USAA executive joins American Legion podcast

Marine veteran and Naval Academy graduate Tony Wells is the special guest on this week’s episode of The American Legion Tango Alpha Lima podcast. As the chief brand officer at USAA, Wells explained how the association delivered to its members during the pandemic.  

“We’re in the business of insurance so when something goes bump in the night, we’re well prepared for it,” Wells explained. “We were monitoring the situation since December (2000). From a marketing perspective, we were used to working together with an agile mindset.” 

That allowed USAA to quickly pivot, adjust what it provides its members and update them, Wells added. He also addressed other topics, including: 

• The marketing challenges of being a digital-only brand. “You have to really work hard to try to personalize that experience so that it feels like it’s you and also humanize it.” 

• How growing up in the nation’s capital influenced his military service. “D.C. is a military city. You see the Pentagon, Arlington (National Cemetery), 8th and I Marine Barracks. For me the Naval Academy was not a foreign concept. I did play basketball, about 30 pounds ago. And I was very fortunate to be recruited by the Naval Academy.” 

• Playing basketball with a future NBA star. “While I was there, I was very fortunate to play alongside David Robinson, the greatest player to ever come out of a service academy. It was a really great experience.” 

• Diversity and inclusion. “Following the murder of George Floyd, everybody in corporate America went and looked in the mirror and asked, ‘What are we doing here?’ For me what I felt and observed was that we had a lot of teammates who were carrying a lot of rocks in their pack. And no one knew it. They didn’t feel the burden. You want to go to work every day and be at your best. Our CEO, Wayne Peacock, has said we want every employee to be able to live up to their full potential.” 

Check out this episode of Tango Alpha Lima and the other 60 available at the Tango web page, or via download on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or other major podcast-hosting sites. You can also view all of the episodes on the Legion’s YouTube channel.