Tag: renegade

Here’s Why Your Brand Must Deliver on a Marketing Promise

Posted on by Drew Neisser

Creating the perfect marketing promise is one of the biggest goals for CMOs. But a marketing promise without a product to back it up will not succeed. On this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Drew interviews Jennifer Deutsch, CMO of Park Place Technologies – a company that specializes in third-party data center maintenance. She shares her experiences in pairing the perfect marketing message with a brand-changing product and it’s an episode you don’t want to miss.

Jennifer shares her expert opinion on how your team can identify the “aha moment” for your brand. She and Drew also discuss how sales leads are directly connected to marketing and the importance of simple marketing.

Learn from Jennifer’s recent success with marketing promises – click here to listen now.

What You’ll Learn

A product MUST deliver on your marketing promise, or else it won’t succeed

If your CEO says “we don’t have a new product, but we need a new campaign” – consider finding a new company. Marketing without a deliverable promise isn’t really marketing, and it won’t make an impact on your customers. It’s the CMO’s job to find a position that supports a new product and then deliver on that marketing promise. A stellar new product and a foolproof marketing plan create a 1-2 punch that will fundamentally change perceptions about your brand.

Anticipating your customer’s needs will allow you to crush your competition

Jennifer and her team at Park Place Technologies have created the perfect tagline for their latest product and marketing releases, “Up-time is everything.” They recognized that for data centers and technology companies, “downtime” (where servers and technology aren’t functional because of repairs or unplanned incident) directly equates to lost profit. Jennifer and her team decided to passionately pursue the idea of “up-time” and make it a new cornerstone for Park Place Technologies. That was their “aha brand moment.”

On this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Jennifer explains her process for internal and external rollout after identifying customer needs and creating a marketing campaign to support the product. They spent 1 month explaining the “why” and the inspiration behind the new campaign. This allowed internal audiences to buy into the new direction. Then, the global external rollout followed with digital and print marketing efforts. Combining these two rollout plans, just as Park Place Technologies did, will allow your company to see the greatest levels of success when delivering on a marketing promise.

Simplicity in marketing key, but hard to master

Effective marketing begins by simply understanding what makes your audience tick. Jennifer encourages CMOs to speak their customers’ language and identify their needs. After you’ve identified those puzzle pieces you can begin to craft messages that speak to those needs. Drew and Jennifer discuss why simple marketing is as valuable as gold, but why it’s so hard to perform in the right ways. Simplicity in the right places is genius, but simplicity in the wrong marketing places isn’t strong enough to make an impression on your customers. For their solutions on how to simplify your marketing while have it be backed up by a product, don’t miss this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

Timeline:

  • [1:12] Jennifer’s diverse experience brings a high level of expertise to this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite
  • [2:35] Jennifer’s Renegade Rapid Fire
  • [12:02] How did Jennifer and her team come up with the idea of anticipating customer needs?
  • [17:46] What percentage of leads are driven by marketing?
  • [19:43] A new product launch delivers on your marketing promise
  • [23:53] How marketing & PR is directly tied to Park Place’s global leads
  • [26:24] Why simple is marketing is hard
  • [28:07] The biggest lessons Jennifer learned while at Park Place Technologies

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HealthSparq is Redefining Transparency in Healthcare Through Bringing People Together

Posted on by Drew Neisser

Risk is too-often considered a dirty word in healthcare sectors. Transparency in healthcare industries is sadly uncommon. For this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite Drew interviews a courageous thinker in healthcare that’s changing the way people think about risk-taking in healthcare, CMO of HealthSparq Burt Rosen.

Burt’s background in hospitality and education allowed him to see the massive gap in the healthcare industry – it’s wasn’t actually about helping and connecting people. By turning his company upside down and digging into the true goal of HealthSparq, Burt has launched a movement that strives to make healthcare less confusing and more transparent.

This interview will restore your faith in the healthcare system. Learn how an insatiable level of curiosity can make you successful in any industry, as well as how to know when your brand positioning has struck gold. Finally, hear the background story behind Burt’s “What’s the Fix?” conference.

Burt and Drew tackle big issues on this episode and help you unravel the transparency in healthcare issues. Be sure to give it your full attention. Click here to listen now!

