It was one of those rare Los Angeles days — smog free, blue skies and the air was crisp. A perfect set up for what I hoped would be a perfect pitch. We were sitting in a diner right across the street from the bank headquarters in Pasadena and we were the opposite of stressed out. Like well-prepared boxers, we…
With the Empire State Building glowing in the background, I wondered what was on my own horizon that evening. The cocktail party in a chic midtown hotel had just begun, the award-winning CMOs were pouring in and my curiosity was starting to peak. Who were these people? Sure I could read their name badges but what were their stories and more importantly,…
Let’s do a little test together. Watch the video below which features Trish Mueller, CMO of Home Depot and Pete Krainik, founder of The CMO Club, and make note of the marketing insights you gained. Next, please read my interview below, also with Trish Mueller. Then jot down your key takeaways. You’ll have to trust me that both are well worth…
Last week I introduced my new keynote speech, Think Like A CMO as the brazen answer to the question: What’s the secret to success? My rationale starts with the extreme yet somewhat familiar sounding challenges that most CMOs (and the rest of us) face: Bosses that may have unrealistic or significantly different expectations; Numerous factors that impact results that are outside of one’s control; Limited…
I have to admit that I went into the conversation about storytelling wondering “what’s the story here?” How could something as old as storytelling be a hot new topic in marketing. Darren Marshall, CMO of Steinway & Sons, was kind enough to set me straight in preparation for our panel Storytelling and Branding: Does Story Trump Data (also featuring Aimee Munsell of…
It is hard to be a student of history and not be fascinated by leaders. And as some of you may have picked up by now, I spend a lot of my spare time reading books and listening to courses on American History with a special concentration on Ben Franklin and the American Revolution. Starting about a week ago, I…
Whenever I meet entrepreneurs, they often pick my brain for marketing wisdom usually asking one or all of the following questions: How do we get the biggest bang for our marketing bucks? What are the most effective marketing channels? Is social media worth the time and effort? Does guerrilla marketing still work? Tell me Obi Wan, what is the secret to…
If ever there were brands built on the backs of traditional media, it would be Budweiser and Bud Light. These stalwarts of sports broadcasts, joined us in our living rooms and bars, reminding us years back who this Bud was for and more recently, inciting us to be up for whatever with Bud Light. But just because TV was the big…
Over the years, this blog has applauded the efforts of a number of brands endeavoring to “do well by doing good” (i.e. Petco, J&J, Richline, Patron, Omni Hotels and more). Framing such efforts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in this way, I may have implied that CSR is actually a strategy in itself. Fortunately for you in our interview below, Karen Quintos, CMO of Dell, clarifies why CSR…
In part one of my interview with Rich Smith, CMO of Ditech Financial, we focused on Ditech’s sponsorship of NASCAR and how that helped build broad awareness for the brand. In part two, we’ll broaden the lens and explore the brand’s overall strategic approach, internal training to improve the customer experience and a program that aimed at improving brand loyalty (offering another great…