Category: CMO Interviews

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Marketing Giant Interview With Rob Malcolm

This Marketing Expert Interview is with a true giant of Marketing, Rob Malcolm.

He is currently the Executive in Residence at the Center for Consumer Insight and Marketing Solutions at the McCombs Business School at the University of Texas. He has been a lecturer at the Wharton Business School, Chairman for the American Marketing Association, CMO at Diageo, and spent over 20 years at P&G.

1. What company is an example of good marketing today? Who do you admire?
Two immediately come to mind – Frito Lay and Wendys. Frito has consistently outperformed based on very sound portfolio differentiation, strong unique brand propositions and timely marketing that keep these impulse brands top of mind through culturally relevant marketing. I love Wendy’s “challenger” marketing approach that is leveraging its unique product difference in very clever comparative marketing.
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Marketing Expert Interview with Margo Aaron on the Essence of Marketing

Margo Aaron marketing expert interview

Today’s interview is a little different. I usually interview marketers I have had the opportunity to know or work with for many years. A few weeks ago I stumbled across Margo’s posts on on Medium and then on her blog. I was immediately hooked by her writing style and her views on marketing, which I am proud to bring to this interview today:

1. What company is an example of good marketing today? Who do you admire?

There’s a famous saying, “When Aeschines spoke, his countrymen said, “How well he speaks.” But when Demosthenes spoke, they said, “Let us march against Phillip.”” In other words, the best marketing doing look or feel like marketing. You don’t want someone to say, “Wow that was a great ad!” you want them to say, “I need those shoes!”
Bench does a fantastic job of this, so does Masterclass.

The copy doesn’t say “Learn how to act” or “take a class on acting” – it says, “Meet your new acting teacher.” It’s speaking directly to it’s target market. They don’t want to “learn acting” – they want to get better and they who want to learn from a pro. 

2. Did you have a mentor or a person you learnt the most from? What was a key lesson?
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B2B Marketing Expert Interview with Christine Viera

B2B Marketing Expert

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Christine Viera, a B2B Marketing expert, former CMO of Kapost and current VP of Strategic Marketing and Customer Experience at Level 3. Her experience also includes companies like Oracle, Avid, and Avaya. I admire Christine for her customer centricity and her focus on content, which you will se in the interview.

 

1. What company is an example of good marketing today? Who do you admire?

I admire how Jon Miller at Engagio has changed the conversation in B2B marketing. He and his team have been central to elevating account-based marketing from a tactic to a movement. It’s exciting to see key areas of marketing become the focus on entrepreneurship. Continue reading “B2B Marketing Expert Interview with Christine Viera”

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Rishi Dave Interview: a Natively Digital Marketer

Today’s interview is with Rishi Dave, CMO at Dun & Bradstreet and former Executive Director of Digital Marketing at Dell. Rishi was named a Top Digital Marketer twice (2013 & 2012) by BtoB Magazine. I had the opportunity to meet Rishi as a co-panelist at the Brand Innovator’s Forum in Austin.  Let’s get started.

 

1.. What company is an example of good marketing today? Who do you admire?

Hubspot has done a great job of scaling the content-led inbound model and proving its economics. They practice what they preach and use what they sell.

 

2. What is your marketing superpower, the most important skill that makes you a great marketer?

I am natively digital and not encumbered by the old style of marketing.
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Michael Brenner on Content Marketing, Metrics and Empathy

Today’s Marketing Leader interview is with Michael Brenner, one of the most read thinkers on marketing, social and content marketing. Michael is the Head of Strategy for a really interesting marketing platform, NewsCred. Until recently, he was VP of Global Marketing and Content Strategy and Head of Digital Marketing for SAP Americas.

Michael is the co-founder of leading social news site Business 2 Community and creator of SAP’s Business Innovation thought leadership site. Michael contributes to leading publications such as Forbes, The Economist, and The Guardian. 

Let’s see what Michael has to say about becoming a better marketer, where marketers should focus on and on improving the marketing function:

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Marketing Leader Interview with John Ellett

John is one of the smartest technology marketers I know.  I met John back in 2001 when his company was helping us in a subsidiary of Motorola. I am delighted to have him participate in this series.

John is an advisor to CMOs, author of the CMO Manifesto, contributor for Fortbes CMO Network and CEO of nFusion, a digital marketing and advertising firm based here in Austin. John worked on the famous Charlie Chaplin advertising campaign for the original IBM PC and later was a marketing executive at Dell.

 

1. What company is an example of good marketing today? Who do you admire?

MasterCard’s Priceless Surprises, Smirnoff’s Nightlife Exchange, GoPro and RedBull all come to mind. But Samsung is my favorite because of the huge strides they’ve made and because we get to work with them.

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Marketing Leader Interview with Sam Decker

CMO Interview with Sam Decker

I had the opportunity to work for Sam at Bazaarvoice, where he was the founding CMO, and I learned a LOT from him. Today, Sam Decker,  is the founder and CEO of Mass Relevance, a company that recently merged with SpredFast to create one of the most advanced social engagement platforms.

Sam helped Dell.com become the largest eCommerce site in the world. Sam is probably the most creative marketer I know and one of the smartest. He has a great sense of humor, and most importantly, he is a great person. You will surely learn a thing or two from his answers to the interview:

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Marketing Leader Interview with Matt Heinz

Marketing Expert Matt Heinz

Today’s marketing expert Matt Heinz, president of Heinz Marketing in Redmond, Washington. Matt brings over 15 years of experience in sales and marketing. He is the author of five books on selling, social marketing, field marketing and web strategy.

Matt was recognized as one of the top 50 Sales & Marketing Influencers by Sales World in 2012. In this interview, Matt shares his thoughts on good  marketing which are based on a very complete set of the tools and strategies that make marketers successful today: from writing and content marketing to metrics and data. Enjoy. Continue reading “Marketing Leader Interview with Matt Heinz”

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Marketing Leader Interview: David Meerman Scott

David Meerman Scott Intervie

No one knows more about using the new tools and strategies to spread ideas, influence minds and build business than David Meerman Scott. His books and blog are must-reads for professionals seeking to generate attention in ways that grow their business. He is the best-selling author of titles that include The New Rules of Marketing and PR to World Wide Rave which are changing the world of public relations and influence marketing.

I am truly honored to have David share his insights with us in this interview.

1. What company is an example of good marketing today? Who do you admire?

I admire HubSpot very much. They started the company in 2006 and today, less than ten years later, they have 650 employees. There growth is all attributable to the content they create online, a strategy the teach others in the HubSpot Marketing Blog.  http://blog.hubspot.com  I admire them so much that I joined their advisory board. Continue reading “Marketing Leader Interview: David Meerman Scott”

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Marketing Leader Interview with Augie Ray

Marketing Augie Ray

Augie Ray is a good friend and a true thought leader in interactive marketing, social media and customer experience. He is a voice of customer leader at a Fortune 100 financial services firm. I met Augie when he was the lead Forrester  Research analyst covering interactive marketing and social media.

You will find Augie’s perspective refreshing and insightful.  Enjoy.

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