Lisa Dolbear

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Today’s leading marketers share they often feel like human salt water taffy. The never-ending question asked by the C-Suite, “Budget is even tighter this year. Do we focus on brand or performance?” As a fractional CMO supporting small-to-midsize growth businesses, more and more the correct answer is…BOTH. Want to build a company that lasts? Consider a three-layer cake, where each new layer builds on the one before it. The layers are product/service, go-to-market, and operations. Marketing isn’t magic; it’s a blend of art and science, central to connecting each layer with the others. 🎂 First layer – A product/service which resonates. Did you own a Walkman? A Discman or perhaps a Rio? The music industry forever changed with Apple’s iPod, helping customers carry portable music players on the go. Until a user friendly iTunes platform arrived, marketing could only do so much. 🎂 Second layer – Go-to-Market. Assuming you’ve got the first layer correct, if you can’t actually sell it via retail, direct sales, or an online storefront, what’s the point? Marketing takes center stage, serving as the glue to enable sales and distribution channels. Revenue soars when marketing and sales teams work in tandem akin to a baseball pitcher and catcher. 🎂 Third layer – Operations and Service Delivery. This is the steak and not the sizzle; imperative in building the right teams, financial accountability, and all the other necessary work to run the business. Harvard Business Review has stated, “the best-managed companies enjoy 25% faster growth and 75% higher productivity than those at the bottom.” Building on a previous post from my business narrator and storyteller friend, Paul Carpenter, today’s CMOs are a neverending Jack of all trades, encompassing brand strategy, positioning, activation and loyalty, customer experience and engagement, data and analytics, digital transformation, content marketing, ROI/performance metrics, research and insights, omnichannel marketing, and so much more. Marketing CAN help your business thrive, assuming you invest in all three layers. Without getting the first layer right, you shortchange revenue growth and that beautiful cake may come tumbling down. https://lnkd.in/eG36SRiR #business #marketing #whoshungry?

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Realllly smart analysis from Axios' Eleanor Hawkins on the power of internal comms in 2024. With tough sledding ahead for so many this year, the savviest C-Suite leaders are partnering up with Comms to communicate deeply, regularly and authentically about core values and value delivered rather than handwringing over how and when to take a public stance on hot-button issues. Investing in robust internal comms leads to stronger employee engagement, which makes for better recruitment and retention. And ultimately, that gives leaders a competitive edge. 💪 #StrategicCommunications #CCO #InternalCommunications #PRandComms #CSuite

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As many of you know, I love podcasting as part of my job at Real Chemistry. In fact, I've been podcasting since 2006, which is a mighty long time. So it's somewhat rare when the tables are turned and I get asked the questions (Lisa Kalfus did this masterfully several years back on our own Real Chemistry Podcast). With that as a backdrop, I have to say that I am in awe of friend and industry colleague, Dino Delic, and his ability to ask meaningful and insightful questions, and to guide a conversation as masterfully as he did. Today, he posted our conversation from a month or so ago, and I must say, I was pleased with the results. During our conversation, we cover the importance of demonstrating ROI in marketing, why it's so important to employ a test-and-learn approach to strategy and tactics and the power of live events. I hope you'll consider giving it a listen. https://lnkd.in/gRtJ7kdx

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📢 WOW. Publicis just called all of us out and I don't know why I'm happy. 😂 🤖 I've actually been proposing ChatGPT to clients who want to maximize their budget in the short term. Sure, it's efficient, but you risk sounding GENERIC, even if we try our best to humanize it. It came to a point where I just wrote the entire copy myself and told ChatGPT, "Here's what I actually want. Just use better words." 😆 ✅ Yes, it did save time. ❌ No, its content lifespan did not go beyond 24 hours. 👉 So-- I revised our social media strategy and made ChatGPT take the backseat in our project. Every time we needed content, I then made sure to: 1. Keep AI usage to a minimum (seriously, people can detect when it's AI-generated); 💻 ✏ 2. Write it myself whenever possible (linguistic nuances are gold and they maintain our audience's attention); 📝 3. Be wary of using AI for SEO (Two words: Google's algorithm); 🌐 4. Balance quality and quantity (Though all socmed platforms require us to post several times a week, I add diamond-studded content to the pile, like the good 'ol days). 💎 🔑 The key is not just balance, but also actively deciding when to use AI (or not at all). Hopefully, in the long term, this type of content will snowball to create a wider presence for our brand. 🌟

