How an Audible Fan Became an Ambassador to our Customers and Creators

Audible is continuously building products that our customers and creators love, and helping people discover and use them is where Robyn Brown comes in. As our Global Head of Product and Creator Marketing, Brown and her team strategize how to launch our new experiences to the world. As she says, “We figure out how to explain our new products, name them, and reach the right audience in ways that make them think, ‘I need to try that!’” Her team also focuses on attracting new creators to our service and building programs that celebrate and support our global creator community. This work happens through close partnership with product, research, creative, creator relations, and many other teams across Audible.

Before joining us in 2017, Brown spent several years leading marketing strategy and innovation for major consumer brands at Fortune 500 companies and ecommerce platforms serving millions of customers. When she first started at Audible, Brown led U.S. product marketing for emerging businesses, then was given the opportunity to grow her experience through roles in strategy and product management before returning to marketing to build her current team.

The roster of products she’s helped us launch since then includes our new Standard membership plan for lighter listeners, immersion reading in the Audible app, our Best of #BookTok integration, AI-powered content discovery tools like Maven, and AI narration and translation offerings to help authors and publishers bring more of their books to audio. Read more to learn how being a passionate fan of Audible led Brown to work with us.

How would you describe your approach to or philosophy of leadership? 

I believe in pairing ambitious goals and high standards with a supportive team culture that helps people thrive. For me, this means providing clear guidance, helping to remove roadblocks, and celebrating wins and learnings along the way. I’m also a big believer in using humor to lighten the mood when needed–as the saying goes, “a little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest of men.” I find that when people feel challenged and genuinely cared for, amazing things happen.

What first drew you to Audible?

Initially, it was listening to Trevor Noah’s Audible Original memoir, Born a Crime. Hearing him tell his own story, as both author and narrator, was incredibly powerful. It felt like it was just the two of us sitting together in his living room as he shared his life experience. The intimacy and authenticity of the format were unlike anything I'd experienced before. When the book ended, I knew I wanted to be part of what Audible was creating.

Looking back, what would you say has been the overarching thread in your career journey?

My throughline has been two-fold: a passion for understanding what makes people tick and a strong desire to make lives better. This led me to major in social psychology and economics in college and ultimately pursue a career where I get to study consumer behavior and use those insights for good. While the industries and target audiences I’ve served throughout my career have been wildly different, my success has consistently been grounded in understanding human motivations and translating those insights into products, experiences and campaigns that genuinely resonate.

What’s the most exciting thing about leading at Audible right now?

The sheer scope and nature of innovation happening at Audible. We're building cutting-edge immersive listening experiences, unlocking more personalized offerings, creating entirely new content discovery pathways, and using AI to democratize audiobook availability. Leading product and creator marketing means my team and I get to help shape how all these breakthrough innovations reach people, impacting how millions experience stories!

If you could have any superpower, what would it be? 

Teleportation! As a family of four, with tween girls and busy schedules, the logistics of travel are intense. But with teleportation, we could wake up in Brooklyn, go for a hike in the Drakensberg Mountains, have lunch at the Tokyo fish market, explore a temple in Cambodia, and still be home for soccer practice. I'd love to show my kids the world — all the incredible people, cultures, foods, experiences — and fit it nicely into school breaks, without ever setting foot in an airport. Plus, imagine being able to pop over to a friend's dinner party in London or catch a sunrise in New Zealand on a random Wednesday morning.

Lightning Round

• Coffee or tea? Matcha latte (but only until early afternoon).
• Morning person or night owl? Morning person. Unless I have a matcha too late—then I’m an accidental night owl.
• Where are you working from currently? Audible’s headquarters in Newark, New Jersey.
• How long have you been with Audible?  Approaching nine years.
• Who is your biggest inspiration, career-wise?  Stick with me on this one… Willy Wonka. Yes, he’s fictional, but he creates the most delectable innovations that bring joy to people worldwide, while showing genuine care for his team of Oompa-Loompas and little tolerance for “bad eggs.” Plus, he lives by one of my favorite lines: “We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.”
• Dine in or take out? Dine in. I love trying new restaurants! Though really, it’s as much about the company and conversation, so either works.
• Favorite hobby? Just about anything outdoors: biking, hiking, exploring, and, of course, cheering on my kids’ travel soccer team.
• Favorite Audible listen, go. How about my top three? Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Full-Cast Edition) is pure magic; Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, a beautiful, creative, and uplifting story told partly through an octopus's eyes, and with impeccable narration; and Shoe Dog by Phil Knight is edge-of-your-seat good.