Nikki Carrido, VP of Marketing Strategy and Sponsorships at the Museum of Pop Culture

Erik  00:00

We want to welcome all of our listeners to another episode of MRP, Minority Report podcast with Eric and Kerel. Each episode, we talk with real operators and leaders in media, tech and business, and today, joining us is Nikki Carrido, who's the VP of marketing strategy and sponsorships at mo pop, which is the Museum of pop culture. Welcome Nikki. How are you

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Nikki Carrido  00:27

great? Thank you. I'm so excited to be here, and thank you for having me. We're

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Erik  00:32

thrilled you're here. Can't wait to get to know you a little bit more and talk with you. So Nikki, I have a question. I can't wait to hear the answer, but I think our audience would love to hear what's going on at mo pop. Tell us about the Museum of pop culture, what's happening over there. Give us a little bit

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Nikki Carrido  00:51

of well, what's not happening. We are actually going to be 25 and 25 and so the museum opened in 2000 so in June of 2025 we're getting ready to celebrate our 25th anniversary. We are a nonprofit. I think a lot of folks think that we actually are funded, but we are not. We're self funded. We focus in four pillars, which is fashion, film, gaming and music. Mostly everyone knows us as EMP which was our old name, and it was only around music and that it was started, originally thought to be a Jimi Hendrix Museum, and it turned into Experience Music Project, but that's why I'm here. We went through six name changes before, and so we are working on our brand recognition and bringing it back to mo pop, focused on those four pillars. Well, we have a new CEO, and she's really bringing in our strategic and operational plan to really make sure that all of the exhibitions that we have, we have 13 galleries, by the way, and we bring in about one or two rental exhibitions. And now we're focused on Deia, a for being accessibility. So anything that we bring into the museum, we run through it. What is this actually doing for us? What's our community? Is it hitting those things not just to bring in a blockbuster exhibition and plop it into the museum? It has to make sense for

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Kerel  02:13

us. Nikki, quick question for you. Tell us about maybe one of the more interesting exhibitions that sticks out to you or maybe one of your favorites?

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Nikki Carrido  02:23

Well, the most recent that just left in January was our contact high, which was all around hip hop and running through basically we helped celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip hop and this collection of photographs behind the scenes that people didn't actually get to see, and that just left in January. That's the most recent one that I enjoyed. That's I

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Erik  02:47

like it felt, yes, we do too.

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Kerel  02:51

Great. You know, quick, quick hint. There'll be a music question for you later. And, oh,

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Nikki Carrido  02:55

well, okay, you have to only ask me between the years of like the 90s and the 2000s

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Kerel  03:02

Well, that's all I care about anyway.

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Erik  03:05

Was there a better era?

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Nikki Carrido  03:07

I don't know, but I'm just making sure we're on the same page. I

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Erik  03:10

like it. I want to ask you a little bit more about that, because I think it's interesting. And I think when you have maybe an exhibition on that, right? People thought Really it was kind of like music, but I mean Fashion Film, I can't think of a better time to sort of talk about, like fashion, right? There was a distinct fashion that emerged, right, and carries over to today, right? And sort of walk us through how folks are really sort of interacting even with everything that you're doing there.

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Nikki Carrido  03:37

Well, we think about too, and this is how I think about my world. Pop Culture shapes everything in our lives, right? It's from what you drink, it's what you drive, it's what you wear, your shoes. And so anything that's in our museum actually has a pop culture reference. People can go back to it like, oh, you know that? I remember that as I was a kid. We have something from Back to the Future, and so we're relevant today, and pop culture, like shapes our world, also with our new brand surround the power of pop culture and engaging that within yourself, and what does that mean to you? So very cool. That's kind of where we infuse everything. If you haven't been happy to have you when you come visit in Seattle, but every single artifact has a history. You're not just looking at a piece of art on a wall. It's maybe a jacket, it's someone's outfit that they wore in next performance. So it's been really, really inspiring for me and easier for me to market. I'll just say

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Erik  04:38

you mentioned shape your world, right? I want to ask you what shaped your world a little bit. So tell us a little bit about your family and where you grew up, and tell us about you. Yeah,