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😨 One possible theory about why ad strategists are such an existential mess Via a conversation i've had with a fellow brand strategist who's ex-ad agency and is now a management consultant, the logic flows somewhat like this: 1. In many agencies, the value if strategy is tied to the quality of the output that is made at a creative level. 2. Which in principle makes sense, but only to the extent that you actually help produce a) work b) that is good work. 3. On the other hand, you don't always produce work but you make a profit, because every project is either about fame or funds in the bank. 4. (Some projects, however, are neither, which is a fun awkward conversation to have at the end of the quarter). 5. So what happens when budget cuts happen a lot (hello 2023/24) and therefore strategists do a lot of thinking that leads to, er, not a lot of work? 6. You can work harder at helping the creative team make good work, but knowing full well there is only so much that is in your control (not a lot). 7. Or, you can get closer to the financial side of things but good luck getting that level of clarity and feeling like the money alone fills your soul. 8. Except if you know the money you gained is the money you earn in proportional measure, in which case you might now be a business person! The above logic is probably a good summary of how my personal mindset around the value of strategy has been evolving. And, extreme personal bias here, i am increasingly convinced than i don't want my value to just be tied to whether there's an ad at the end of it. For some, this will be the focus of the job, and i ain't judging that. But the other side of this is being able to demonstrate you influenced people's decisions, not just helped produce a tangible creative product. I suspect it will never be just one or just the other (i do love me some tangibility), but it matters to know where on the scale we feel most at home.

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At the core of your digital strategy is your website. Creating the right mix of #marketing strategies to help find new customers and get your website the attention it deserves is crucial to #business #success.

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Making the jump from director to VP is arguably the hardest thing to do in marketing. I was talking with an executive coach a few weeks ago at Adobe Summit, and she told me that only about 15% of marketing directors make the jump to VP. She said it's often due to gaps in strategic thinking and gaps in leadership skills. But the challenge we were opining on was that EVERYONE wants to be a VP. People ask me all the time how I made the jump. But before I do, here are some key differences to know. 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫: Focuses on running specific tactics to achieve the strategy 𝐕𝐏: Defines the long-term vision and the strategy to get there 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫: Leads within the marketing team (outside when necessary) 𝐕𝐏: Collaborates with exec peers on a daily basis 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫: Focuses on KPIs (leads, pipeline, conversion rates, etc.) 𝐕𝐏: Monitors broad business metrics (CAC, LTV, payback period, etc.) 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫: Manages relationships with internal teams and external vendors 𝐕𝐏: Manages relationships with the other execs and the board 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫: Executes positioning strategies through campaigns and tactics 𝐕𝐏: Understands the market/landscape, then positions the company So, how can you prepare yourself to jump? 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥) 𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧 You must know your business, not just marketing. Learn things like budgeting, P&L, forecasting, etc. Also, learn how to be a great partner for sales, CS, product, etc. 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨 Interpret complex data and use your past experience to make decisions (must use both!), then act! 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐧 "𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩" 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 This could be an entire post, but start here: communication, coaching and managing, self-awareness, empathy, courage... Some can be learned quickly with a course, others only come with experience. Sorry, no shortcuts. 𝐁𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞-𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫 Stay updated with the latest marketing trends, tactics, strategies, tech, etc.. If you want to remain relevant, you must always be learning. 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞  I'm a big believer of "are you the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with." And that includes the people in your social feeds, in your ears (ie podcasts), in communities, etc. What would you add? .

