Renegade Thinkers Unite: Marketing Tips From Cmos And Expert Marketers

We haven’t had a Drew-on-Drew episode in a while, so buckle in for a meta-conversation between Question-Drew and Answer-Drew for episode 250! That’s right, Renegade Thinkers Unite has reached episode two-five-zero, and with so many interviews over the years, Drew has tracked the challenges that B2B CMOs have faced as well as the solutions they’ve implemented to lead their organizations to greatness.    Pulling together these insights as well as those gleaned from Renegade Thinkers Live discussions and the confidential conversations at CMO Huddles, Drew reflects on three core issues that B2B CMOs are facing these days. Tune in to learn how CMOs are working to recruit and retain top talent, lead hybrid workforces, and preparing to meet their CEO’s growth expectations for 2022. For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

It takes special care to brew a post-acquisition stew. B2B brands need to determine how to properly blend the newly acquired brand into the established mix without jeopardizing the integrity of the branded house, and without losing the equity and loyal customer base of its sub-brand. In today’s episode, CMOs Grant Johnson of Emburse, Kevin Ruane of Precisely, and Joshua Leatherman of Service Express share how they’ve successfully consolidated newly acquired brands, reflecting on best practices and mistakes made around the B2B world as companies work to build branded house empires. Tune in for a ton of great tips for B2B brand consolidation, from how to measure the value of an acquired brand to how to protect SEO equity in the process. For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

Transitioning from startup to scaleup sure does come with its growing pains. Marketing teams are stretched as they recruit for new and necessary functions, systemize demand gen efforts, and update their brand story in the market. Add in a global pandemic, a team spread across nine time zones, and a competitive labor market and you’ve got yourself an immense challenge. For Bynder CMO Andrew Hally, this is not his first rodeo. Bringing in lessons learned from scaling up at Allego, Andrew shares how his team adapted to advance the brand’s growth phase in style. This is a fascinating episode about the marketing strategy behind two different scaleups, as well as why leading starts with listening and how to optimize intent signals in your category. Don’t miss it! For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

You’ve no doubt heard of Honeywell, the publicly traded, multinational conglomerate among the Fortune 100 and list of top 100 US federal contractors, with stock in both the Dow and S&P. Around since 1906, Honeywell is a mega brand, bringing in over $32 billion in revenue with a global workforce of over 110,000. But what is it that Honeywell does exactly? That was the marketing challenge Joe Toubes encountered when taking on the VP of Global Marketing role in 2019—the market still associated Honeywell with a product it didn’t even sell anymore. Tune in to learn how Toubes and his team revamped the Honeywell brand, solidifying a new message in the market and attracting top talent along the way. For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

Why should B2B organizations make employee engagement a high priority? According to Forbes, highly engaged teams are 21% more profitable. Employees that feel supported by their companies stay longer, perform better, and are less likely to get burnt out. They become cheerleaders for your brand, attracting other great talent and generating buzz that is nearly impossible to replicate any other way. In this episode, CMO Caroline Tien-Spalding of Aptology, CMO Jeff Perkins of ParkMobile, and Tanika Vital-Pringle, the founder of Brand Rebirth, discuss just how to develop employee-first cultures that will be able to withstand tough times, drive empathy, and enable employee loyalty. This profound and practical conversation is undoubtedly a lesson in the power of empathy—don’t miss it! For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

The perfect B2B marketing metrics dashboard doesn’t exist. Well, not in the way that you’d think. Every organization is at a different growth stage, has different opinions in the C-Suite, and has different strategic priorities, so it only makes sense that there’s no one-size-fits-all measurement standard out there. Savvy CMOs know this—and they also know that not everything marketing contributes can be measured—but that doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be done. In this episode, we explore which metrics matter to the CMOs at three B2B organizations: Rebecca Stone of Cisco Meraki, Chandar Pattabhiram of Coupa, and Katie Risch of Centro. This insightful discussion is about how to demonstrate the value of marketing to the C-Suite, to your organization, and to the world at large. Tune in to learn about the best “brand-quisition” metrics, the state of attribution modeling today, why employer brand metrics are really important (even if no one thinks so), and more.    For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://