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Redefining HealthSparq’s brand story in order to identify their true niche

Burt learned about the importance of connecting with people and caring for them during his careers in education and hospitality. When he joined the HealthSparq team he recognized the need for a massive redefinition of the brand. Rather than talk about the specifics of the tools the company offers, Burt wanted to talk about the impact the tools has on the actual human using them. That’s why HealthSparq’s tagline is now “Helping people make smarter healthcare choices.” No matter how powerful research tools or cost calculators may be, if they’re not helping people feel more comfortable and confident in their own decisions, the tool is not serving the greater brand purpose. Burt’s understanding of person-first business is unparalleled and you’ll enjoy hearing him passionately talk about this idea on this episode.

Transparency in healthcare is key because it’s so personal to people and their families

HealthSparq’s marketing team realized that healthcare should not be impersonal. Everyone has a healthcare story – they should be positive and comforting tales, not riddled with confusion and frustration. Burt believes that the professionals in the industry should be framing every decision in regards to the customer and patient. This underlying belief drives everything HealthSparq creates. HealthSparq knows that people of every age and from every walk of life want the same things. They want to be taken care of, they want good service, and they want transparency. Changing a decades-old industry is not for the faint of heart and to hear how Burt is conquering this task be sure to listen to this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

How a simple focus group idea turned the healthcare industry upside down

In every other industry, focus groups and panel questioning is commonplace. In the healthcare sector? Not so much. An idea for a public focus group left long-standing industry professionals baffled. When the first few HealthSparq-sponsored panels drew in massive amounts of feedback and stories it sent shockwaves through the industry. These panels soon morphed into Burt’s passion project, the “What’s the Fix?” conference. This conference, with the second one being held in May 2018, strives to connect actual people to industry leaders. Making people smarter about healthcare and the decisions they make for their families is always a move in the right direction. Burt’s excitement about the conference is contagious and this episode is sure to leave you inspired.

What You’ll Learn

  • [0:30] Drew’s introduction of Burt Rosen, CMO of HealthSparq, and why risk shouldn’t be a dirty word in healthcare
  • [1:40] Why Burt embraces risk in healthcare and what attracted him to the industry
  • [4:08] You can learn the skills necessary for any industry if you understand marketing and have an insatiable curiosity
  • [8:13] Identifying HealthSparq’s true niche through risk-taking rebranding
  • [12:01] Uncovering what people really want out of healthcare through public focus groups
  • [23:19] The importance of investing in face-to-face interactions with actual people
  • [26:24] Storytelling at HealthSparq and why it’s so critical for Burt and his team
  • [30:01] How a low-budget conference became a massive movement in the healthcare industry
  • [34:10] Everything starts with the positioning of the brand
  • [37:38] Burt shares what’s next for HealthSparq and the What’s the Fix? conference

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Top 4 Best Practices for Creating the Best Marketing Organization Structure, Learned from Mindtree’s CMO

Posted on by Drew Neisser

Drew’s conversation with Paul Gottsegen, Executive VP and Chief Marketing/Strategy Officer of Mindtree, will provide new CMOs with a step-by-step playbook for creating the best marketing organization structure possible. Paul provides listeners with 4 best practices to follow for ultimate success in digital, content, and social marketing.

Paul explains that “I’ve learned everything by making every mistake in the book.” Don’t repeat his mistakes, learn from his experiences. Those experiences have allowed him and his team to bring in over 100,000 sales pipeline leads over the past few years. The company’s stock value has quadrupled, and Mindtree has become a globally trusted brand.

Learn from one of the industry’s best experts on this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite. Click here to listen now!

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#1: Find out what your CEO/Executive Board’s marketing expectations are

A CMO should not spend a single dollar or make a single decision until they determine what goals the company leadership team has for marketing. By having their expectations outlined ahead of time, you’ll save time, energy, and resources. Paul struggled with conveying the true importance of marketing to Mindtree’s executive board, but he summarized it by saying, “Marketing isn’t easy! If it was, everyone would be doing it in amazing ways. You just have to keep pushing good content, having great interactions, and build company credibility.” This mindset needs to be conveyed to company leaders before any of the other best practices can be implemented.

#2: Build the best marketing tech stack infrastructure you can afford

Once marketing expectations and goals are established, a CMO should focus on building the best marketing tech stack possible. Paul explains that marketing professionals should “hire and fire tech stack tools quickly; don’t just sign a longer contract for a better deal!” He goes on to explain that many organizations forget about the staffing needs that come along with every tech stack tool and that every tool should provide quality metrics. Your tech stack should always be evolving and changing to fit the needs of the company.

