It's been so interesting -- so many of my conversations lately have tended to cover a couple of key topics affecting CMOs.
1. KPIs. How do you decide what KPIs matter? Take a new CPG brand, just starting to get off the ground. In my past life at Unilever, I lived and died by velocity / $/MM ACV or similar. The stuff that we could read in Nielsen or IRI, and then whine to our sales guys about when ACV wasn't climbing at the rate that Unilever usually expected (i.e. SUPER FAST). But enter the land of start ups. U/S/W is still vital in CPG, yes. But then there's the DTC model. How do you decide what works there. Lately it's been a discussion of ROAS vs ROI vs CAC. I will save my hypotheses and what the conversations have been with friends and colleagues for offline ramblings, but suffice to say -- lots of hot opinions abound. The other hot topic of the last few years (let alone months)... 2. The longevity of the CMO. How do we tell if a CMO, or any marketing leader, is doing well? What's their purview? Are they more growth or more brand? How do we hire the right person? OMG, our CAC is down - fire the CMO. But wait, what about brand awareness - hire someone who's done TV! I was speaking to a really brilliant advisor last week about this very thing, and he asked me what you do. I also talked to a former boss about how you craft the role, and what jobs need to be in an organization. I certainly have my opinions, but damned if I know the right answer. Anyone have a guess? Anyway, just stuff that's been on my mind...back to working. This consulting thing is a blast. Don't do it...I don't want the competition...but this is so much fun!
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As we head into 2021, the idea of shutting off 2020, and all of its dumpster-fireness, and moving forward into a new, better era seems to be everywhere. But what if 2020 wasn't all that bad?
2020 brought me new friends (thanks in part to Zoom), a new thought on my future (including this consulting practice), experiences like launching Levain Bakery Frozen Cookies and helping bring joy to even more places, and personally, a better health and wellness mindset. But I think the most fascinating part of the year is the new way we all started connecting with each other. Even in notoriously cynical NY, optimism and collaboration seemed to have gained a new lease in 2020. People 'take the call' more than they did before (or maybe I'm just asking for it more). The content of conversations is more robust. Zoom, Google Meet and other video tools enable us to connect differently -- it's not a passive phone call where you know someone is gazing at their email concurrently, now it's a chat where you're (almost) looking someone in the eye. Brands are being more flexible and considering channels of media and distribution differently. If past financial strife is any indication, start ups are going to start up at a pace that feels fresh and new. For those who know me, and know the great devil's advocate I can be, this is going to sound a little Pollyanna, but I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful that connections will continue to be made. That we're not going to have ridiculously short memories, and that we're going to want to stay connected and help each other. That calls will continue to be taken. That new ways of thinking will continue to be explored. This morning I had a call that had been scheduled nearly a month ago with a business associate of someone I interviewed for a role months ago...the classic friend of a friend intro. That call was another stroke in the optimism column for me. The person I spoke to was fun, energetic, humble enough to admit he didn't have all the answers, had been in my shoes before starting something new, patient enough to hear my thoughts and ideas, and open to collaboration. I clicked "Leave meeting" on Zoom with a smile and a thought that this...this is why I was starting my own practice. So I could work with people like him and contribute a little bit to a greater good. 2021 is inevitably going to require some patience. As the media keeps reporting, vaccine roll out is slow. Travel and experiential engagements are going to take time to recover. The post-holiday COVID situation is a bit bleak, and we're going to see dark days before light ones. But I'm keeping my eye on the prize and the light inside me and my friends and contacts...a light that we seem to be showing more and more. I'm hopeful that I get to work with people I enjoy, and continue to be inspired by ideas and intelligence of those around me. And I'm committed to doing a little of the same for others. Happy New Year, folks. Recently, I was interviewed for an incredible podcast by a classmate from Wharton, Ed Nevraumont. (If you're not reading MarketingBS, you should be.) Ed asked me about the similarities and differences between working in CPG and Retail (and aviation and pet at that!).
