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A CMO’S SURVIVAL GUIDE FROM A MARKETER’S MARKETERHow to make a “weird” job a little less weird

David BerkowitzPrincipal, Serial Marketerdavid@serialmarketer.net

This is the annotated version of my INBOUND 2016 talk.

Link to share: bit.ly/CMOsurvival

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CONTACTdavid@serialmarketer.net

www.serialmarketer.net

@dberkowitz

m.me/serial.marketer

Links to sources are in the notes; you can download this as a PowerPoint to see them. Also note that a lot of images work as GIFs and may not be as clear on SlideShare as they are in presentation mode once downloading this.

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Most agency jobs feel like a never-ending episode of Survivor. An agency Chief Marketing Officer job, especially one focusing on brand marketing rather than business development, isn’t necessarily the best path to job security. But it’s a fun role too.

#INBOUND16Granted, more often that not, survival at an agency feels like this.

CREATIVITY FOR THE NEW CONSUMER

I’m going to reflect on what I learned as a marketer’s marketer – marketing a marketing services company, the creative agency MRY. Maybe some of this will increase your own survival odds in your current or future role, or provide a bit of creative inspiration.

One challenge is that a marketing leadership role needs to be a ‘buck stops here’ job, but a lot of people feel a need to have a say. What’s important is getting buy-in from others while not letting that derail and delay decisions indefinitely. It’s a tightrope.

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One of the best aspects of marketing an agency was leading by example. We created the world’s first Vineathon, we were the first business to accept payments through Snapchat, and launched the long-running Tuesdays with Toni podcast.

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Always be open to asking for advice. When I took the role, I reached out to a number of professionals I admired and shared their input into this deck that I still find useful. You can find it on SlideShare at slideshare.net/davidberkowitz.

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A lot of the work marketing a creative agency is fun. To tap into the budding enthusiasm around drones, in early 2015, MRY sponsored the first ever international drone film festival and created this video about what it’s like when agencies hire drones.

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We also created research around topics like how people are connecting with their cars. We didn’t have deep expertise in the autoa category, but we did in how people are using mobile devices, so we use the latter topic as a springboard for the former. Granted, we also went TOO far with it, essentially combining two research studies into one, so it was a good reminder of when enough is too much.

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As CMO, I was constantly asking my peers what the marketing team could do for them. Did you want first-party research? Did you want to put on an event? Did you want to get more experience speaking or asking? In marketing, we could constantly create new opportunities for others. Constantly aim to figure out how you can help others get ahead.

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Rely on your team. A couple of these intrepid souls were really part of my team. I also brought on design and video production hires, half reporting into marketing and half reporting into their creative and production departments, as the biggest staffing change. But we also relied on expertise in legal, SEO, strategy, and elsewhere, and administrative staff and others were instrumental in pulling off all our initiatives. Whether they liked it or not, practically everyone at the agency was a part of the marketing team.

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A mantra we had in the marketing team was, “Everyone Contributes.” We even made annual videos featuring people across the agency sharing how they did so (see the link in the notes). A lot of agencies shy from this, focusing so much on people in a high-turnover field, but even still, our people and our work were all that mattered.

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Never eat alone, as Keith Ferrazzi wrote. What I hadn’t taken to heart is how much that applies to people in other disciplines across the agency. All too often, people would make time to catch up outside the office only as they were leaving. Start much sooner.

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Client acquisition

Client retention

Talentacquisition

Talentretention

Research

studies

SXSW

Blog

Hosted events

Press

Lunch &

Learns

Cannes

What was hardly a given was how much of the role would focus on talent retention – more of an HR function. Yet a lot of the activities we did had dual value, such as to acquire or retain both staff an clients. It helps to know why you’re doing things.

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Spee

d

Prov

ocat

ive

POV

Rela

tions

hips

There were three pillars that I constantly reinforced in dealing with the press: the speed of responsiveness, cultivating relationships, and always having a strong point of view.

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Measure more than what your boss wants you to. This is true whether you’re being held to very lax or very high standards. Always question the value of what you’re doing and measure it until you can’t measure anymore.

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Never cede your turf. When I came into the role, I tried to be a little too diplomatic, and it was hard to get some of that ground back. Always fight for what should be yours, as reclaiming it is so much tougher than claiming it in the first place.

#INBOUND16Even with some of the hurdles mentioned, having gone out on my own into a consulting role, the part I miss the most is having a team.

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1. Practice what you preach2. Ask for advice3. It’s okay to have fun4. Know when too much is too much5. Ask what your CMO can do for you6. Make everyone your team7. Focus on how others can get ahead8. Never eat alone9. Always know your purpose10.Stick to your core pillars11. Measure more than you’re asked to12.Fight for what’s yours

Let’s look back atour time together

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I’M FEELING SO BLUE TO LEAVE YOU!david@serialmarketer.net

www.serialmarketer.net

@dberkowitz

m.me/serial.marketer