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Nikki Carrido  04:49

well, it's quite a story, but I am Chinese American. I'm the fourth generation American born my mom's side of the family grew up in Seattle, Washington, but I was born in Northern California. California. So I did most of my schooling in Seattle, and I also went to Hawaii. I am pretty big proponent of Asian Americans and making sure that women are supportive, and that came from my family. My family also helped build the railroads for the United States, right? Yeah, and so we have a really deep history and helping others. And growing up in Seattle, it's pretty much a melting pot, but my family, my mom, my grandma, you're either black or Asian, you weren't white, and so we've been helping each other since then, and so that's really shaped me as a person. I also being that we were in California, I got to experience the magic of Disney. Okay, so that also has infused in me of, you know, creativity and thinking about what could be. My parents really put me forward, knowing that, like that was my creative side of and supported me liking Disney and, you know, doing everything there. I did do a lot of sports, which I think has helped in my career, because you have to be a team player. So you have to learn how to share. You have to learn that you're winning as a team, not by yourself. So that shaped me as growing up career wise, I was at Bank of America starting at the age of 17, they came to my high school. So I grew up in corporate, and it's been something that I've 17 until now I'm in my 40s, and so I learned a lot about business. Early on, I learned a lot about what a 401, K could do for you as an individual, at 19, someone was saying, don't leave any money on the table. You know, you need to get your 401, K started. I'm 19 years old. I didn't even start, you know, I'm in college, and so I learned a lot while I was in corporate, and that as I got my degree, it helped me kind of move me forward a

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Erik  06:59

little bit faster. Nikki, I want to ask you about kind of sports too. Like, what kind of sports did you play, and how do you connect that to corporate and kind of how that helps you today?

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Nikki Carrido  07:12

Yes, so I started playing basketball at second grade, and I'm vertically challenged, and I was, you know, point guard, and up until sophomore year of high school. And then I decided that I knew I could work. So then, you know, there I left play that. And then I also started in second grade tennis. So I played tennis, which I chose to do individual. So I was doing basketball, which is team, playing singles in tennis, so I got both of that. And then I also played softball. I tried to do swimming that wasn't my cup of tea. Soccer was not my thing. And I also took up running, you know, like half marathon running. So how that connected for me is like, when you're on a team, you can't just be selfish, and you have to think about, well, what's the goal to win? So how do you win? And it also instilled the work ethic you have to practice. And so when you're at work, you also have to practice your spiel, you have to practice your presentation, you have to practice what you're going to say in front of a group of people. And so it kind of translates from the courts, right, that you're okay, here's my next plan, and this is how I'm going to go, I'm going to serve the ball, is going to go across, you know? How do I do that? And so it's kind of the same thing when you're looking at business. And I think for basketball, that really helped me in terms of leaning on people and knowing that you have someone to support you, and because you could be a ball hog and dribble around and try to make all the baskets yourself, but that's not going to, you know, make you very successful. So I think that's kind of how I've been looking at sports and the work ethic.

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Kerel  09:00

Nikki, I wanted to go back what's the biggest difference between working for a huge corporation like Bank of America to then going and working for a museum? Essentially? I'm sure there's multiple differences, but give me one that sticks out to you.

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Nikki Carrido  09:15

The one that sticks out is that I believe like being in such a cultural institution, people care. So they have that real passion, whereas when you're in the larger corporations, you're a number, you know you're going for for profit, right? So it doesn't matter what you did last week, you know, as long as your numbers are good. But I think all businesses, right? Your goal is to make sure you're making revenue to even fund yourself. And so that's number one, which I found, like, I really like that. And number two, like being in a smaller institution. You can make change easier. So if you see something that's broken, feels like, oh, okay, we can try to fix this, this and this. Whereas if I was at Bank of America, there would be a long process, not that it wouldn't be. Wrong, it would just take a little bit longer. We would go through a lot more things, because you have shareholders, right? It's a bigger stake at hand when you're making those changes.

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Erik  10:10

Nikki, I want to ask you, you mentioned sort of practicing your spiel or presentations and those sorts of things. You know, you've worked in finance and banking, and you've worked in marketing roles, and you worked in sales too. And so tell me a little bit about kind of the sales piece, you know, and so spiel and presenting and kind of honing your craft and practicing right, that comes with it. Can you talk to us a little bit about how sales has helped you in marketing, right? Sort of connecting that piece to that piece. Yeah,

