In this episode of CMO Journeys, Christian Banach speaks with Eric Gillin, Chief Brand Officer of Trusted Media Brands, about leading through one of the most complex moments in media. With a background spanning editorial, product, and sales, Eric shares how he is helping iconic brands reconnect with audiences by focusing less on scale for its own sake and more on brand clarity, community, and meaningful engagement.

What the Conversation Covers
• Eric’s career path across writing, editing, product leadership, and ad sales, and how those chapters shaped his approach to brand leadership
• Why he believes media companies can no longer rely on old traffic and distribution models in a world shaped by platform shifts and AI
• How Trusted Media Brands is refocusing around brand identity, audience connection, and community-led growth across titles like Reader’s Digest and Taste of Home
• What changes when the goal shifts from chasing broad reach to building deeper audience relationships and fandom
• How Eric thinks about leadership, AI, agency relationships, and making strategic decisions in a market with no fixed playbook

Guest Bio
Eric Gillin is Chief Brand Officer at Trusted Media Brands, where he helps lead brand strategy across a portfolio that includes Reader’s Digest, Taste of Home, Family Handyman, and other well-known media properties. His career has spanned editorial, product, and revenue leadership, giving him a broad perspective on content creation, audience development, business strategy, and what it takes to build durable brands in a changing media environment.

About the Podcast
CMO Journeys is a podcast from NextBigWin hosted by Christian Banach. The series features conversations with marketing leaders about the path to the C-suite, the challenges they are tackling inside their organizations, and how they evaluate agencies and strategic partners.