In recent years, a significant percentage of consumers—from 72-76%, based on various studies—would rather bank with a local institution than a megabank. So why don’t they? According to CMO Keith Brannan, it’s because local banks marketing budgets don’t stand a chance against the punching power of their larger counterparts. That’s where Kasasa comes in, helping community banks and credit unions earn their rightful share of the market through a co-branded solution. Tune in to this fascinating episode to hear how the FinTech and marketing services brand makes buying easy for its resource-constrained customers, proof for why brands need to keep marketing in a downturn, how to use data to cross-sell and upsell a limited customer pool, and more. For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/  

FUD, you ever heard of it? No, not Elmer Fudd, the Looney Toon set on hunting that wascally wabbit Bugs. We’re talking about FUD, the acronym for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt, a marketing tactic that focuses on the dangers customers face if they don’t adopt a product. In the B2B cybersecurity world, FUD-based marketing is quite popular, and while it's effective in many cases, the negative approach can have unintended consequences on company culture and brand perception.  Enter Dan Lowden of HUMAN, Kevin Sellers of Ping Identity, and Armen Najarian of RSA, three B2B CMOs in the cybersecurity world set on throwing FUD out the door and selling instead through values-based marketing. Tune in to this fascinating episode to learn how these brands have found ingenious ways to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive market, why B2B brand values are essential to success, and more. For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

Category creation is the ultimate form of B2B brand differentiation. Think Salesforce and CRM, HubSpot and inbound marketing—these top-tier brands are the leaders in their category because they were the champions of it from the very beginning. It takes a lot of work to get there, however, and not all brands are made for category creation. This episode features three expert marketing execs who also happen to be veteran category creators—Chip Rodgers of WorkSpan, Gabi Zijderveld of Affectiva, and Bernd Leger (now at Mimecast). Tune in to learn the ins and outs of category creation, like how to engage with analysts to build credibility, how you know you’re on the right track, and how to manage competitors as a category leader. For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

If you’re a B2B marketer and you’ve never heard of Forrester, you’re probably not a B2B marketer. The world-renowned research and advisory firm has firmly established itself as one of the most influential of its kind, and in this episode, CMO Shirley Macbeth fills us in on how Forrester maintains its high status via ever-evolving brand strategy and dedicated brand activation. Having joined Forrester right when the world shut down in March 2020, Shirley dove headfirst into bringing Forrester’s Bold at Work message to life and consolidating the recently acquired SiriusDecisions without losing its loyal customer base. Not only that, Forrester’s marketing team drank its own champagne, using data to increase marketing spend and narrow down its list of key target personas from 20 to 5 (as well as its product set from hundreds to a handful). This is an awesome B2B brand story—check it out! For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

B2B success starts with carefully considered organizational design. Whether strategically allocating budget and staff across multiple marketing functions or managing a growing MarTech stack, organizational design is no easy task. In this episode, CMOs Kathie Johnson of Talkdesk, Anna Griffin of Smartsheet, and Melanie Marcus of Surescripts discuss how they’ve structured their marketing teams for today and tomorrow, aligning to C-Suite expectations and adapting to both predictable and unexpected change. Be sure to tune in to learn how the right B2B marketing structure can align Sales and Marketing teams, grow revenue, and transform marketing into an integral part of a B2B brand (and why DE&I should be a priority for building marketing teams). Check it out! For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

Powerful narratives tend to follow a 3-act story structure: the setup, the confrontation, and the resolution. Act One is about establishing characters and their challenges in the world they live in; Act Two is about the actions they take in response to said challenges; and Act Three brings the story to a climax, effectively giving characters a new sense of who they are.     In this fascinating episode, CMO Paul Stoddart lays out the 3-act story behind Epicor’s recent brand development. Tune in to learn how Epicor identified where it was lacking, discovered a new purpose that aligned its brand strategy to its business strategy, and brought its new promise to life through its employees and customers, effectively transforming the organization from the inside out. To find the transcripts of all episodes, suggest future guests, or learn more about quite possibly the best B2B marketing agency in New York City, visit https://renegade.com/​

Artful marketers don’t just chuck paint at the wall and hope people notice, they come with a full set of brushes and an eye for detail. It’s this focus that can lead to some really effective, targeted marketing campaigns, and in this episode, we’ll be exploring the medium called “Vertical Marketing.” There’s a lot to sift through when it comes to building a robust B2B vertical marketing program, but Ian Howells of Sage Intacct, Lynne Capozzi of Acquia, and Mika Yamamoto of F5 are great guides. Tune in to hear how they apply vertical marketing in the real world, where they’ve noticed mistakes, and why vertical marketing is here to stay. For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/ 