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Wow, I can’t disagree with the premise of this article more. I’m glad to see there are some dissenting voices in this article who rightly called out the additive benefits of AI to media buyers. There are so many painful mundane tasks including reporting and basic optimizations that AI can streamline. It’s time to further automate these tasks and free these digital marketers to be strategists. https://lnkd.in/eTTQCirf

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Should marketers be okay with non-transparent agency revenue practices, as long as they are acknowledged? When it comes to principal-based buys the marketer bears all of the risks for the potential to "improve efficiencies" that cannot be wholly substantiated. Can a marketer ever really know the impetus behind an agency's recommendation for principal-based media decisions and whether or not it is in the client's or the agency's best interest?

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🚨 WARNING Re: Non-Competes! 🚨 The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has just rolled out a major update to its rules on non-compete clauses, and this change is poised to shake things up for everyone — from marketers to consultants, actors to the folks next door. THE GOOD: Non-compete agreements have often shackled low-income and gig workers to unfair financial and working conditions. For instance, some telemarketing companies have locked their employees into long-term contracts under the guise of protecting "proprietary" scripts, severely limiting their ability to move to better opportunities. This change can free many from such exploitative practices. Here's who stands to benefit: 🌟 Marketers & Freelancers: Say goodbye to being tied down! More freedom to choose clients and pivot your strategies without legal overhead. 🌟 Consultants: Take your expertise wherever it's needed without worrying about stepping on contractual toes. 🌟 Actors & Creatives: Jump freely between projects and collaborations. This means more opportunities to shine in diverse roles. 🌟 Everyday Workers: This change empowers you to seek better opportunities without the fear of legal repercussions. This is a WIN for workplace freedom and innovation. It’s about more than just switching jobs; it's about reshaping our professional landscapes into spaces that foster growth and creativity. 🌱 🚨 BUT, WAIT! HERE'S THE WARNING 🚨 While this opens up significant opportunities (hello, quick CA$H!), it's crucial for professionals like marketers, press reps and consultants to navigate these changes CAREFULLY. THE BAD: Non-competes have their place. Consider a marketing consultant learning trade secrets from one major brand and then jumping ship to a competitor. BE ADVISED: If you take ad info or data sets from one client and use it for another, you're not just breaching trust, you're breaking the law [and I know first-hand that non-competes kept people safe - or at least reminded them of this fact!] 🤔 What Does This Mean? While it's tempting to take immediate advantage of these new freedoms, it's wise to think strategically. The professional world is small, and relationships matter: Today’s competitor could be tomorrow’s collaborator. 🌟 So, chase that bag, secure your coin, but remember: proceed with caution. Balance your short-term gains against your long-term career goals. Burned bridges can limit future pathways. Be wise. . . . . . . . . #FTCUpdate #NonCompete #CareerAdvice #StrategicMoves #pr #marketing #ads #smm #influencer #contentcreation #strategy #consultant #ftc #freemarket #entrepreneur #safety #news

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I have this little speech I give about how 3, 5 and 7 are magic numbers. DYK the reason telephone numbers are 7 digits is because that's about as many as the average person can remember? The prefix becomes a constant. Five is nature's favorite number (after the Golden Ratio anyway). You have five fingers and five toes on each hand and foot and when you stretch them all out with your head held aloft, you take the shape of a pentagram. Try to think of a mammal that doesn't share this trait. When you add two fives together you get 10 which is the basis for modern mathematical thinking (base 10 is the universal math language). And then there's 3. Good old number three. Sort of unassuming. Isn't three just the first prime? No! It's actually a governing principle of how we tell stories. I was reminded of this this am when I watched StudioBinder's excellent YouTube clip "The Rule of Three Explained: Why Three is Key to Comedy, Storytelling and Character." Once you see it you won't be able to unsee it. More importantly, there are numerous lessons to be learned if you want to be an effective communicator. Story form is at its heart about selling an idea.