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Nikki Carrido  10:43

so I actually started in sales. After I did the contact center, I went straight to business banking. And so you're selling to small businesses. So you have to say, Okay, well, what am I selling? What's my product? Why should they come speak to me? Why should they give me money number one, right? Why would you put your money at the bank versus another? So you're trying to make sure you're selling the process. I didn't know it at the time that this was going to help me in the future, but marketing is all about selling, and you're selling yourself every single day that you're trying to, you know, get a job, right, even if you're to your parents. I was actually already doing a cost analysis to my dad on why I shouldn't have to stay in the dorm then get an apartment across the street and and go to Hawaii. Yeah, right. I mean, did you win that argument? Presentation? The presentation went well. He still thought I needed the experience at a door, but I told him, Hey, you know I'm not going to be paying attention. Those grades are going to slip. So I did actually end up getting an apartment, but I learned that also early on, my dad is an engineer, my mom's a teacher, and so I was learning how to sell to my parents even before I went to school and in marketing, you're selling for the business, right? And so you're selling that product, even if you're not actually given a quota, right? Like, I have to sell a million dollars worth of, you know, digital sales, but we actually marketing you are selling. I do need to make tickets sales, and so our campaigns are driving revenue, and so it is also selling to anyone who's your target audience. What do they want to hear? And that selling piece is always around the pitch, right? You got to pitch them. You got to tell them why, and then you got to close the deal. So you have to make sure that you're, you know, saying why, and then thank you for your business. And I feel like that's the same way for marketing. So it was kind of a natural transition.

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Kerel  12:51

Nikki, earlier in the conversation, you mentioned having a passion for diversity and inclusion, specifically the Asian community. Where does that passion come from? Lived experiences,

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Nikki Carrido  13:02

I would say. And being that, I started at the bank at 17, there wasn't people that looked like me. I was sitting there. I had blonde hair, you know, and people that were not even a female. And so that to me, I was looking for someone that kind of looked like myself, like, Oh, am I in the right spot? I did learn a lot. Like, don't get me wrong, like I learned from the people that were there and I wouldn't be here if I didn't have that really grounded experience. But it was around how I was treated, how I felt I had to present myself in a room. How did I have to get to that next job? I told myself too, like, you know, this is going to sound crazy, but would a man be questioning that? And if that answer is no, then why am I? Why am I? And I don't think a lot of people, a lot of women, think about it that way, but that's kind of how I started thinking. And was like, Okay, I need to change my perspective. But then I also wanted to help people not struggle like I did. And so that's been something. And I know that I'm Asian, I'm a woman, so that's the easiest, you know, and closest to me be there. But of course, any women, anyone really, who wants to need help, I'm always trying to help in any way I

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Kerel  14:14

can. Gotcha. Gotcha. You know, sometimes on the podcast we we love to get our guests to tell a little bit of a story, right, so that our listeners can kind of pick up on and really learn something. And I'm wondering if there is a story that is top of mind for you, that maybe throughout your career, you were faced with a big challenge, that you overcame that challenge. Can you speak a little bit about that and maybe give an example?

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Nikki Carrido  14:42

Yeah, I will give an example. So where I had a challenge is that I actually look and sound very young, but I'm not. And so I was applying for a role to be a director. It was within the banking industry, and I was told. Old, that I didn't sound old enough, and that the clients that I was going to be meeting, which were government officials, would not take me seriously. And that feedback was very hard, because I was like, I have the degree I have, you know, the experience that we have, but I can't change myself. And from that day, that was where I was like, Well, I just accept that. Okay, so then you have to overcompensate for those things, and you have to then very carefully speak about how you speak, how you talk, how you present yourself, what do you wear in order to make yourself look a little bit older, and so I think that was a challenge, because you can't change yourself. But then I told myself, Well, that wasn't the job for you anyways. So then that was a learning experience for me to be aware of what perception is like folks don't you know, like, Oh, you just be yourself, okay? But not everyone in corporate America is under that same belief. And so that was a really big challenge for me, and it still is. Thank

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Erik  16:10

you for sharing that, Nikki, that's big, I think, something that will leave a lot of folks sort of thinking about maybe similar experiences, because those are all very real. I want to ask you a little bit more about your family. For a second you connected instantly your family and also, you know, building the railroads, and maybe what family was known for, and all of these really important moments in your families, like life, or just in life, what are some things that your family sort of passed on to you, that that you learned from that give you a sense of pride of your past and of your family's history.

