In a recent survey, 97% of 110 B2B CMOs acknowledged that they had revised their marketing plans in 2020. This should come as no surprise—it's been a tough year so far—but it's clear evidence that agility is not just a desirable trait for CMOs, it's necessary. Even more, pivoting on a dime sometimes means dropping old assumptions in favor of...
Check out any of the content curated by Red Hat’s in-house team, and you’ll see the same message over and over again: collaborative problem solving is the engine for innovation. Their Open Source Stories showcase community innovation at work in poignant, inspiring ways. Their transparency during their rebrand reflects their commitment to living their code. And their annual Women in...
When workers moved home and systems migrated to the cloud as a result of the COVID pandemic, two challenges emerged: how to keep data safe, and how to redeploy event-focused salespeople. For Holly Rollo, the chief marketing officer at RSA Security, these problems were silver lining opportunities to bring their services to the next level. The first issue, data safety,...
Should a calamitous event (say, a global pandemic) bring your rebrand plans to a halt? Not necessarily. A rebrand doesn’t happen in a vortex, and any truly successful rebrand is about a renewed brand purpose—one that can guide an organization’s actions in any situation, good or bad. At the American Lung Association, for example, their decision to forge ahead with...
Would you take on two C-Suite roles at once? Mika Yamamoto of F5 Networks would—and she did, taking the lead as both CMO and CXO for the application services company. Why did she do it? To drive simplicity across the organization, of course. Under both titles, Yamamoto boils everything F5 does down to one question: does this activity remove friction...
This is not a business as usual moment. Whatever plans you had in place for 2020 have no doubt been disrupted if not tossed out the window. Undoubtedly, it is a moment that will test the resolve of just about every business, its financial coach and leaders. In short, this is a leadership moment, during which brands, like individuals, can...
A time of crisis is a time for action, and as we navigate a constant influx of new information and policy updates on a worldwide scale, there is a distinct opportunity for individuals and companies alike to work together for the common good. Of course, there is plenty of fear and anxiety surrounding the current COVID-19 pandemic, but there are...
Without context, here are a few rapid-fire quotes: “You’re not doing it just to look good, you’re doing it because you want to.” “There’s no point in doing anything if you’re not going to try to get better.” “This world is built on collaboration.” “If I don’t keep my promise, that means I’m lying. And if I’m lying she won’t be my...
A tip of the hat goes to Deloitte this week for reminding us not to trust our gut... Probably as a result of a re-targeting campaign, I came across an ad from Deloitte introducing a character called "Gut Instinct." He is the personification of that oft-unreliable feeling we've all used at one time or another. "Gut Instinct" Through a series...
"Is our marketing working?" This is the question that makes CMOs squirm, cringe, or sit up in their chairs with glee (if the answer is yes). But how do you even know if your marketing is working? Are you measuring conversions, sales, website traffic, clicks, sentiment—or any number of other metrics which may or may not be of utmost importance...