Member Since August 2024
Skills
About
My official titles are President and Partner at CMS Nashville, though I wear many hats. I truly believe fortune favors the bold, and if done well, branding can take a person farther than ever imagined in one’s career and in life. A big part of what I do is teaching others how to define and ultimately communicate their brand in memorable, inspiring, and engaging ways that will attract the right audience. With a BA in Marketing and Supply Chain Management in addition to my experience over the last 10 years, I have developed the skills and knowledge essential to delivering results. My passion for communication drew me to marketing, where I have worked with clients across a range of industries until finding my niche in sports and entertainment. Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of working with artists such as Carrie Underwood, P!nk, Kenny Chesney, Olivia Rodrigo, Eminem, Thomas Rhett, Saweetie, DJ Khaled, among many others. During my time at CMS I’ve had many opportunities to create integrated marketing campaigns across an array of platforms. Strategy & growth center my drive and they come to life as unconventional ideas with practical plans to get there. My passion for innovative marketing is accompanied by the thrill of success. Some of the more successful partnerships I have had the pleasure of working on include Luke Combs - Crocs, Marathon Petroleum - Kenny Chesney, Crumbl Cookies - Olivia Rodrigo, BetterHelp - Eminem, and Elf on the Shelf - The Backstreet Boys. It’s an exhilarating time to be alive where anyone with the drive can find a way to succeed and reach millions of people through various channels. When building a brand, one needs to identify the target audience and craft a story in such a way that it reaches and speaks to that audience as individuals. “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass,” is to me defining and articulating the story behind the brand and developing new ways to implement innovative marketing strategies that maximize reach. I believe analytical skills are not only a fundamental part of marketing excellence, but are also the building blocks of critical thinking throughout life.
Matthew Forster
Published content
expert panel
No business is ever a total failure if you’ve learned something from it. It’s a sad reality that many businesses will fail — in fact, around 18 percent of businesses tend to fail within their first year of operation. However, a failing business doesn’t have to be a total loss for an entrepreneur. There are often many valuable lessons to be learned from a failed business — whether it’s your own or another brand’s. The key is figuring out what those lessons are and how you can apply them to your next business venture. As leaders in the culture space, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council have seen many businesses come and go. Below, they share the notable lessons they've learned from the failure of a business and how that has impacted how they lead now.
expert panel
When business passion fades, these strategies can provide some much-needed inspiration. When you’re a leader in the culture space, it's easy to get burned out when trends change as quickly as they emerge. The constant pressure to innovate and adapt can make it challenging to stay connected to the passion that drives your work. To help you keep that spark alive, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council offer their tried-and-true strategies for reigniting your enthusiasm. From focusing on your mission to seeking out new challenges, these approaches can help you maintain your passion and avoid burnout in this fast-paced industry.
expert panel
Discover how you can foster a diverse and inclusive network of peers to drive inspiration and growth. In the culture space, diverse perspectives are more than a "nice to have" — they’re essential for fostering continuous innovation that resonates with your audience. Building an inclusive network of peers can guarantee access to a wide range of ideas, experiences and viewpoints to enrich your work and inspire growth. However, creating such a network doesn't happen without intentionality and effort. To help, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council share their expert tips on developing a diverse network to help broaden your perspectives and impact.
expert panel
Employees who take ownership often feel more valued, motivated and connected to company goals. Many companies often struggle with employee engagement. Employees may be “phoning it in,” not taking initiative or failing to do more than is required of them, and company leaders can’t figure out how to get them more invested not only in their own success, but in the success of the company as well. One solution is to build a culture of ownership. When employees feel they have control over their work and their future, they’re more likely to be productive and step up with ideas to benefit their team, as well as feel generally happier about their work. So what’s the key to creating such a company culture, and what steps can leaders take to build one? Here, business leaders from Rolling Stone Culture Council draw on their own experience improving employee engagement and offer up 10 strategies they’ve found to be most effective in empowering employees to take ownership of their roles and future success.
expert panel
You don’t necessarily have to sacrifice one to achieve the other. All companies must eventually make sales if they want to last as a business. And to make sales, you need to work on marketing — or getting your brand and products in front of potential customers and detailing the reasons why they should pass their hard-earned cash off to you. But while earning sales is one of the main goals of good marketing, some efforts can sometimes come off too “salesy,” turning off customers with far too insistent and persistent language and messaging. Today’s consumers crave more transparency from brands, so marketers must work to balance their sales pitch with their brand’s authentic voice. Drawing on their own experiences as business leaders, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council weigh in below on how brands can balance authenticity and marketing when developing their unique brand story and why it’s so important to do so.
expert panel
Sometimes, breaking the rules leads to the biggest breakthroughs. For many entrepreneurs, taking an unconventional approach — whether in strategy, hiring or growth tactics — has led to invaluable lessons and unique successes in their businesses. But choosing to go against the grain isn’t without risk, as each choice shapes the path forward in surprising ways. Below, Rolling Stone Culture Council members share moments when they challenged traditional advice. Through the lessons they learned along the way, they offer practical insights to inspire bold steps on your own entrepreneurial path.
Company details
CMS Nashville
Company bio
CMS Nashville is a 26 year old sports and entertainment marketing firm. Our focus is to generate measurable results for our clients' specific goals. CMs specializes in helping brands generate a positive return on investment through creating meaningful connections with their target audience.