In The Brand New Thang Issue we were fortunate enough to go backstage with Margaret Molloy, Global CMO for Siegel+Gale. In this issue we explore her nomination for the Rockstar CMO Swimming Pool, our portal to marketing hell for all the BS, shady or outdated practices, snake oil or over-hyped buzzwords in this industry.
When we chatted with Margaret Molloy, the Global Chief Marketing Officer at Siegel+Gale, her reputation for bringing sense and sensibility (a potent blend of analytics and creative thinking) to everything she does was clear throughout the interview, as she shared her experience and some gems of straight talking advice (check it out!).
This was especially evident when she nominated this for the Rockstar CMO Swimming Pool:
The stereotype that marketing is all surface and no substance. It’s not solely about aesthetics or event planning—marketing is a strategic blend of art and science.
I love marketing being defined as a “blend of art and science” as this is the tightrope we balance on as marketing leaders. We have to push the creativity, or our message won’t get noticed, while at the same time being mindful of technology advances, data science and of the metrics.
In my own work I live by the mantra of ART (Awareness, Revenue and Trust), that everything has to deliver against moving the needle on one of these business goals. Simply being creative on the surface is not enough, marketing is a serious investment that delivers a return and the science helps us execute and show that value.
This shift away from the stereotype is evident in the role’s marketers have, their background and how they define themselves. In 2017, Scott Brinker of Chief Marketing Technologist fame did some research with over 600 marketers; 50% of them saw their roles as a balance of science and art and an additional 40% suggested it was more science. Clearly the majority of us understand our need to go with more than “gut feel” and I guess the remaining 10% must be satisfied that all they need to know about marketing was in Season 1 of Mad Men.
Back to Margaret and her nomination, frankly who are we to argue with one of the Forbes Top 5 Most Influential CMOs on Social Media? So YES, with a hearty heave we are gladly tipping the stereotype that marketing is the “crayons and coloring department”, “unicorns and rainbows” or “all surface and no substance” (and whatever other phrase you’d like to add) into the Rockstar CMO Swimming Pool.
Don’t agree? Let us know…
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