by Audrey Gaines
In a classroom at Oklahoma Baptist University, marketing is not just theory—it is something unfolding in real time.
For first-year assistant professor Caleb Roche, the line between classroom and career is intentionally blurred.
“I have one foot in the classroom and one in the boardroom,” Roche has said of his approach, a balance that shapes how he teaches and how students learn.
Roche joined OBU in 2025, bringing with him extensive experience in marketing leadership and entrepreneurship. According to his OBU bio, he is also the CEO of Club Creative, a marketing consulting and research firm he founded to help brands translate strategy into measurable results.
That experience is not abstract. According to his OBU bio, Roche has led campaigns generating more than $10 million in client revenue and hundreds of millions of impressions, with expertise spanning digital advertising, brand strategy, consumer research and analytics. Before launching his own firm, he worked as a Consumer and Product Insights Analyst for major companies, including Inspire Brands and SONIC Drive-In.
But for Roche, marketing is about more than metrics.
“OBU feels like the perfect place to combine my passion for marketing with a deeper purpose,” he said. “It’s about creating connections, solving problems and making a positive impact.”
That philosophy carries into the classroom. Rather than relying solely on textbooks, Roche emphasizes real-world application—helping students connect concepts to current trends and professional practice.
It is also evident in his work outside the university. Through consulting projects, including research connected to Slim Chickens, Roche remains actively involved in shaping marketing strategy at a professional level. For students, that connection transforms learning into something immediate and tangible.
His influence extends beyond campus as well. Roche’s marketing insights on LinkedIn have reached more than 750,000 impressions in recent months, while his newsletter, The Syllabus, continues to grow by exploring the space between marketing theory and real-world execution.
Still, Roche measures success differently than impressions or revenue.
According to his OBU bio, he is passionate about mentoring students to lead with both excellence and integrity, equipping them with the skills and sense of Christian calling needed to navigate a competitive marketplace.
At a university where relationships are central and class sizes are small, that mission resonates. Students are not just learning marketing—they are learning how to think critically, engage thoughtfully and approach their future work with purpose.
Outside the classroom, Roche’s life reflects the same sense of balance. According to his OBU bio, he is a husband, father of two and serves as a deacon at his church—roles that shape both his perspective and his teaching.
Even in his first year, Roche is already demonstrating that meaningful education does not remain within classroom walls. It moves outward—into businesses, into communities and into the lives students will build beyond Bison Hill.
