Marketing has a teaching moment
In marketing, you rarely heard the phrase “on the job training.” This was because experienced marketing professionals were supposed to know everything necessary to perform at a high level. No questions asked. Theoretically, a full career’s worth of knowledge was gained in college, internships, graduate school, or during the first few formative years on the job. In fact, the only time on the job training was openly discussed in marketing was when a new technology platform rolled out. Most other professions already embraced ongoing education in the workplace because they accepted that change was constant. Everyone from accountants to zoologists were trained to adapt as new thinking or programs came along. Then, marketing
Tools of the transition
Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series of articles that reflect upon the 25th anniversary of Boomm B2B Marketing and the significant changes in our industry over that time. Gary Mattes is the CEO of Boomm and the proud son of an advertising creative director. There is a compelling fact that Gary likes to share about his father’s professional world because it gives everyone a unique perspective on today’s technology-driven industry. “My father used the same tools of the trade from the day he started in advertising until the day he retired,” Gary confides. “We have changed our tools countless times in the last year alone.” [caption id="attachment_7490" align="alignnone" width="206"] Mr.
The ultimate New Year’s resolution
By Randy Mitchell Here's a New Year's resolution for every marketer out there: Change the world in 2023. Believe it or not, it's entirely possible. And your ideas have the power to make it happen. You simply need to share them on the right stage. That’s a promising sentiment, but where is the right stage? What account, media channel or agency has the reach and resources to unleash your breakthrough ideas on humanity? It would be natural to assume that your best shot would be to work on mega brands, like Coca-Cola, Nike or McDonald’s. They have massive budgets, devoted consumers and household brand recognition across the globe. Your ideas could really shake things up on
How to avoid the dweebinar
By Randy Mitchell This is the story of an accomplished professional. She always had interesting points to make about her industry, company, and other important topics. People respected her opinions both inside and outside of her firm. They honored her with glowing terms, like “subject matter expert,” “mentor” and “innovator.” But one fateful morning, she transformed from being a thought leader into a dweeb. How did this travesty happen? The sad truth is she gave a dweebinar and the whole industry was watching. At this point, you’re probably asking, “What is a dweebinar? And why should I care?” Both good questions. First answer: A dweebinar is a webinar that goes from being informative to intolerable because
The Tagline Tarpit
By Randy Mitchell The place: Prehistoric Los Angeles The event: The very first marketing meeting A small group of Paleoindians is gathered around a rock. They are locked in a heated debate over a timeless marketing question: “What should our tagline be?” The meeting drags on and on. It’s an epic decision and consensus seems eons away. Before they realize it, the meeting’s momentum begins to fossilize. Literally. Our intrepid marketing ancestors have been entirely engulfed by thick, black goo. I cannot confirm that this actually happened in ancient La Brea. However, I have empirical evidence to prove that the tagline tar pit is real. Agencies and clients frequently disappear into the primordial ooze of trying to
One word of advice (literally)
By Randy Mitchell The question still haunts me. It was the 4A’s annual Career Day, an event that brought hundreds of aspiring advertising professionals into Chicago. I was on the portfolio panel with three other agency creatives. Surrounding us was a wall of eager college seniors, all ready to shove their portfolios into our chests. (Remember physical portfolios? They could do some serious damage.) Just before the eagerly anticipated Portfolio Review, the floor was opened for questions from the students. Most of the inquiries were directly related to finding a job: where to look, who to contact, what to say, what to show in the portfolio. Then, a quiet student from Indiana University asked us
Three secrets behind the best webinars
By Randy Mitchell There are far too many webinars in the world right now. In the last year alone, the use of webinars grew by 69% according to HubSpot. Chances are, you have two or three B2B webinar invitation emails in your inbox right now. On the flip side, there are far too few excellent webinars to satisfy our content-hungry world. We don’t need a data point to prove that one. If you recently wasted an hour enduring a bad B2B webinar, I’m afraid you will never get that time back. Which brings us to the question marketers everywhere are asking: How can we rise above the noise and create a webinar that people will
The year of being wrong and why it turned out right
By Randy Mitchell “See you back here in a couple of weeks.” That was what we said to each other as we left the office on the morning of March 16, 2020. And we sincerely meant it. That “quick return” theory was the first wrong belief in a year that was full of them. But it was also a rather small miscalculation in the grand scheme of things. Thinking back on the last twelve months, I am still astonished at how many longstanding professional marketing beliefs were challenged and ultimately changed. These were the rocks of our profession, and they were rocked to their foundations. Let’s consider some of those long-held beliefs and how a better
Journey Journal: The great divide
by Randy Mitchell, Creative Director For a few memorable years, my office spanned the great divide. I’m not talking about the Grand Canyon or even Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park. Oh no, this geographic rift was far more monumental. I worked directly on the borderline between B2C and B2B. In those days, my agency offered both B2C and B2B services, and my office marked the separation line between the two groups. In fact, I was the only individual on staff that worked on both B2C and B2B accounts, so I saw the best and worst of the two worlds. It was a tumultuous time. One moment we were concepting a fashion insert