mean instead: a clean facility means a healthy dog, and expert staff means a loved dog.
Great marketing does not just sell, it serves, and Dan Wheeler shows what that looks like in practice. Learn more about K9 Resorts at k9resorts.com. See Dan’s guest profile, watch the video version, and explore more Marketing With Purpose Kit conversations.
🎙️ Hosted by Mike Liwski
🎧 Produced by Martha Huerta
CMO
Dan Wheeler joined K9 Resorts as Chief Marketing Officer in 2024 and is responsible for developing and elevating the company’s brand strategy and revenue trajectory. With a deep background in marketing, guest experience, and innovation, Dan has helped build and scale successful brands across multiple industries. In the restaurant category, he has led brand management, digital transformation, advertising, field marketing, public relations, strategy, and concept innovation for Dunkin’, Baskin-Robbins, Wahlburgers, and Uncle Julio’s. As managing partner for OH-based WorkPlace Media and SVP/Group Account Director at global marketing agency RAPP Worldwide, he served a roster of clients across retail, hospitality, consumer electronics, and other industries. Dan is a Club CMO member, sits on the advisory board at InnoLead, and spends his free time cooking, exercising, and enjoying just about anything outdoors with his wife, 4 children, and devoted rescue pups Rosco and Pepper.
