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Have we lost our marketing mojo?

Dark and dystopian…Apple’s 1984 television ad challenged us to think differently.

Marketers have historically been unique for the ability to affect change within a company, its industry segment and in society as a whole.

Apple’s 1984 television ad aired once yet set the company on its path of innovation.  Fast food chain Wendy’s Where’s the beef? shaped a presidential election.  And EDS’ Cat Herders led technologists to acknowledge an uncomfortable reality about enterprise-wide projects.

Have we lost the marketing mojo?  Has the push to analytics-driven programs measurable in all areas led to creative-less marketing?

To use a baseball analogy, we seem to be efficient at swatting singles and doubles, but our campaigns rarely hit a homerun.

Here are three ways to rediscover the magic:

  1. Contribute to the strategy of the business, not just its execution. We call this strategic marketing. It should be the aspiration of every single person in the marketing organization – from corporate to field to product.  Innovative concepts like “she-working” have and can be driven by marketers like us.
  2. Champion a unique and innovative approach. Creative crushing thoughts such as – this is how we did it last year or let’s mimic our competitors – are the domain of followers. Check out campaigns like Modern Military Training and Future Healthcare Today for examples of dynamic approaches to thought leadership.
  3. Demand excellence from your vendors. Who has brought you an exciting, daring and big idea in the past year? Encourage and cultivate those relationships.

 

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Marketers and the Conference Conundrum

“It is about time, or should I say, the lack of time,” the marketer explained during a phone call last week.  “I run demand generation, digital campaigns, the Web site and content.  How can I break away to attend a conference?  My CMO would laugh if I raised the possibility.”

This conundrum is common place for corporate, field and product marketers.  As responsibilities grow, time for professional development and skill enhancement wanes.  Yet, it is critical to stay sharp and current on the latest methodologies, tools and techniques in areas related to content, digital, analytics and social media.

Here are three easy-to-implement ideas:

  1. Attend the event…virtually. Most organizers publish keynotes, speaker presentations and panel discussions on their Web site. Block out 90 minutes on a Friday afternoon to engage with this content.  Watch what is most relevant to your job and then pick at least one presentation that is outside your purview.  You may be surprised by how the best practices potentially apply.
  2. Connect and interact socially with attendees. They are on Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media platforms sharing content from the event. This presents the opportunity to deepen your knowledge, while expanding your professional network.
  3. Subscribe to industry sites that will push you news. In 2017, Strategic Communications Group’s (Strategic) Modern Marketing Today published exclusive recaps of industry events hosted by Salesforce, Marketo and SiriusDecisions. You can review the content here at this link.

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Don’t Stop, Says Fleetwood Mac

This live concert version of Fleetwood Mac’s Don’t Stop totally rocks.  Band mates Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie sing:

Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow
Don’t stop, it’ll soon be here
It’ll be here better than before
Yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone

 

Let’s get jazzed for 2018 because it will soon be here better than before.  Here is why:

  1. Marketing now impacts nearly everything of significance at a company – product development, sales, customer support, culture and recruitment. Our work as marketers is so relevant.
  2. Creativity defines what we do. From brand strategy and development, to content creation and distribution via Web, search, social and digital channels, we infuse our programs with original concepts and dynamic execution.
  3. We’re part of the technology elite. Customer relationship management, marketing automation and analytics platforms bring measurability to our programs. We now help define how our company invests in technology for competitive advantage.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

 

Classic tune offers a powerful message for marketers in 2018. (Photo: Grammy.com)

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Five Roles of the Modern Marketer

You’ve most likely played this game with friends.  If you could be any animal you wanted which one would you be and why?

Lion is a popular choice because of their strength.  Many go with dolphin because of their intelligence.  Elephants are recognized for kindness and loyalty.

For today’s business-to-business and public sector marketer, a more practical choice might be the octopus.  That is because the eight arms sure could be handy.

The corporate marketing function has historically been a creative and logistical endeavor.  Campaigns were concepted, brought to life and executed through digital, social and traditional channels.

Now, marketers are asked to take on so much more as their value, standing and accountability in the company is recast.  Here are the roles the corporate marketers who we work with at Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) are typically asked to assume:

  1. Brand Champion: Define craft and maintain the organization’s corporate and product positioning.
  2. Customer Advocate: Understand needs and help translate this insight for product development and customer service and support teams.
  3. Content Creator: Thought leadership, best practices and industry insight to educate and inform key audiences.
  4. Technologist: Marketing automation, analytics and social media tools and technologies to build a scalable demand generation function.
  5. Sales Enabler: Measure ROI by how campaigns and programs directly influence each stage of the pipeline and, ultimately, revenue capture.

OK…that is five…what about the three additional limbs you’d have as an octopus?

You tell me.  What did I miss on the list?  Comment on this blog or add to the discussion by joining the more than 200 marketers who are members of the Modern Marketing Today LinkedIn group.

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