#3: Focus on building a competitive brand

Clear marketing expectations and having the right infrastructure then allows a CMO to focus on building a competitive, trusted global brand. Paul explains that small marketing organizations shouldn’t immediately focus on going toe-to-toe with brand 10x-20x larger than they are. That growth will come in time. However, every brand does need to focus on telling a better story that explains why YOU can solve a customer’s problem better than anyone else. Marketing can and should be about more than securing contracts. It’s about building a reputable, trusted, expert brand. All of this can be accomplished by following these 4 best practices, fully explained in the audio for this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

#4: Don’t be afraid to partner with experts and empower your team

Even the CMO of Mindtree wasn’t afraid of turning to outside experts when he and his team hit a wall. There are thousands of qualified professional marketers that can provide third-party insights into your organization. Empowering your team to become experts in different areas is also immensely beneficial to a marketing organization’s structure. Specialties are great, employee silos aren’t. Your team should be just that, a team, all focusing on one common goal. This final best practice is best heard from Paul himself, so don’t miss this episode.

What You’ll Learn

  • [1:38] Drew’s guest introduction and why this episode is a playbook for marketing organization structure
  • [4:45] Paul’s biggest challenges as a new CMO and how he learned the best marketing lessons
  • [10:50] Hidden costs to tech stacks that often go overlooked
  • [13:37] How can a small B2B company develop a competitive brand?
  • [17:58] Making Mindtree’s tagline, “Welcome to possible,” become reality
  • [20:26] Paul’s proudest moment of marketing execution at Mindtree
  • [23:57] Utilizing metrics and how to drive more leads to the sales pipeline
  • [30:12] The biggest area of uncharted territory in B2B marketing
  • [34:23] Paul’s 2 do’s and 1 don’t for CMOs

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Best Strategies to Improve Your Marketing Technology Stack

Posted on by Drew Neisser

In this second installation of Drew’s interview with Eric Eden, CMO of Receipt Bank, they discuss additional strategies to improve your marketing technology stack. Be sure to listen to part 1 of this conversation on episode 71 of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

You have to have the right technology stack in place in order to be effective in today’s B2B marketing environment. After securing a budget and receiving buy-in from company leadership teams, selecting the right pieces to add to your stack is the next big step.

There are countless programs and applications available, but CMOs must avoid getting caught up in the newest, shiniest options on the market. By identifying your organization’s marketing and revenue goals you can then decide which programs will help you achieve those goals. Hiring the right staff and giving them the right training will ensure these pieces will positively impact your marketing efforts, which will drive leads to your sales team.

Don’t miss the engaging conclusion to Drew’s conversation with Eric – be sure to catch this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite. Click here to listen.

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Marketing technology stack additions are expensive and extensive – ensure you know what it entails upfront to avoid disappointments later on

Adding a new piece to your organization’s marketing tech stack puzzle can be a complicated, lengthy process. In order to receive the highest level of buy-in from company executives, they have to understand all of the costs associated with the new product. Eric explains to Drew that CMOs have an organizational responsibility to outline all of the costs of the purchase, implementation, and staffing so that other key organization members are not caught off guard later on in the process. It’s better to have to fight harder for new team members upfront than try to secure additional budget figures after committing to a piece of technology. To hear Eric fully explain why being upfront when considering a new piece of technology is so critical, don’t miss his interview on this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

Why the people you hire to manage the technology can make or break its success

Very few companies already have the necessary team members in place to handle a new piece of marketing technology. Drew and Eric discuss the importance of having multiple employees that can handle writing a campaign, implementing the campaign, and then analyzing and reporting on the data. If you only rely on one employee to handle these tasks the chances of critical information going unnoticed rises significantly. Your organization’s tech stack team needs to be flexible, highly skilled, and knowledgeable about areas such as system security and data flow. CMOs need to be able to convey this necessity to company leadership in order for new tech stack pieces to be most effective. Eric explains that “You’ll avoid countless problems by hiring the right people with the right skills.”

