6 Questions for Inspirational Women in Marketing Series | Part 8
This ongoing series highlights women marketing leaders from different backgrounds and industries who continue to innovate and push the boundaries of their role. This segment features advice and stories from leaders at Old Dominion, Aflac, and YES! Communities.
“The world of marketing has changed significantly, but the one constant is people and how our brand benefits them in a positive and lasting way. That’s my inspiration - People.”
Meet the leaders:
Q1: What inspired you to pursue a career in marketing?
Liles: My dad was in marketing, so that peaked my interest at a young age. I started my career in sales and stayed in sales for many years. Each year, no matter how impressive your sales were the previous year, you were challenged to sell more and chase a higher goal. I enjoyed that challenge for many years, but eventually wanted more. Marketing was appealing because I could use my creativity and still “sell.” Timing is everything, and I was offered a marketing role that allowed me to utilize my skills from the event industry, but in a marketing role instead of a sales one. Since I had spent eight years building a career at a company I thought I would be at for years to come, I was hesitant at first. Luckily I stepped out of my comfort zone into a perfect new career for me with an amazing company that has the same core values I do. Ten years later, I am still growing and learning in this position.
Gutzmer: I am a painter in my spare time, which is not much these days, and enjoy combining textures, colors and shapes to give birth to ideas that inspire, influence and entertain - very similar to what we do in communications. Painters are storytellers, and so are communicators.
Jasinski: I love connection with people and engaging a brand with customers differently. The world of marketing has changed significantly, but the one constant is people and how our brand benefits them in a positive and lasting way. That’s my inspiration - People.
Q2: What were pivotal moments in your career that contributed to your success?
Liles: The leap of faith from sales to marketing [was pivotal]. It led to a position with more possibilities than I could have imagined, and allowed me to expand my skill set and grow with a large forward-thinking company. I was able to use the sales knowledge from my previous industry to restructure the event program and take on a new role within sports marketing, an area that was a huge interest. I am fortunate to have a supportive team and leadership that encourages new ideas and ways to market our business. As with many people, I was challenged to find new ways to support the business as events and sports were paused during the pandemic. I was encouraged to get a new certification in marketing as well as take on a temporary new role in user adoption for new technology that was being introduced to our employees. I am grateful that I was allowed this opportunity to expand my knowledge and help the company with this much needed position.
Gutzmer: There are several, but the primal moment was when I decided to leave my country of origin to venture into a very challenging and unknown territory. The second moment was when I realized that rather than trying ‘blend in’, I should stay loyal to my origins and heritage since my diversity of thought provided a different perspective to problem-solving, and ultimately, led to success in all areas of my career.
Jasinski: This last year was an incredible learning year during COVID-19 in ensuring that communication and messaging was clear and concise with our customers. Last year, in partnership with my company, we launched our first ever podcast. I host the show with valuable content on our industry, as well as ways to build community through positive change. The messaging and engagement with guests and listeners has really encouraged me to continue pursuing different ways to engage with people.
Q3: Who is someone that helped you on your current path to becoming a marketing leader?
Liles: There is not just one person...My VP and SVP have both been encouraging and supportive, along with my marketing team. Everyone brings a different perspective and knowledge to the table. Our leadership is forward thinking and provides the tools to do our jobs more effectively and efficiently while welcoming new ideas and ways of marketing our business in the ever changing landscape.
Gutzmer: Two people come to mind: Jorge Ortega, now General Manager for Edelman in Texas, and Barri Rafferty, former Ketchum CEO and current Head of Communications for Wells Fargo. True, genuine leaders that have trust in me and gave me wings to fly as high as I wanted to.
Jasinski: I had a very instrumental mentor who helped me very early on in my career. His name is Simon MacGibbon and he came via McKinsey Consulting Firm. I worked closely with Simon at a sporting good retailer. He had mentioned something to me that has always stuck with me that I live my career in this way, “If you aren’t scaring me with your ideas Vanessa, you’re not doing your job.”
Q4: Are there specific challenges you have faced as a woman in marketing, and how did you overcome them?
Liles: I do work in a male dominated industry but feel respected, valued, and encouraged. The challenges I face are not linked to gender, but rather the data driven initiatives that are ever changing. Learning new tools and determining ways to mine the data to effectively execute our marketing strategy is sometimes challenging as we determine the best tools for our business needs.
Gutzmer: [There are] no particular challenges for being a woman, just challenges in general as part of our responsibilities as communicators. And that challenge would have been the Equifax breach - I was the Head of Communications at Equifax when that happened. An experience of a lifetime.
Jasinski: I worked many years ago for an ad agency on the Ford Motor account, and part of that experience was really knowing about cars and trucks, even down to hemi engine knowledge. At first, I was petrified that I needed to present ideas to a Ford Dealer association made up entirely of men. I overcame the fear by educating myself on the topic of cars and trucks and read everything in sight. I also went to car dealerships and repair shops just to understand the workings of vehicles so I could have intelligent conversations with the Ford Dealer owners. Once I had the knowledge and reached out to learn the business (I showed a little vulnerability that I didn’t completely understand the ins and outs of cars and trucks with the dealers), they took me under their wing and showed me many of the technical aspects of marketing Ford vehicles. When you can show you are willing and able to learn and live the business, people accept and embrace that.
Q5: What advice would you give to the next generation of women marketers?
“Become the ‘swiss army knife’ of marketing.”
Liles: Embrace the change. Learn to adapt and master new ways of doing things. Do not limit yourself. Be open to expanding your role, taking on new tasks, and becoming the “swiss army knife” of marketing. Change is scary, but if you are open to doing new things, you make yourself more valuable to the organization and expand your knowledge base. Surround yourself with good people and rely on their expertise when necessary. Do not be too proud to ask for help.
Gutzmer: Be curious, be persistent, surround yourself with people smarter than you and never, never give up.
Jasinski: Be proud and confident in your ability. Come to the table with out of the box ideas and thinking so that you can challenge yourself and the organization you are working for. Don’t be complacent, and take a seat at the table where your opinion and ideas matter. Make it known that you are there to be an asset.
“Make it known that you are there to be an asset.”
Q6: What emerging marketing trend excites you?
Liles: Marketing as a whole excites me. There is never a boring day. If I have to choose one trend though it would be data driven marketing. Analyzing touchpoints in the customer journey and using those insights to uncover buyer behaviors and create even more personalized experiences is exciting.
Gutzmer: Anything with “tech” at the end. Insuretech, Fintech, PRtech – just the blending of technology into absolutely everything fascinates me.
Jasinski: I took a certification course on Disruptive Strategy at Harvard and I learned so much from the participation in that course. The consumer landscape is always evolving and, as marketers and business people, we need to always look for the hints with consumers and adapt our business. Always asking the question “what is the job that will solve the problem?” Continually thinking through how to solve the customer’s problems and thinking about how a product or business model can evolve and potentially launch a new product or model is fascinating.
Key Takeaways
Believe in yourself.
Become an asset.
Own it.
Learn at every opportunity. When you are willing and able to learn and live the business, colleagues will respect and embrace your approach.
To celebrate women in the marketing profession and to continue highlighting them throughout Women’s History Month, we asked women marketing leaders to contribute to our Women in Marketing Series detailing their personal triumphs, tribulations, and advice about working in the marketing industry. Part 13 features leaders from Nationwide, NAPA, Neogen Corporation, and Pratt Industries, Inc.