Setting (and Meeting) Ambitious Goals

In 1759, Samuel Johnson wrote: “Promise, large promise, is the soul of an advertisement.” So, it isn’t exactly a new thought that large brands need to do large things to cut through. This ties to how the bigger you are, the likelier it is that you’re deeply entrenched in your own legacy. In other words, people have set ideas about…

Make Your Bots Human

Dave Gerhardt wants those bothersome pop-up forms on B2B landing pages gone. Of course, as CMO of Drift, a cutting-edge, live chat and bot company, that would be great for business. That aside, Gerhardt makes a convincing argument: when’s the last time you said “Oh, great! Another form! I can’t wait to fill this out and get a bunch of…

Understanding Modern B2B Media

A shift is happening in B2B. Traditional advertising is giving way to more efficient digital strategies and, while certain old methods still have a seat at the table, many antiquated approaches need to be removed from the tool belt. To learn more about B2B marketing and media, watch this great interview with Erik Huberman, CEO and Founder of Hawke Media,…

Finding Your Vertical and Bowling a Strike

In Geoffrey Moore’s ever-relevant book, Crossing the Chasm, he compares market development and segmentation to bowling, saying that one must take a pin-by-pin approach. Ian Howells, VP and head of marketing at software firm Sage Intacct, is a big fan of this analogy, and has tweaked and refined it to benefit his very effective micro-targeting strategy—an approach that can help…

The CMO’s Approach to Being CEO

The CMO’s Approach to Being CEO Though not all that common, when a CMO role transitions into being CEO, it’s a safe bet that they’ll have an emphatic approach to marketing and will maintain an involved role in the company’s efforts and execution. With Rob Chen, CEO at Brightlink with a CMO background, you’d be half right. Check out a…

The CEO: Every Successful CMO’s Best Friend

If you ask virtually every CMO about the keys to their success in having their marketing efforts cut through, you’ll likely find a few trends in their answers. For one, most of those CMOs will credit having their CEO completely on board. This isn’t a successful person demonstrating how humble they are, nor is it an attempt to curry favor…

Effective Communications and the Burden of Knowing Too Much

Though this used to mainly fall within HR’s purview, marketing departments are increasingly involved in shaping communications. There are a few reasons behind this change, among them the need to improve employee retention rates as unemployment increases, and the recognition that a healthy company culture can go a long way in shaping a good customer experience and creating persuasive, employee…