It got me thinking...in a world where a lot of people are specialists in their chosen industry, be it food, beauty, retail, etc., the hallmark of my career has been the movement between industries. What made me think that I could go from helping start a personal care brand to heading marketing for a pet retailer? How could I have such arrogance as to think that I could go from that pet business to aviation? (Edit: Did this phrasing sound to anyone else like a rip from Sex and the City? It wasn't intended to, but when I re-read, it sounded like it. So I'm leaving it. Because Carrie Bradshaw.) It all comes back to the fact that, particularly in consumer facing businesses, the story just isn't that different between categories. As a marketer, or more importantly as a consumer strategist, we have to first understand our audience...those who are purchasing our product. Demographics, psychographics, behaviors, motivations...more or less anything that we can get our hands on. You can use primary or custom research, secondary research, observation, hypothesis, consumer data, you name it. The key here is to get curious. Ask questions until you think you've exhausted them, and then get someone else to ask more. Question how they use your category and anything adjacent. Really put yourself in their world. When I take on a project, I write consumer narratives as a core part of what I offer for brand strategy. It probably goes back to how we used to read consumer archetypes in the reams of research at Neutrogena and Unilever. Selfishly, it indulgences the side of me that kind of wants to write a novel. But it also paints a picture that of this individual and truly helps me and my business partners or clients digest decision points and moments of potential brand experience that will enable me to figure out how to best communicate the value the brand can bring to this consumer. One of these days I'll post some of the ones I've written, the most fun of which were the ones for JetSuiteX (now JSX). Mad ramblings, but it dawned on me as we were talking about the differences, that being curious about consumers is a recurring theme in my career. So yeah, that's it. What have you found consistent job to job? For years, friends have told me to write a blog. (Yep, here we go...)
You tell great stories. You're fun to talk to. You have such interesting people in your life. Your work is so fun...write about the brands you've worked on. You cook! Write about that! I started it at one point. Wrote about food, experiences, etc. Then I got off track and realized it's way easier to post on IG than write all the time. And working full time meant being in front of the computer any more than I had to was a hard no. But the last few weeks have been different. I've transitioned out of a VERY busy role as CMO of Levain Bakery into an advisory role, and I'm walking into a world of new experiences...trying to learn how to build a company for myself in the gig economy doing marketing consulting. As you can see on this site, I want to help brands with the upfront strategy and consumer decisions that will make or break their down-funnel marketing work for years to come. You know, small stuff. (Sidenote: For someone who has a pretty good track record of marketing brands, the idea of having to communicate what I do best and why someone should pay me to do it is downright terrifying. But I digress...we'll save that for my coach. ) The above comments from my friends are still 100% correct: I love telling stories, even ones about crap from my own life. I love my friends...they really are the most insanely talented group of humans ever. And so diverse and interesting. I have friends who work for fascinating companies...Hello Sunshine, Discovery Networks, Levain Bakery, Unilever, Estee Lauder, newspapers, magazines, restaurants, CPG brands, start ups all over the world. I also LOVE talking to those same friends about brands, brand experiences, entertainment, marketing topics, communications, etc., irrespective if whether they are fellow marketers or leaders in consumer-focused companies, or just consumers. Hmm...what if I could find a way to talk to them about their careers, their experiences with their own brands and others, and maybe even learn something in the process. Hmmmm....blogging isn't the answer. Oh, wait, PODCASTING. Podcasting is SO the new blogging. (Sidenote: I was just interviewed for my first podcast with an old friend from Wharton. It was so fun! And if you haven't already, read Marketing BS. Ed Nevraumont is not only a great marketer, but a great communicator, and it's worth the email space.) So I'm debating starting a podcast. My working title is something like Brand Buddies, but that doesn't really say much, and sounds a bit child-like, no? But in general, what do you think? Should I do it? Would you want to be on it??? Let me know if you see this in the comments below! |