Each week, we spotlight Marketing Brew readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself here.

Daniel Pahl is partner, VP of growth at Chameleon Collective, a business consultancy. He’s consulted and served in interim executive roles for brands including Malin+Goetz, The Children’s Place, Lord & Taylor, New York & Company, Good American, Vera Bradley, and About-Face Beauty.

Favorite project you’ve worked on? It had to be a one-year engagement with Vera Bradley. The initial idea of the client was to mentor a rising star in the marketing team, with the goal of a director promotion. It evolved into a full recalibration of their digital marketing strategy. I was able to reverse the trend of continuous declining revenue for their online domain, which was a significant accomplishment, especially when juxtaposed against the downturn in their brick-and-mortar stores. The leadership’s endorsement was the icing on the cake, with them not only expressing satisfaction but also graciously volunteering to vouch for our expertise with potential clients. And most importantly, the internal candidate got a well-deserved promotion to director.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? My current favorite ad campaign is the Rocket Mortgage Super Bowl campaign with in-stadium execution and the follow-up on all marketing channels afterwards. This was a great, coherent execution that got a lot of people engaged and excited.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile: I played semi-professional soccer (or as we call it, football) in Germany. I wasn’t going against Ronaldo and Messi in the Champions League, but I played midfield for a team called SG Bornim in Potsdam, where I’m from. Today, my athletic adventures mostly involve beach volleyball in sunny Southern California and playing with my dog, but if there was a starting XI for marketers, I think I’d still be on it!

What marketing trend are you most optimistic about? Least? I do think marketers are getting better at targeting the right people, and I’m optimistic that seeing truly irrelevant advertising on your social channels will soon be a thing of the past. I also think the days of getting a bunch of ads for the thing you just bought are ending. Technology is improving, and marketers are getting better at avoiding some of these common pitfalls.

As a contract CMO, one thing that continues to surprise me in a negative way is that too many companies simply don’t have good information on what’s working. They are focused on the wrong metrics, and their marketing strategies may be data-driven—but driven by bad data. When your reports are unclear or even worse, incorrect, it leads to poor decisions. Darts is a fun game but a poor marketing strategy, and too many companies with the resources to know better are unfortunately on a bad information diet.

What’s one marketing-related podcast/social account/series you’d recommend? I like to listen to How I Built This with Guy Raz. I love the comprehensive picture founders are painting, the challenges they were facing early on, and in every stage of the business. This helps me often when I talk to leaders to understand their struggle much better.

Spain’s men’s water polo team claimed World Championship gold in Singapore on July 24, after defeating Hungary 15–13 in a tense final.

The win marks Spain’s fourth world title, putting them level with Hungary and Italy for the most championship wins in history.

Spain led at half-time, but Hungary came out strong in the third quarter, briefly taking the lead. However, Spain bounced back in the final quarter, sealing the game at 15–13.

According to Sarajevo Times, Spain’s Bernat Sanahuja and Álvaro Granados were unstoppable, scoring five goals each. Felipe Perrone and Alberto Munárriz contributed two apiece. Hungary’s top scorer was Gergő Burian, with three goals.

This final was a rematch from earlier in the tournament, where Spain also triumphed with a dominant run in the last quarter. Hungary had previously beaten Spain in the 2020 European Championship final, but recent years have seen Spain rise as a dominant force.

For Hungary, the loss was a bitter blow. Victory would have secured their record fifth world title, adding to an already impressive legacy of 13 European titles and nine Olympic golds.

As Hungarian Conservative noted, “Despite entering the fourth quarter with a one-goal lead, Zsolt Varga’s side could not withstand the Spanish onslaught and ultimately fell short.”

Spain, on the other hand, successfully defended their world title, underlining their dominance in recent international competitions.

Bronze medal goes to Greece

Greece secured bronze with a 16–7 victory over Serbia. Greece had also reached the semi-finals before being knocked out by Spain in a 12–9 match.

With Spain, Hungary, and Italy now tied at four world titles each, the debate over the greatest water polo nation continues. Is Spain now the true powerhouse? Or will Hungary bounce back?

View all sports news.

View all news from Spain.