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Nikki Carrido  16:49

Yes, so my family came over. My mom's side came over to build the railroad. So they ended up in California. They went to the south. So I have family in the south, and then a majority came to Seattle and California, and they really helped start the What now is the International District in Seattle. Used to call Chinatown, but now it's the International District. They opened up a few stores in the area which, you know, one was a grocery store, I think the other one was like a laundry shop. But from there, they actually used their businesses to help other people within the community, to bring over other Chinese folks that were coming into the United States. That part of their building that they had, I don't know if they were renting or purchased it, but had rooms, and so it was actually kind of a I don't think it was legal, but they had folks coming, they would give them a place to stay. They would let them, you know, stay there until they could figure that out. They also use part of the Underground Railroad. I'll just also put that in there. So they themselves, were big within the community. And so that was passed down to my mom, my grandma, and also the fact that you help someone, like, if you can help someone, you help them, whether it's giving them food, whether it's like, oh, I have this extra jacket. Most people won't ask for help, but you can see that someone needs it. So that's one thing. My grandma was very assertive that was passed down to me. She also was into sports, and she was doing sports when all the guys were, you know, women weren't participating, but my grandma was and she really, you know, for me, growing up was encouraging that she was happy that I was playing basketball, she was happy that I was playing tennis. But my family, I'm lucky that my family's been very supportive of me in every aspect, whether I decided I want to go to move to North Carolina, they moved to California, moved to Hawaii. I have a really strong family base, and that's also how I live my life too. Is Families First, they will always be there for you, whether you know you need something, whether you even admit that you made a mistake and that you need help. My parents have you know it's okay, hey, like you didn't make that right decision, but we'll still support you, and that my sister is my number one supporter, and has been for my whole career and my life, and she's moved me all around the country, and so she asked me to not move for a while, and that's why I'm here in Seattle. I have a niece and nephew. When I retire, I will be in Hawaii. There you

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Kerel  19:33

go. Thank you for sharing that with us. Nikki. Give us a book or a movie that every person should read or watch,

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Nikki Carrido  19:40

and why? Oh, that's gonna be hard. The most recent book that I read, and this was during the pandemic, and of course, I read it because it was Disney and it was Bob Iger, and I forgot what the title was, but it was before, so he had retired, and then he came back after. Or all of that. So it was interesting to read, but he did have a lot of the career, and so it was interesting to follow his career, and then him in this book, like, I'm retiring, and then after that, it's like he's came back. So that's the book that I really liked. It was an easy read. It gave me some career things to think about an executive that was in a company that I mean, I love Disney, so I was interested to see what that was, and for movies, because I have my ADHD, it's kind of hard for me to sit still, but the one that from my past and my growing up was clueless. So that movie really marked it for me in terms of movies that I really enjoy and still think is great.

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Kerel  20:48

Gotcha. Gotcha. What's something you wish you were better at, personally

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Nikki Carrido  20:52

or professionally? Your choice? Tennis. Okay, all right. Yeah, yeah. So tennis I used to play. I was varsity all the way through high school, and then I recently picked it up two years ago, and it is not like riding a bike. Well, people say, Oh, I was like riding, but no, no, no, no, you've lost a few things, and you are a little bit different than you were when you were 18. So that's one thing, personally, professionally, I would say, Okay, this is going to be a hard one. I am trying to be the leader that I needed when I was working. But within, you know, organizations, you know, as a leader, as an executive, you're held to this different standard, and I'm trying not to be as personable, which is hard for me, but at the same time, it's also because I'm trying to make sure that I'm like being taken seriously.

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Kerel  21:53

Yeah, yeah, that's what they I appreciate you sharing that. And on tennis, I will say it is one of my favorite sports to watch live. Watching tennis on TV doesn't do it justice. And the US Open is one of my favorite events every year. Love it. Love it, all right? And now I'm going to take you back to we were talking about hip hop earlier. So fun question, what's in your music rotation these days? Well,

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Nikki Carrido  22:19

it's been a little hard. I'll just say that, because now I have to, if we're talking about pop culture things, you know, these are people, are artists, they're also people. And I also listen to Pandora. Still, I tried to do Spotify. Can't do it, so I'm in Pandora. I got Hip Hop barbecue going, and so that there's a lot of Tupac in there, which Tupa is safe, right? Hopefully, you know, so I've been listening to that All

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Kerel  22:46

right. Awesome. There

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Erik  22:47

it is. That's great. Thank you. Thank you so much for for sharing that with us. A lot of our listeners like to follow or stay in touch or reach out. What are some ways that our listeners can follow you or reach out to you?

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Nikki Carrido  23:00

Yes, you can follow me on LinkedIn at Nicole corrido, and you can also follow me on YouTube with my new channel that will be coming up at the enchanted lava lamp.

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Erik  23:13

Excellent. Nikki Carrido, thanks for hanging out with us today. Lot of fun talking with you, and thanks for sharing some of your experiences and in real life. Thank you so much, and thanks everybody for listening to another episode of Minority Report podcasts with Eric and Kerel. Thank you.

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Nikki Carrido  23:30

Thank you. You.