Renegade Thinkers Unite: Marketing Tips From Cmos And Expert Marketers

Citing a recent virtual event she attended, CMO Latané Conant of 6sense truly believes that, for marketers, “The more things change, the more things stay the same.” Now, a lot of things have changed: no more physical events, no more sales presentations, no more opportunities to bring clients together or close deals via in-person entertainment. So, what stays the same? In Latané’s opinion, what doesn’t change is the fact that, as always, marketers need to lead the charge with bold, creative marketing that works with changing circumstances to bring people together, create memorable experiences, and help get sales teams to close. For this bold episode, Latané shares how 6sense has captured demand via meaningful, community focused virtual events, why creativity is essential when marketing (especially if you’re marketing to marketers), and how to use ABM effectively without wasting anybody’s time.

Imagine a globally recognized brand (say, IBM Watson Marketing) decides to spin out and gets packaged up and purchased by private equity. Imagine said brand not only has big name recognition, but also a handful of acquisitioned companies with some seriously loyal customers. So, you’re a brand-new company with 1,000+ employees, 3,500+ customers in 21 countries, and 5 major products; you need to build an infrastructure, culture, and brand from scratch. Top that all off with a worldwide pandemic, and you’ve got one seriously big challenge ahead of you. Enter CMO Norman Guadagno. Joining Acoustic in 2019, Norman’s mandate was to create a brand, build a marketing organization, and build a company for the IBM carve-out. Daunting, yes, but in this epic episode, Norman shares how Acoustic has made a name for itself. From partnering with HR to establish a distinct culture to selling the new brand to existing customers, this jam-packed episode is a must for courageous B2B marketers everywhere.

“So, a brand walks into a bar…What drink does it order?” And no, it’s not the start of a joke, instead, it’s a question that CMO Paz Macdonald asks when thinking about brand. When she joined Software AG in 2019, it was clear that the 50-year-old enterprise software company’s brand needed a massive overhaul—they had a great reputation but poor brand awareness. It was time to stop being the brand that would order a still water at the bar, and instead order a sensible, inviting cocktail with the confidence of a globally recognized brand that knew it was making a difference. In this episode, Paz shares the story behind Software AG’s rebrand, and how a comprehensive brand audit, a completely new website, and an inspiring “living connections” message has built a well-oiled, marketing-driven organization. She also discusses B2B rebranding best practices with full transparency, like how much to involve employees, why companies should seriously consider using an outside marketing firm, and more. Check it out!

The challenges of 2020 have set the stage for big changes in 2021 (and beyond). For optimistic marketers, this means that 2020 is the fertilizer for a beautiful 2021, but it’s going to take a progressive, agile, and strategic mindset to reap the rewards. To discuss upcoming changes in the way that buyers buy and sellers sell in the context of marketing, Brent Adamson, distinguished VP at Gartner, joins Drew for his fourth episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite. Joined by a live audience, Brent answers questions about how CMOs can plan for 2021, positing that marketers shouldn’t necessarily be focused on creating high-quality content. Instead, marketers should be brokers of information and experiences, building the confidence of their customers and prospects by coaching them through a world overwhelmed by thought leadership. Be sure to tune in to this productively disruptive episode—it might just change the way you think about marketing for the better. Today’s guest CMO audience: Dux Raymond Sy (AvePoint), Mandy D

Businesses need marketing now more than ever if they want to drive top-line growth. Why? Because marketers know how to do more with less. Despite budget cuts and the shift to virtual-only communications, marketers still know how to motivate employees, generate quality leads for sales teams, and gather customer feedback to influence product. As Drew says, “Marketing to the rescue. This is your moment.” Enter CMO Katie Risch of Centro, a global software provider for digital advertisers that has grown from 3 employees to 700 in 15 years. In this episode, Katie shares how the marketing team at Centro has played a crucial role during COVID—enabling the sales team via high-quality content and enabling the product team to develop a companion product for the platform. As one of the original 3 employees at Centro, Katie also shares her unique path to the CMO role, one that has made her a dynamic leader who really understands what it means to align teams to work towards the company vision. You don’t want to miss it!

2020 was going to be the year of the brand refresh for the data and analytics company, Information Builders. CMO Carol McNerney came on board in January to help bridge the gap between the company’s 45-year history and its desired future, and despite all of the challenges this year, they’ve successfully rolled out an ambitious (and fascinatingly unique) rebrand.    In over 200 episodes, this is the first rebrand with a logo where the old name (Information Builders) is embedded into the new one (ibi). The goal was not to erase the brand’s heritage but to incorporate it into its present and future the same way that ibi’s technology promises to embed intelligence into customer data. Tune in to today’s episode to hear Carol share how ibi rebranded successfully amidst #WFH challenges—completely redoing the website, getting employees on board and excited, and launching the brand to customers in an online event with a global reach.  