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Make It "Less Huggy And More Hi-fivey" Years ago I was head of marketing for a tech company. While in the throes of a complete website rehaul our team received this sweet morsel of feedback: “Can you make it less huggy and more hi-fivey?” Granted, it was an improvement from the dreaded "make it pop" or “I don’t love it” but it most definitely led to a lot of WTF creative head-scratching. From that moment I was determined to make the feedback process less “I want to stab myself in the eye with a spoon” and more “I love this journey for us.” Good communication is a two-way street that starts when you ask for feedback. Simply punting a deliverable and asking for “your thoughts” is a surefire way to get a list of vague, all-over-the-place, nonsensical edits. If you want actionable feedback, be clear and intentional in your ask. Check out these gems that I include with the deliverable whenever I am seeking feedback: · Be Specific: Avoid vague statements like “make it better” or “I don’t like the vibe.” Instead, focus on specific elements and provide detailed comments. For example, “The headline font is hard to read; can we use a bolder typeface?” · Focus on Objectives: Keep the project’s goals in mind. Relate your feedback to how well the deliverable meets the objectives. For instance, “The call-to-action isn’t prominent enough to drive conversions.” · Use Examples: If possible, provide examples of what you’re looking for. Reference other works or provide visuals that illustrate your point. For example, “This layout is great for readability: [insert link or image].” · Prioritize: Identify which issues are most critical and which are minor. This helps in focusing efforts on the most impactful changes. For example, "The overall structure is good, but the navigation needs urgent improvement." · Consider the Audience: Think about the target audience for the asset. Provide feedback based on their preferences and needs. For example, "Our target audience prefers straightforward language, so let's simplify the text." · Ask Clarifying Questions: If you're unsure, ask questions. This can help you understand the intent behind certain design choices and provide more informed feedback. · Check Yo’self Before You Wreck Yo’Self: Ask yourself, “Am I making it better or different?” If you answer “better,” carry on. If you answer “different,” consider skipping this piece of feedback. Next time you're on the giving or receiving end, remember: a little clarity goes a long way. And make sure to aim for that perfect balance between huggy and hi-fivey. #feedback #design #marketing

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Shockingly, this Fast Company article says that consumers would rather talk to a human than an AI chatbot (I do wish they'd fix the typo "excepted" in the beginning to "expected"). Possibly that's because the chatbot generally does a miserable job at helping with issues. Often, even the live agents are quite limited, and getting to a person who can actually help feels nearly impossible. At least once you're talking to a person you have the *chance* of being transferred to a person who listens to the problem and can figure out how to help. https://lnkd.in/gBQ2mS6J #AI #chatbots #liveagents #customerservice (Once again, I will decline LinkedIn's offer to "rewrite with AI.")

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Decode Your Audience's Financial Mindset: How Money Scripts Drive Conversions   You've probably heard the advice to write with one avatar in mind: understanding the client profile and writing as if addressing one person - like your uncle Bob.   That’s good advice, but for financial copywriting, you could delve deeper and write to clients' Money Scripts.   This is based on research from Dr. Brad Klontz and can be very powerful because:   • They are learned in childhood. • They are passed down from generation to generation. Ours come from our parents, and we pass them to our children. • They are responsible for our financial outcomes. We make important decisions with our money because of them. • They are typically unconscious. We usually don’t even know we have them.   Money Scripts are deep-seated beliefs about money that influence financial decisions. Let's break them down:   Money Avoidance: This belief suggests that money is inherently bad or that one doesn't deserve it. Cash often evokes fear, anxiety, or disgust.   Money Worship: Those who adhere to this notion believe that an increase in income or financial windfall would solve their problems.   Money Status: Concerned with the link between self-worth and net worth. This script can lock individuals into a competitive stance of acquiring more than those around them.   Money Vigilance: Linked to alertness, watchfulness, and concern about money, with a sense that one must be cautious of spending trouble or danger. This approach may encourage saving and frugality.   Understanding these Money Scripts is crucial for effective financial copywriting. Before you start writing, consider the financial service or guru you're promoting and how it aligns with a potential Money Script.   For example, if you're promoting a Gold investment, investors who are "gold bugs" likely lean towards Money Vigilance. They believe in gold's stability amidst economic uncertainties.   Similarly, for Day-Trading promotions, if your guru flaunts a lavish lifestyle and promises rapid returns, you could tap into the Money Worship script—appealing to those enticed by quick gains and high rewards.   By crafting your message to resonate with your audience's Money Script, you'll create more impactful and persuasive financial promos.   Here is the reference if you want to check it out: Money Beliefs and Financial Behaviors: https://lnkd.in/dqtcapvC

