For our first issue we close with Marketing Society Chief Executive, Gemma Greaves, sharing leadership lessons she has learnt from our brave global network over the past twelve months
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Courageous and inspiring marketing leaders are everywhere. I see them pushing boundaries, tackling taboos and having those uncomfortable conversations. Brave is something we champion at The Marketing Society, and something I know many of us are trying to be on a daily basis. But it is good to reflect and ask ourselves, why is brave leadership so important?
Michele Oliver, Global Corporate Brand & Purpose Director at Mars, and one of our board members in the UK, perhaps put it best: “If we’re not brave, we’ll become obsolete.” The future leader has to be able to take chances, go against the norm, and bring humanity to a faceless corporation. This is the most powerful way a company can make a meaningful connection with its audiences, and that as we all know is the life blood of any brand.
Bravery means different things to different people. I believe bravery makes us better as individuals, as leaders and as an industry. It pushes us to challenge our thinking, to seek out creative solutions and recognise the humanity in our industry. For me it’s the small steps every day that take us outside our comfort zone - for some that’s saying no, being prepared to be unpopular, for others its being the lone voice and advocating whats right for your brand and your customers.
More than ever before, there are leaders that believe that brands can grow businesses. That brands can have meaningful conversations with the people that matter to them. The best leaders I have met are also the bravest. It is the one big thing our most successful marketers have in common.
The world we live in is increasingly fragmented. From political and economic uncertainty to the looming consequences of climate change. Against this turbulent backdrop, the way we do business is changing at a staggering pace too.
We know digital transformation poses the biggest opportunity but also the greatest threat to our industry. Today’s consumer demands that brands have a purpose beyond profit and bring about positive change. We recognise that the role of the marketing professional is changing dramatically, increasingly, CMOs are having to wear a lot of different hats. Change-maker, brand guardian, the voice of the customer, communications specialist, data ninja, digital guru, growth driver, value creator, collaborator. The list goes on. And it’s getting longer.
In our uncertain times, being courageous and representing the voice of the customer is something that Debbie Hewitt, Non-Executive Director of BGL Group also believes can propel marketers to new heights. In a recent breakfast we hosted she said, “This is marketing’s moment, I predict more CEOs will be from a marketing background in the next ten years than in the last forty combined”.
Each year at The Marketing Society, we host awards to celebrate the best of the best in our industry. I was recently reading one of our shortlisted candidates for our 2019 One to Watch award. In this case, the CMO behind the brief had said, “I want to see work so brave it could get me fired.”
Innovative brands are the ones that push boundaries when it comes to creativity. The ones that challenge the way things have been done.
We should look at campaigns like Nike’s Nothing Beats a Londoner (below) and think if these brands can do it, so can we. Kenny Jacobs, CMO at Ryanair, says, “I don’t think enough CMOs take on Google, and I think businesses need to be willing to take them on. Business needs to be brave.”
There are rewards for pushing boundaries too. In 2018, our Grand Prix winner was Bodyform’s #BloodNormal campaign.
On their first impression of the campaign, the Global Brand Communication Manager had said, “I’m going to lose my job, but let’s do it anyway.” They are the marketers who are leading the rallying cry for our industry, the people who are driving growth in their businesses by being innovative and creative.
They are those who stand taller than their peers, consistently and tirelessly representing the customer within their organisation.
It is not simply about holding your nerve when political events send shareholder confidence spiraling downwards and put a squeeze on customer spending. It means being brave with career decisions. It means being prepared to get to know the other areas of the business as well as your own. It means getting to know your chief financial officer or finance director. It means understanding what makes your CEO excited. It means accepting opportunities within the business that scare you. It means being strong enough to hire somebody better than you.
Chris Pitt, Head of Marketing at HSBC UK, said, “Bravery doesn’t seem risky for marketers – it seems like the only sensible option.”
At the same time, brave leadership is about finding the balance between resilience and vulnerability. It’s about thinking, “Yes I can do it” and “No, I am not going to take that”. Because otherwise we will return to the status quo, which is not good for business.
As Brené Brown says (left), vulnerability is the most important trait in leadership. And I’m a big believer in the benefits of being able to be your whole self at work and not be afraid to admit to vulnerabilities - it is about being you so others can be them.
And it starts with the power of caring about what you do. It starts with the important conversations we’re having today; sharing stories, talking about what really matters. We know there is power in the collective, find the other people, like you, who care. The Aristotle quote, “Do nothing, be nothing” springs to mind.
And in these times of uncertainty, I believe together we can make a difference because now it’s time to start doing as well as talking.