It’s not easy to create your own category. It takes vision, it takes competition, and it requires the analysts’ blessings. But, if done right, category creation can differentiate your business in a big way. B2B brands that establish a new category often become the household names of said category—visionary thought leaders who are tuned into ever-evolving customer needs.  CMO Scott Brazina joins us in this episode to discuss how he’s helped create not just one, but two categories during his career. First at PTC with the product lifestyle management category (PLM) and now at Impact with partnership automation. Be sure to tune in for incredible insights into when it’s time for category creation, how to know it’s working, and how to continue standing out when competitors begin to follow your lead.    

At the beginning of 2020, Pluralsight decided it was going to give away all of its online tech courses for an entire month. The education company knew that this might negatively affect revenue, but that was a risk worth taking. After all, unemployment numbers were soaring and non-essential workers had to stay at home—this was an ideal time to learn some new skills and level up.  Pluralsight’s offering came to be known as #FreeApril, and so far it’s yielded remarkable results. 1.1 million users took advantage of the offer in markets around the world, and it didn’t cannibalize sales either. In fact, it’s helped close deals in unexpected ways and helped Pluralsight fulfill its altruistic mission: To democratize tech skills across the globe. In this episode, CMO Heather Zynczak shares how they did it, how they plan to nurture these new seeds, and why abundant generosity is the way to go. Check it out!

In case you haven’t heard, it’s time to rev up your demand generation tactics. With budgets cut and in-person lead nurturing opportunities out of the picture, it’s up to marketers to put the pedal to the metal and show their CEOs and CFOs the return of marketing investment in hard dollars i.e. closed sales from marketing-generated leads. In this episode, we’re joined by Kevin Fliess, a veteran CMO in SaaS and enterprise software who knows a thing or two about how to build an enduring demand generation engine that runs efficiently and effectively. He’s worked for SAP, Cvent, Cofense, and is currently CMO of Altum. His comprehensive insights cover everything from simple messaging to frictionless free trials to lead scoring models—as well as his take on why the brand purpose work Cofense did with Renegade last year was crucial to their COVID response.

With 25 years in the tech industry, Conversica CMO Rashmi Vittal knows a thing or two about sales and marketing alignment. She knows that it’s about “company-wide enablement” as opposed to “sales enablement.” She knows the value of a simplified product message. And she knows the common excuse, “Well, I gave leads to sales and they just didn’t do anything with them,” just won’t cut it. In this week’s episode, Drew and Rashmi discuss her nine-square “Alignment Between Sales and Marketing” grid (see below). It’s a simple yet thorough model, one that recognizes that achieving alignment is about constant evolution and clear communication. Be sure to tune in to hear how Conversica applies this grid in action, as well as how they’ve pivoted in 2020.

If you could go back in time and meet one historical figure, who would it be? For Drew, the answer is obvious: Dr. Benjamin Franklin. This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows Drew. As a proud Franklin nut, he considers the man who sold a revolution to a king to be America’s first-ever marketer. That’s why it was a no-brainer when we discovered a special “time travel” button on Zoom—we just had to give Dr. Franklin a call. For Renegade Thinker’s Unite’s 200th episode, Drew travels through time to catch up with Dr. Franklin. While covering Franklin’s life and accomplishments, they discuss the value of humor in marketing, how to lead courageously, and why relentless curiosity is key to success. Be sure to tune in for Franklin’s take on the topics of today in relation to events of the past, you won’t want to miss it!

What does B2B excellence look like in a downturn? When faced with this question, the software company Coupa quickly adopted a story of resilience. The decision to change its messaging allowed Coupa to change buying committee perspectives on its offering—if the prospect’s goal was to preserve capital and mitigate risk in the long-run, Coupa had the solution to get there. Coupa’s strategy has proven effective, and the company’s skyrocketing stock is proof. In this week’s densely packed episode, CMO Chandar Pattabhiram uncovers how they pivoted under pressure, harmonizing their messaging and releasing it to a 100% digital world. He also shares valuable insights, like Geoffrey Moore’s concept of “provocation selling,” the 4 P’s of pivoting, and how Coupa is taking action against social injustice.

While California went into shelter-in-place in early March, Talend CMO Lauren Vaccarello read an article about a popular bubble tea franchise laying off 400 workers in less than two weeks. With a self-prescribed “healthy sense of paranoia and a very strong desire to grow the business,” Lauren jumped into action. She knew that, if the company wanted to survive the long road ahead, they needed to ditch everything they were working on and start fresh, and they needed to do it fast. Talend’s new 2020 playbook reflects the power of agility in the face of a crisis. They repositioned their messaging in just ten days with full C-level support, then planned not just one, but three user conferences in under two months. Tune into this tell-all episode to learn why doing things the “wrong” way is sometimes the right one, as well as how fearless leadership and empathy are key to both short- and long-term success.