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My friend and fearless content marketing expert, Jenny Magic, is working on a survey about change fatigue and corporate project management. It takes just a few minutes. She's hoping for 500 responses and is about halfway there. 👏 I just took the survey and it's worth every bit of the 3 minutes. ⏱️ So many points I can relate to, and I'm sure you will, too! Employee burnout is real, and Jenny needs your insight to convince leaders to invest in change management support on EVERY project. 💯 It's a lot of work to gather this data. Every response counts — help Jenny today! https://lnkd.in/gVyyB5-c

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Companies hiring CMOs often ask the finalist candidates to do presentations. These sessions are controversial, optional, and often very revealing and maddening in equal measure! I've structured and attended all manner of these sessions. Some tips from the recent piece I wrote on 'The Anatomy of a Successful CMO Candidate Finalist Presentation.' Pro tips for companies: 1) Structure the guidance to be relevant to your business challenges but also candidate-friendly 2) Make yourself accessible during preparation 3) Observe HOW the candidate educates you and tackles the project; your CMO is also a chief marketing education officer 4) Don't make up your mind too fast on who the 'winner' is: candidates can surprise you 5) Reserve ample room for dialogue in the session Pro tips for candidates: 1) Demonstrate both high-level strategic vision and the ability to translate that into execution and details and measurement 2) Engage in advance if that's an option to get input and provide a preview 3) Be overly-explicit about how your content connects to their challenges 3) Be confident: make yourself and the team comfortable 4) Engage the group; don't just talk AT them 5) Say that you want the job, if that's the case. Make the team feel special! 6) Allay any objections that have come up in the process What have you found works well in these sessions? https://lnkd.in/e-RwGm5d

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I’m a little concerned we’re in the midst of a stupid advertising trend... I recently wrote about an ad campaign that LinkedIn is running in support of their own targeted advertising product. The ad shows an older woman and has the tagline, "Your Mom thinks 'cloud sales' is a weather forecast." Then a subhead, "Not everyone gets B2B..." The implication, of course, is that your mother is a complete moron, because ha ha ha. I talk sometimes about how you are much, much better off making a concept the "enemy" that your product is fighting, rather than a person. "Repetitive tasks" is a good enemy, "Martha in Accounting" is a bad enemy. With this LinkedIn ad - What kind of company makes “Mom” the enemy??? And how unbelievably dumb is your mother that she would think “cloud sales” is a weather forecast? Even if she didn’t know what “cloud sales” was (I guess it’s a term for someone who sells AWS?) why would she think it’s a weather forecast? And why would LinkedIn suggest that businesses are mistakenly advertising to your mother? And why wouldn’t your mother “get” B2B? Oh - and “Mom” is only capitalized when it replaces a name, not when used as a common noun. (Not everyone gets grammar, LinkedIn.) Then this week, a Gobbledy reader sent me the ad below (from a newspaper!) from Mimecast, which also uses an image of an older woman to suggest "technological idiot." I get where they’re going with this. And I get where LinkedIn was going with their creative. But it also shows why we generally say that the “enemy” in a marketing strategy should be a concept - having the “enemy” be represented by an actual person is incredibly tricky to pull off. In the Mimecast ad, I keep thinking, “If Debby is such a moron, why don’t they just fire her?” And now the message of the ad is - Protect your company from the old tech-ignorant women who work there. I guess we're not past this kind of nonsense yet?

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