Skip to content

Translate »

Shortstop Wehiwa Aloy doesn’t possess a broad knowledge of the team that drafted him 31^st overall earlier this month. He grew up in Hawaii and attended college at Sacramento State and Arkansas. He won’t nail a quiz on the Orioles, though he’s probably done some homework since hearing his name called.

Here’s what he does know, which he shared yesterday in a video call with the local media:

“Just the development of players that have come through here. Seen it for a long time now and it’s just getting better every day.”

That’s what the Orioles expect Aloy to do.

They were linked to him at No. 19 in some mocks, but he fell to their third pick of the evening. The first round wasn’t in doubt. The only mystery was where he’d land, and the answer came while he sat on a couch with his parents, grandmother and sister.

“I think gradually as I kind of matured in college, going from Sacramento State to Arkansas, I just developed into the player I am today,” he said. “And once I got to Arkansas, I think it was a very high possibility.”

Teams tend to notice when a young player is named Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, and wins the Golden Spikes and Southeastern Conference Player of the Year awards as a junior. Aloy slashed .350/.434/.673 with 19 doubles, two triples, 21 home runs and 68 RBIs this season. Over his college career, he hit .332/.406/.609 with 43 doubles, seven triples, 49 homers and 170 RBIs in 181 games.

“Wehiwa is an adaptive athlete,” agent Scott Boras, who joined Aloy on the video call, said when asked to provide a comp. “He is someone that really has evolved in the collegiate world and going from Sac State to Arkansas, facing velocity, and also facing an SEC opponent where you’re on an infield playing in front of an audience. So the idea of who he’s like is probably your more athletic major leaguers, where he’s got power to the opposite field, power to the gaps. He’s got arm strength. But the truth of it is that what player Wehiwa will end up being will be one where you’re looking at athletes who come to the major leagues and you’re finding that they’re most adaptive.

“It reminds me of – not in form because Wehiwa, obviously, is bigger and more stronger than he was in college – but Trea Turner was an athlete that played center field, played shortstop, that really can play most anywhere on the infield. And Wehiwa has that touch power, where he has the ability to really drive the baseball to the opposite field with power. So it’s something that adds to an organization where you get someone that is very offensive-inclined with power but they can play in the dirt, really play anywhere.”

Aloy won’t fight change but he has an obvious preference.

“As long as possible, I think shortstop would be the decision,” he said, “and in the long run, just wherever they need me.”

Aloy wouldn’t be the first Hawaiian native to play for the Orioles, but he could be the first draft choice. They can go way back to infielder/emergency catcher Lenn Sakata, or left-hander Sid Fernandez, or more recently, starter Scott Feldman, and much more recently, reliever Rico Garcia. The foursome is among 49 to do it in the majors. But it isn’t always easy to get on the map from so far away.

“I feel like it was not really known for Hawaii kids to go out there and go to the mainland and just take opportunities to be in sports or anything like that,” Aloy said. “So it’s just very cool.”

Aloy wasn’t alone in this draft. The Marlins selected Oregon State infielder Aiva Arquette, from Kailua, Hawaii, at seventh overall. Aloy knew him growing up, competed against him in high school.

“Kind of showing the kids back home that it’s possible,” he said.

Boras referenced it when asked about the intangibles that Aloy brings to the organization and what Orioles fans should know about him.

“Just the will and the drive to take on the challenges,” Boras said.

“When you go through the process that Wehiwa’s gone through, from high school to college, being a player in Hawaii, where the colleges didn’t really address him initially to know his abilities. And then he got some great coaching at Sac State, and then he advanced. And then he goes to Arkansas and he advances even further. So it says a lot about his adaptiveness, his intellect, his willingness to take a challenge. Really, that’s why pro ball, I think, will be great for Wehiwa, because each step of the way he’s enjoyed, he’s accomplished, and he’s had a personality where he’s just really got the character to take on the struggles of it, achieve it, overcome it.

“And the other thing about the Aloy family is that you’re just not going to find a more positive group. They bring a culture to them that I think is very rewarding to a locker room, and I think the Oriole organization is certainly going to enjoy Wehiwa and the Aloy family that comes with it.”

Boras wasn’t done.

“And by the way, the Hawaiian food is extraordinary,” he said. “Just so you know.”