Avoid “new and shiny” distractions to focus on what your business truly needs

There is an abundance of programs on the market that can satisfy any B2B marketing need. But Drew and Eric urge listeners of this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite to not be distracted by the “latest and greatest” programs or products. As the CMO of your company, you have the responsibility of identifying what it is you want to achieve and then finding a system that helps you achieve that goal. If you simply set out to build a marketing system, you can build layers forever. You should also avoid system overlap. Revenue goals and budget restrictions will also help you narrow down the available options. Finding the right piece of marketing technology and seeing it succeed within your company will be worth the extensive upfront research. You don’t want to miss this conversation and more, so be sure to give this episode your full attention.

What You’ll Learn

  • [0:30] Drew reviews part 1 of his interview with Eric Eden
  • [1:18] You have to understand all of the costs associated with implementing and staffing a new piece of technology
  • [6:03] Your tech stack team for new technology needs to be flexible and highly skilled
  • [9:54] Don’t get caught up in the new and shiny applications, focus on what systems will help you achieve your organization’s goals
  • [16:31] Narrowing your universe through account-based marketing (ABM)
  • [17:48] Using business intelligence to visualize your tech stack data
  • [20:15] Eric’s biggest frustration and challenge in B2B marketing technology stack spheres
  • [24:24] The future of B2B marketing technology and how artificial intelligence will impact the industry
  • [26:47] Final thoughts on marketing tech stack tools and the importance of product contract negotiations

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The Prophet Way of Utilizing Brand Storytelling to Engage With Audiences

Posted on by Drew Neisser

David Aaker, known as “Father of Modern Branding,” discusses the idea of B2B brand storytelling and being able to convey engaging messages on this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite hosted by Drew Neisser.

As the Vice Chairman of marketing consultant giant Prophet and renowned author, David has decades of experience in reinventing the way a company shares its brand message. He explains to Drew the importance of balancing hard facts with emotions as well as emphasizes the importance of becoming a brand other companies want to be associated with.

David also shares multiple personal stories that validate the importance of being a stellar brand storyteller. You don’t want to miss his explanation of how both T-Mobile and Barclay turned their companies around through brand storytelling.

David’s expertise will revolutionize your company’s way of conveying messages, so be sure to give this episode your full attention. Click here to listen.

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Why are stories so effective in engaging customers and employees?

Brand storytelling is more than just a hot topic in current B2B marketing environments. It is the key to truly connecting with your employees, partners, and customers. B2B customers feel the need to have a relationship with the business they interact with and employees need to feel that their work is important. Stories garner attention, change perceptions and attitudes, and inspire action – and stories are far more effective than fact-sharing alone. This is why your company and team need to be experts in brand storytelling. To hear the full reasoning behind why this idea is a critical issue for companies across the country, be sure to listen to this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

The importance of creating a signature story while balancing fact and emotion

When trying to convey a message, a CMO has two options: share facts or tell stories. Even though some may argue that “if it’s not fact-based how do you convince people’s it’s actually true?”, there is a balance that needs to be reached. The key in the B2B storytelling space is to either magnify the problem, offer a solution or accentuate the outcome. This can artfully be done by combining customer testimony with just enough facts to provide a reliable level of reality. Just listing data and facts is a record-keeping entry – not a compelling marketing campaign. David highlights that a signature story can be 200-300% more effective than data alone. To hear more about why brand storytelling is so impactful give this episode a listen.

Actionable items for creating brand storytelling initiatives

Take it from the best leader in storytelling. David lays out a plan to create a storytelling focus in your company on this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite. As a CMO you must first believe and buy into the power of storytelling marketing. Then you have to build a skilled team and develop an environment that allows storytelling opportunities to flourish. Drew also adds that you have to throw your content calendars away because all they do is allow you to get away with regularly producing mediocre content. Hiring a support crew that can take raw stories and turn them into engaging content can also drastically improve your storytelling ability. For more hands-on hints on brand storytelling, don’t let this episode go unlistened.

