Building Better CMOs and Marketing Leaders

Full transcript Marketing a traditional brand is one thing. Marketing an entire city — specifically, Las Vegas — is something else altogether. For Kate Wik, CMO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), executing a massive campaign means getting hotel owners, elected officials, and local stakeholders to completely buy in. When making cultural waves, like turning the city's casinos purple for the K-pop group BTS, collaboration is everything. "That's not my building or my assets," Kate explains. "It's bringing others along with you. That's what drives the scale of a great idea." Today on Building Better CMOs, Kate and Greg discuss the complexities of serving Las Vegas' distinct audiences, spanning luxury, leisure, budget, and convention travelers. They dive into the unique challenges of destination marketing organization (DMO) attribution when you don't actually own the transactions, as well as how the LVCVA approaches brand health tracking, PR, and digital targeting. Plus, why Vegas has moved away from the iconic tagline "What happens here, stays here," and what it takes to produce massive recent events, such as Super Bowl LVIII and the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:05 How the LVCVA Markets Las Vegas 08:26 Data, Attribution, and Marketing Complexity 15:20 Evolving "What Happens Here Stays Here" 19:23 Driving Demand for a Category of One 25:13 The Best Marketing Advice Kate Ever Received 28:01 Experiential Marketing: F1, Shoeys, and BTS 36:26 Measuring Long-Term Brand Value vs. ROI 39:48 The Brand Impact of Hosting the Super Bowl 43:09 Brand Health Tracking and the "Pack for Vegas" Campaign Kate's LinkedIn LVCVA This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LightningPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Rate and review the podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠

Full transcript CMOs are " really good at the M part," says Bennie Johnson, the CEO of the American Marketing Association. "We're really good at the marketing part. We struggle with the 'Chief' and the 'Officer.'" Why is that? Some possible reasons include the lack of professional certification for great marketers, the short tenures CMOs often have before moving on to the next job, or the fact that — according to the Marketing + Media Alliance's research — 30 percent of marketing capabilities sit outside the role of CMO. "We need to take a full push that we are unapologetically leading the business," Bennie says. "An organization's marketers are driving growth. We don't get credit for the money, but we get credit for the expense." Today on Building Better CMOs, Bennie and Greg talk about bridging research and practice through executive–academic collaboration, emerging trends from the AMA's own research, and why Bennie believes "adjectives matter" when you talk about marketing. Plus: Why you are never the target audience. 00:00 Introduction 03:47 Inside the AMA's Big Tent 08:22 Future Trends in Marketing 10:58 Portfolio Careers and Fractional CMOs 22:07 Career Advice and Collecting Art 29:20 You Are Not the Target Audience 31:25 Where Academic Research Meets Practice 36:05 The Boardroom Leadership Gap 38:16 Why Marketing Loses Control 48:23 No Licensure, No Gatekeepers Bennie's LinkedIn American Marketing Association This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LightningPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rate and review the podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠

Full transcript Helping families navigate senior care at A Place for Mom requires constant cross-functional alignment. For marketing veteran Chris Milone, leadership extends far beyond his own department. "You have to be a thought partner to the CEO," says the CMO. That philosophy was forged the hard way during his first stint as a chief marketer, when his boss pulled him aside to express disappointment. "He said, 'When I hired you, I didn't hire someone to run the marketing department. That's table stakes, that's a given,'" Chris says. "'I barely hear from you in our leadership meetings. I don't know if you even care about what's going on in the rest of the company.'" Today on Building Better CMOs, Chris and Greg talk about working with CEOs who used to be the CMO; why AI makes everyone think they’re an expert; and how to balance what your customer wants with what the business needs. Plus: Why new executives have to "talk to every single person in their organization." 00:00 Introduction 01:22 What A Place for Mom Does 04:51 The CMO Onboarding Playbook 10:46 Some Bad Marketing Advice 16:02 Becoming a Four-Time CMO 20:31 When Your CEO is a Former CMO 23:10 Performance, Teams, and Go-To-Market Strategies 31:17 Brand Building in the AI Search Era 35:25 Being a Thought Partner to the CEO 40:45 Why Marketers Must Prove ROI 44:57 Incrementality Testing and Measurement 50:35 Defending Marketing Decisions Against AI Chris' LinkedIn Greg's LinkedIn This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LightningPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rate and review the podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠

At the heritage beauty house Estée Lauder, marketing is led by a re-inventor, who refuses to draw any line between marketing and digital: "Everything is digital," says Global Chief Digital and Marketing Officer Aude Gandon. However, Aude argues that there is a risk of becoming overly reliant on technology to do the job. For her, the tools only get smart when a marketer who actually knows the craft does the briefing. "AI is not expertise," she says. "Only the marketer knows what to feed the AI with. And if we don't do it that way, it's going to be garbage in, garbage out and everybody's going to look the same." Today on Building Better CMOs, Aude and Greg talk about how a luxury house takes real risks with creators and TikTok Shop; why young marketers still need to study and learn the fundamentals of their craft; and why, "Just because you don't fit in doesn't mean you don't belong." Plus: The merits of making lateral career moves. Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 04:41 Lessons from the Tech World and YouTube's Evolution 12:31 Transforming Legacy Brands for Modern Consumers 14:08 Brand Prestige, or Digital Experimentation? 19:38 Fitting In vs. Belonging 21:27 Luxury Storytelling on Social Platforms 28:53 The Importance of Mentorship 32:40 Applying Data Science to the Art of Beauty 37:49 Reaching International Consumers 41:18 Marketing Fundamentals in a Digital Age 48:54 AI's Role in Creative Evaluation and Personalization Full transcript⁠ This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠LightningPod⁠⁠ Follow Building Better CMOs⁠ in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Rate and review⁠ the podcast Aude's LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Greg's LinkedIn

At the home improvement company Lowe's, the marketing team is fittingly led by someone who believes in rolling up your sleeves and getting the job done. CMO Jennifer Wilson describes her approach as "impact over optics." "I care about the brand and I care about the work and I care about the outcome to the customer," Jennifer says. "I put very little value on, well, what will everybody think of that? Or what's the outcome for me in that? ... One could argue maybe you could be in a different place in your career had you taken a you-first angle, but it's not who I am." Today on Building Better CMOs, Jennifer and Greg talk about her experience in merchandising, how Lowe's is adapting to a "K-shaped economy", and leveraging customer data to build loyalty and deepen retention. Plus: Why every marketer should "Be a Sequoia, Not a Bonsai." 00:00 Introduction 01:47 The Macro Landscape and Consumer Mindset 04:12 Innovative Home Services and Subscription Models 09:12 Jennifer's Merchandising Background 14:52 Leading Organizational Transformation 17:49 Leveraging Data to Eliminate Customer Irritants 25:12 Lessons in Building a Retail Media Network 28:47 Career Advice: Humility, Impact, and Lateral Moves 32:21 Emotional Maturity and Understanding Personal Motivators 38:53 Prioritization and Profitable Growth 46:50 Bridging Marketing and Finance 51:10 Customer Experience as the Heart of Modern Branding 56:14 Elevating Service with Generative AI and Mylow 58:34 The Role of the CMO in 2030 Full transcript This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod Follow Building Better CMOs in your podcast app⁠⁠⁠ Rate and review the podcast Jennifer's LinkedIn Greg's LinkedIn