Right around mid-March 2020, every brand, B2B or B2C, had to take a cold hard look at their brand promise and consider its relevance. Was the brand promise that seemed so right in the go-go months before the pandemic suddenly tone deaf? For Jakki Geiger, CMO of Reltio, a Silicon Valley-based data management platform, the answer to that question was “yes.” Practically overnight, the idea of “winning” seemed out of step with their customers, many of whom were focused more on surviving and less on thriving. So, what’s a savvy marketer to do? In this remarkably frank episode, Geiger shares exactly how she and her colleagues shifted gears and found a new, more relevant message around “serving, protecting, and retaining.” It’s a story of agility, determination, customer-centricity, and fearless leadership that almost any marketer can learn from. Drew and Jakki cover a lot of ground including the role CMOs can play not just in driving leads (which she did) but also driving social change in areas like diversity.

If you’re looking for an example of a high-quality virtual event, you’ve got to check out Skillsoft’s Perspectives 2020. Drew did, and he was absolutely blown away by the online summit. In fact, it was so engaging that he just had to interview their CMO, Michelle Boockoff-Bajdek (Michelle BB for short) to learn more about the work that went on behind the scenes to create a global experience that rivals pre-COVID physical events.   In this episode, Michelle generously shares the details behind the making of the event, as well as other tips, like how they’re measuring its success and how they plan to use the momentum to generate demand. We’ve also got a special Q&A session with a live audience of CMOs: Gabi Zijderveld (Affectiva), Ian Howells (Sage Intacct), Holly Rollo (RSA Security), and Mark Floisand (Coveo). Check it out!

With physical events and direct sales canceled, the idea of filling the pipeline with valuable leads may seem daunting. However, many CMOs see this challenge as an opportunity to prove that it can be done digitally, and it’s become glaringly apparent that when it comes to B2B demand generation, content marketing is king. One such CMO, Richard Jones of Cheetah Digital, has made quality, valuable content his top priority. Why? Because he knows that a well-oiled content engine will not only help their salespeople find and close leads, it will also engage customers and attract new talent in profound ways. In this episode, Richard and Drew discuss everything from building your content strategy to measuring its success. There’s a wealth of valuable insights to be found, so be sure to tune in!

“Zoom, Zoom, Zoom” may seem like the title of a children’s song, but for many of us, it’s the reality of the workday—a string of Zoom meetings that take up the brunt of one’s time. And while virtual meetings have been a great way to stay connected to colleagues and hold brainstorming sessions, they can be a real hindrance to productivity. It’s important for CMOs and other leaders to help their teams Zoom smarter, not harder. In this week’s episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Smartsheet CMO Anna Griffin shares tips and tricks for facilitating effective brainstorming sessions, like starting meetings with a frame break and assigning ownership. The process passed the test, as the Smartsheet team pulled together and published their recent global survey within a week of their initial Zoom ideation session. Be sure to tune in, you won’t want to miss it.

A rebrand is not a campaign, it’s a new direction. That’s why NI (previously known as National Instruments) brought on their first-ever CMO, Carla Piñeyro Sublett—they wanted someone to guide them through the brand refresh process, to shake up their foundation and challenge their entire business strategy for the better. Knowing that this would be a bold undertaking, Piñeyro Sublett and her team, with full C-Suite support, worked from the outside-in. Then, with the help of an outside marketing agency, a cross-functional internal team, six months of brand strategy planning, 800+ interviews, and a month of employee prep, NI initiated an electrifying process of discovery for the business—one whose identity is encapsulated in two powerful, purpose-packed words: “Engineer Ambitiously.” This episode is a special one, as NI live-streamed the launch this week in a global celebration of their new brand. Tune in to hear about how they did it, you won't want to miss it!

Brands must be handled with care. They are emotional, enduring, and convey everything a business stands for, so it behooves CMOs to ensure that their company’s brand purpose and the messaging around it are not tone-deaf, but accessible—so accessible that they become a rallying cry for employees and customers alike and speak to any challenge that may come your way. Now, how can you achieve this? At Renegade, we suggest finding a common story and articulating it in six words or less, which is exactly what Altair did when the software engineering firm launched its “Only Forward” campaign. As CMO Amy Messano explains, they knew that their decision to rebrand during COVID was the right one; firstly, because they had previously put in nearly a year of hard work to find their brand story, and secondly, because their purpose gave employees hope in an otherwise unpredictable moment—the true acid test for a successful brand refresh. In this week’s episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Amy shares the story behind Altair’s

When do company values matter? Just ask today’s guest Peter Finter, the SVP and CMO at Couchbase: “It's when you have to make a hard decision, that's when values matter.” Speaking with conviction, Peter knows what it takes to prepare a business to take on any challenge. This conviction was made clear in Couchbase’s nearly seamless response to the COVID pandemic and how it took care of employees, customers, and prospects. In this week’s interview, Peter shares the six unique values of the open-source cloud database company that they’ve brought to life in the recent months across the spectrum of their ecosystem, starting with “Be a good human always.” With a commitment to personalizing marketing through things like employee talent showcases on Zoom and a free community edition of their software, Couchbase’s priorities are evidence that the human, purpose-driven B2B brand will always outlast the two-dimensional, poster board one (and they’ll probably see higher demand generation, faster once things start picking