What You’ll Learn

  • [0:30] Drew introduces his guest for this episode, David Aaker
  • [2:58] Why is everyone realizing that storytelling is critically important?
  • [4:27] Why is a story so important in engaging employees?
  • [8:54] What will it take for B2B firms to recognize that story is a cultural opportunity?
  • [12:32] David’s personal stories behind effective storytelling
  • [16:39] Why does the story go away once a company reaches marketing evaluation stages?
  • [17:58] How does a brand find their signature stories?
  • [21:06] The balance between hard facts and “fluffy” emotions in storytelling marketing
  • [24:23] Actionable items behind improving your B2B storytelling marketing efforts
  • [29:13] David’s steps for creating a brand storytelling plan
  • [32:42] One of the most common problems when brands attempt storytelling marketing for the first time
  • [33:25] Drew summarizes his conversation with David Aaker

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How Arrow Electronics Reinvented Storytelling Marketing and the Importance of Taking Risks

Posted on by Drew Neisser

In order to achieve storytelling marketing success, CMOs have to be willing to take risks. Even with all of the data and metrics available to evaluate, sometimes the best ideas come directly from human intuition.

On this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Drew interviews Rich Kylberg, Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Communications at Arrow Electronics. Arrow is a $24 billion global supplier for a wide array of technology and products, and Rich has helped them break into new ways of communicating internally and externally.

Throughout this podcast, Rich explains how his background in literature allows him to see marketing campaigns in new ways and why casting a vision internally is needed before you can communicate identity externally. Arrow’s groundbreaking SAM vehicle technology is revolutionizing many industries, and you’ll be inspired by Rich’s explanation of this pursuit.

Their conversation is a perfect mix of marketing knowledge and inspiration – you don’t want to miss it. Click here to listen!

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts – Stitcher – or Podsearch.

How Rich helped Arrow create a common identity

When Rich joined the Arrow team, they had recently acquired over 130 companies and many hadn’t yet fallen in line with the overarching Arrow brand. Arrow was on the verge of becoming a holding company too comfortable in their own success, but Rich was determined to take some risks and create a guiding theme that would direct every employee and customer interaction. Thus, the phrase “guiding innovation forward” was born. Rich explains that “you have to inspire your employees before you can market your company externally” and this progress was essential for Arrow to continue growing. It created a conversation starter that is still being talked about today. To hear exactly how Rich achieved this lofty goal, be sure to give this episode a listen.

Why risk taking in marketing is so important

Rich and Drew are adamant about risk-taking in marketing – it’s one of the key aspects of being a Renegade Thinker. On this episode, Rich explains that the opportunity to attain exponential rewards are worth taking substantial risks and that the fear of mediocrity is often the driving force behind risk-taking. CMOs in any B2B environment should ask themselves these questions: What risks am I willing to take in my marketing? What will be the source of my courage? How am I going to prepare? After you consider these questions, remember that as a marketer you need to be empowered to try ideas, keep what works, and move past what doesn’t. Without risky marketing decisions, Rich and his team never could have developed the storytelling marketing campaign that moved Arrow into the future of connecting with clients and telling great stories. Be sure to discover the story on this episode.

Arrow’s innovative storytelling marketing campaign and how Rich and his team burst through the barriers they encountered

Arrow Electronics recently unveiled their latest storytelling marketing campaign, and it’s one that resonates with people across the country. When Rich and his team were connected with a former Indy Racing League race car driver who was sadly diagnosed as a quadriplegic after a crash in 2000, they came up with the SAM car technology – a car that would allow drivers with disabilities to regain their independence. When asked about the project, Rich’s team explained that “We hope the SAM car continues to drive technology innovation forward and inspire people to dream big because anything is possible.” Had Rich and his marketing team forgone risk-taking and stuck with what is “normal” and expected in the marketing industry, this amazing project never would have left the idea board. It’s sure to inspire you and your team to take marketing risks and delve into the unknown so be sure to get all of the details by listening to this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

What You’ll Learn

  • [1:25] Drew introduces his guest for this episode, Rich Kylberg of Arrow Electronics
  • [2:48] Rich’s favorite risk-taking story from his childhood
  • [8:00] How Rich’s educational background impacts his current career
  • [13:18] The story behind how Rich joined the Arrow team and how they created a common identity
  • [17:45] Taking the internal identity and transforming it into an external message
  • [21:55] Arrow’s program that brought their innovative ideas to life that enhance humanity
  • [27:30] The barriers Rich’s team encountered while developing the SAM technology
  • [33:00] Rich shares the best lessons he learned through the SAM journey
  • [37:13] Why you should bring in an outside firm to assist your company in storytelling
  • [39:51] The power of a plan on a page
  • [42:07] Drew summarizes his conversation with Rich

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