How is a CMO to roll out a new brand, purpose, and business strategy all at the same time? As Accenture’s CMO Amy Fuller says, “Instead of focusing on speed to the answer, focus on inclusion of the process.” This episode with Amy dots all the i's and crosses all the t's as she walks us through why Accenture decided to rebrand, how they developed their purpose, and how they’ve brought it to life and redefined their business strategy. With a wealth of insights into the true value of a dedicated brand development strategy, this is a lesson in one CMO’s dedication to develop an everlasting purpose for ever-changing business needs—don’t miss it! For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

Which came first, brand or demand? It's an age-old question in the B2B world, especially for B2B CMOs who understand the delicate balance between growing a powerful, lasting brand and a demand gen engine that delivers results. Enter CFA Institute, a leading association of investment professionals with a global reach and a strong brand identity. In this episode, CMO Michael Collins shares exactly how CFA balances brand and demand while managing a robust MarTech stack, adjusting strategy where needed, and tracking key metrics to maintain a healthy data-oriented alignment with the C-Suite. Tune in to hear what has worked, what hasn’t, and how CFA has driven growth within its close-knit community of Chartered Financial Analysts. For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

When CMO Heidi Bullock joined Tealium in 2019, her mandate was to grow the company from great to greater. Tealium already had a solid standing in the customer data management space when she arrived, having reached over $100 million in ARR with no plans of slowing down. Heidi dove in immediately, directly reaching out to customers and partners to figure out how to level up the brand. Tune in to hear Heidi spill the tea on how Tealium simplified its brand story, infused it into the organization, and brought it to market with a flourish. This episode is a remarkable lesson in B2B brand strategy—you don’t want to miss it! For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

Like any good magician, a great marketer never reveals their secrets. The best marketing is so good that it wows its target audience on the stage, but when that audience is a group of marketers, things become a lot trickier. It’s like pulling a rabbit out of a hat at a magician’s convention—your fellow marketers already know all the tricks of the trade, so they are that much harder to impress. In this episode, we spoke with three master CMOs of marketing to marketers: Norman Guadagno of Acoustic, Jamie Gilpin of Sprout Social, and Eric Eden of Postclick. In this insightful conversation, they share all kinds of tricks of the trade, from strategies to really engage the marketing community to how much MarTech is too much. Check it out! For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

When Johnny Smith Jr. joined Encompass Health as VP of Marketing, he was tasked with a tall order—to create a strong, growth-oriented marketing department. The change management job would involve a complete rebuild, but luckily for Encompass Health, Johnny’s strategic approach to marketing transformation and diplomatic leadership helped them align the organization in 12 months. Tune in to hear Johnny’s in-depth, step-by-step guide to building a marketing organization. From establishing guiding principles to aligning newly organized across strategic priorities, Johnny is a master in change management. Check it out! For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/ 

The executive job search is all about taking a consultative approach. For CMOs, it’s about using interviews to truly understand the pain points of an organization and to measure their values against your own. It’s about setting expectations so that, once hired, the CMO be able to deliver both quick wins and big wins that have a lasting impact. And now, Post-COVID, it’s also about doing all of those things virtually. This episode comes from a livestream we recorded in January 2021 with three guests who bring different perspectives to the CMO job search. Patti Newcomer-Small had just been hired as CMO at FMG Suite, Sara Larsen was in transition at the time (now she’s CMO of Wolters Kluwer Health), and Brandon Palmer of Discover Podium coaches CMOs looking for their next gig. Tune in to hear how the job hunt has changed post-COVID as well as an abundance of useful tips for the search and that first 90 days as a virtual leader. For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/ 

Joan Jett may not care too much about her bad reputation, but for B2B CMOs, it’s a totally different story. Marketing executives know the incredible business value of a strong brand and, like this show’s guest Rebecca Biestman of Reputation says, “Brand building and reputation building takes years and a lot of tiny acts.” In this week’s show, Rebecca joins Drew to discuss Reputation’s recent brand refresh. The reputation management brand has not only shed its “.com,” it’s also established its new purpose-packed tagline and completely rebuilt its website. Tune in to hear some key learnings, like how Reputation built a brand and a demand gen engine simultaneously, why branding work is an integral part of corporate strategy, and how Reputation’s prescriptive scoring system can help brands thrive. For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/