Category: Show Notes

When B2B brands try to be everything to everyone, they end up with what Gabie Boko calls a “brand of commas.” NetApp chose focus instead: One clear promise the whole company could rally behind and a direct line to business growth.

In this episode, Drew sits down with Gabie Boko (NetApp) to unpack how NetApp rallied leadership around Intelligent Data Infrastructure, redefined strategic demand as a shared go-to-market motion, and built alignment from the CEO to sales. Gabie shares how focus, authenticity, and cross-functional trust helped modernize NetApp’s story.

In this episode: 

• Moving from a “brand of commas” to one durable narrative the company can stand behind for years 

• Choosing Intelligent Data Infrastructure to stay customer-tested and future-proof without falling into AI-washing 

• Defining strategic demand as a company-wide motion that unites marketing, sales, and partners

Plus: 

• How NetApp’s NFL partnerships built reach and brand lift without massive ad spend 

• How success is measured through share of voice, sentiment, pipeline, and revenue growth 

• How to avoid category-creation detours and free teams from over-branding every product 

• The CMO journey from hope to determination, and how to sequence wins without burning political capital

Tune in to learn how one promise and shared accountability reshaped NetApp’s story! 

In the first 90 days, perception outruns reality. So where will you find the quick, visible wins that turn “new CMO” into “trusted change agent”? 

In this episode, Drew sits down with Laura MacGregor (Savvy Marketing Works), Julie Kaplan (Higher Logic), and Julia Goebel to unpack how CMOs convert early pressure into progress, spot quick, visible wins to bank now, and use that goodwill to earn the mandate for bigger changes.

How Three CMOs Win the First 90 Days: 

• Laura listens first, learns the business, and picks intentional early moves that build trust. 

• Julie starts before Day 1, using interviews to find a wish list and deliver one visible win fast. 

• Julia anchors early success in data and customer calls to sharpen focus and reveal opportunities.

Plus: 

• How to align expectations with a marketing maturity matrix and shared success metrics. 

• Why small conversion gains build credibility while foundational work ramps up. 

• How to partner with sales, learn from top performers, and scale what works. 

• Why customer conversations beat inherited assumptions every time.

Stepping into a new CMO role? This episode shows how to turn early pressure into wins that build lasting momentum. 

Most marketing books promise tips. Scalable Acts of Marketing shows you how to build a system that scales.

Written after thirteen years of helping grow Service Express from $30 million to $350 million in ARR, Joshua Leatherman’s field-tested guide blends a business fable with a hands-on playbook.

In this episode, Joshua Leatherman (Cyderes) joins Drew to walk through how durable growth happens when marketing speaks in outcomes, earns executive trust, and runs one motion across brand, demand, sales, and success. He connects the fable’s lessons to real-world moves inside growth-stage companies, laying out a playbook any marketing leader can use to build momentum that lasts.

In this episode: 

• How to shift from activities to outcomes that a CFO and CRO will back 

• How to own pipeline with clear SQO definitions, shared attribution, and consistent follow-up 

• How to stand up RevOps as “Switzerland,” with shared KPIs, fast handoffs, and five-minute speed-to-lead targets

Plus: 

• Why marketing must stay on the field after the first meeting 

• How to use R&D (“rip off and duplicate”) to accelerate playbooks 

• What to hire for right now: Curiosity, learning velocity, and accountability 

• How authoritative content fuels discovery in an AI-led world

If you’re ready to build a marketing system that earns trust, investment, and results, this episode shows where to start! 

There are a lot of worries in B2B right now. AI, tight budgets, shifting search. The one that should sit near the top? Disconnected campaigns.  

Scattered themes, mixed messages, disconnected plays. Buyers can’t follow the story and impact fades fast. Integrated campaigns fix that.

In this episode, Drew brings together Kelly Hopping (Demandbase), Scott Morris (Sprout Social), and Marni Carmichael (ImageSource) to share how they make integration work at their companies. You’ll hear how one story aligns teams, builds momentum over quarters, and stays on track with shared goals and tight handoffs. By the end, you’ll come away with different ways to align message, motion, and measurement behind one story.

In this episode: 

• Kelly shares how company and pipeline goals set the theme, channels, partner plays, and internal enablement. 

• Scott explains how a hub-and-spoke campaign model unites brand and demand, and how quarterly launches turn features into a full-funnel motion. 

• Marni shares how tight SDR handoffs, quick follow ups, and clear SLAs keep campaigns from stalling in the field.

Plus: 

• How to set one message that adapts by persona without splintering the story 

• How to plan one quarter ahead so execution and enablement stay in sync 

• What to measure from awareness through to deal conversion 

• When to bring partners and customers into the narrative to lift conversion

It’s time to align every effort into connected campaigns that build momentum. Tune in! 

If you’re reacting more than leading, it’s time to rethink your strategy mindset. 

Michael Watkins joins Drew Neisser to explore how CMOs can evolve from tactical executors to strategic leaders. Hear how to develop enterprise thinking, lead across silos, and apply Watkins’ RPM model to every level of your marketing org. 

Want more? Check out the rest of the conversation on YouTube. 

What You’ll Learn 

• How to apply the RPM (Recognize, Prioritize, Mobilize) model to level up strategic thinking 

• The difference between enterprise leadership and functional execution 

• Why most marketers struggle with long-term thinking—and how to fix it  

Wearing the CMO+ hat rewires the role. You pick up a second lane, your calendar tightens, and perceptions shift from “just the marketer,” a label no one should wear, to business leader. 

The path is demanding, but when the plus lines up with company priorities and earns trust across the business, the impact is unmistakable.

In this episode, Drew sits down with Sandy Ono, EVP and CMO at OpenText, who leads global marketing across ten business units while also owning partnerships and alliances. She treats both as one go-to-market, aligning partners and the field around a single story, running the forecast together, and keeping a steady rhythm so co-selling and co-marketing stay aimed at the same targets.

Three Actions Behind Sandy’s CMO+ Success:

1. Mindset: Claim growth as the job and step closer to revenue through partnerships 
2. Skillset: Learn forecasting, deal construction, and the weekly rigor of partner sales 
3. Toolset: Build the operating rhythm that connects co-selling, co-marketing, and accountability at scale 

Plus: 

• How to choose a plus that aligns with company growth priorities 

• How to juggle both roles with capacity planning and clear priorities 

• How to protect brand integrity while telling a shared story with partners 

• How to measure progress with sourced pipeline, influenced revenue, retention, and feedback loops into product 

Weighing a plus or already living one? You’ll find proven moves here. 

If you’re a B2B CMO, you can meet Sandy and another 100 incredible marketing leaders at the CMO Super Huddle in Palo Alto, California on November 6th and 7th. She’ll be speaking on a panel about how CMOs are leading the charge with GenAI.