#MarketersBreakfast | Proving Marketing’s Value
The Setup #MarketersBreakfast is a chance for marketing leaders to gather with fellow marketing leaders to learn and network with one another.
The beauty of our #MarketersBreakfast is that we gather a collection of marketing leaders with years of experience who are eager to connect and share their expertise when discussing an array of topics. For example, one of our recent breakfasts dove into “Marketing Therapy,” or marketers’ main challenges. This led to dedicating an entire breakfast to proving ROI and the Value of Marketing to the Executive Suite.
While our events attract an array of marketing leaders from both the Client and Agency side, we noticed that this event in particular attracted a number of B2B Client-side marketers. During the discussion, we uncovered that with B2B businesses, proving ROI attribution tends to be particularly complex and harder to define as compared to B2C.
To inspire our conversation, the Setup team pulled insights from over 75 CMO Spotlight interviews with marketing leaders to get their advice on how to prove marketing’s value. We will release those insights next week - subscribe to the newsletter to never miss a post!
During the #MarketersBreakfast discussion, we were able to address a few of those findings in addition to the following topics:
Attribution
Collaboration
Customer Information
#1 - Attribution | How do you track marketing efforts in your organization? What has been most impactful? How do you credit multiple touch points?
These questions are the reason for the discussion. People want to see evidence that their money and effort is being poured into something that provides results.
“Everything must show value,” shared an attendee. From Sales, to Marketing, every person’s role in the organization should show value, and show that their efforts impact the organization’s overall goal. In order to have attribution, people need to know the goal, progress towards that goal, and align around what the goal is across the organization.
Detailed analytics that showcase marketing’s influence and what results sprouted from a marketing initiative are helpful to track each touchpoint and reveal where value is being added. Even if it is indirect, marketing plays a part in brand awareness, and tracking the timing of certain campaigns or posts is a great way to harness statistics to prove value.
Displaying these results on dashboards at quarterly All-hands meetings are a great way to:
Know who and what is providing value
How much value is being generated
Align on goals and where changes need to be made
#2 - Collaboration | How do we make partnerships and collaborate with different areas of an organization and the C-Suite?
Marketing and Sales need to work together. Everyone needs to work together and “speak the same language.”
This could mean the entire Marketing team takes a finance literacy course to speak the same language as the CFO so that they can advocate for themselves better, or it could be a trip to the Sales floor to gauge how customers interact or resonate with the product so that Marketing can dig deeper into those elements.
Speaking the same language, having the same goal, and getting in the same room are all methods to harness connection and collaboration. An attendee advised, “Sometimes it's important to include the people you need to convince earlier on in the process to help them have an understanding of the project before it is complete and ready to go live.”
Marketers need to approach other departments with a “systematic approach.”
An attendee profoundly said, “You need to run a nurturing campaign internally.” In order to get the organization onboard with marketing, Marketing needs to market themselves. This approach is all about storytelling. It’s knowing your audience, and how Marketing fits into the bigger picture or goal. Telling this story can be done with dashboards and insights shared at quarterly meetings with quantitative results as well as qualitative results like customer reviews.
#3 - Customer Information | How do we ensure we are reaching the right customer base?
Research. Some attendees referenced partnering with research companies to collect an in-depth look at their audience to create customer journeys and customer personas. Certain groups are harder to predict than others, but a well-rounded approach including comparing and contrasting the internal and external data collected can help identify pain points and priorities. Instead of doing what the company wants, it’s important to “let that data tell the story of what customers are actually doing rather than what we want them to be doing.”
Also, marketers need to be willing to adapt and evolve. One guest pointed out that their audience’s values and priorities have drastically changed in the 20 years of their business, so being able to adjust how they are marketing and what they are measuring to track success is important.
We know marketing adds value to an organization. But then why is it always cut first? With data becoming more trackable and concrete, it’s easier to present hard metrics instead of soft metrics to numbers-oriented executives. What really takes the cake though is articulating the numbers in the shape of a story that credits Marketing for achievements. So learn the language, and paint them a story using their goals and their words.
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Our latest virtual Women’s event was themed “Marketing for Good - Turning Passions into Action,” where marketing leaders discussed the internal and external benefits of cause-driven marketing. Attendees included Setup Agency partners as well as members from established Brands at Cox, FIS, FedEx, Great Clips, Kimberly-Clark, The Home Depot, and more.
The Setup Marketer Speed Dating #MarketersBreakfast is one of our most popular in-person events because attendees get to meet as many qualified people as possible in short bursts of time. Many attendees recounted that the facilitated structure of the matchmaking event made networking so much easier. Plus, to ensure that everyone’s time is valued, the roster of #MarketersBreakfast attendees is exclusive, only open to our agency partners and Client-side marketing leaders. Some of the brands in attendance included Veritiv, Cartoon Network, Primrose Schools, and more.
At Setup, we work with some of the finest marketing agencies across the nation with an array of capabilities. Our most recent March #MarketingMixer gave our partners a platform to share an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into their process, strategy, and campaign results in under two hours. Ten case studies in 90 minutes, with some fun trivia in between, featuring an array of brands like adidas, ParkMobile, PAMA, Prudential, and more.
As Setup celebrates our 10th anniversary, we reflect on a decade of pioneering the art of marketing matchmaking. From our early days as AgencySparks to our rebrand in 2019 to become Setup and all the way to today, we've been dedicated to bridging the gap between brands seeking expert marketing support and agencies capable of delivering outstanding results.
The beauty of our #MarketersBreakfast is that we gather a collection of marketing leaders with years of experience who are eager to connect and share their expertise when discussing an array of topics. For example, one of our recent breakfasts dove into “Marketing Therapy,” or marketers’ main challenges. This led to dedicating an entire breakfast to proving ROI and the Value of Marketing to the Executive Suite.
For this Mixer, we decided to cover “How to Attract Top Talent” since employers and interviewees are curious about how to navigate the job market and how to recruit the best talent. Our partners at Hire Profile are recruiting visionaries with the experience and tools to provide marketing and creative staffing and recruiting solutions to companies in the greater Atlanta area.
A lot has happened in the last six or seven years, and what better way to process challenges than through group therapy? Whether in your personal or professional life, it’s important to realize you are never alone, and challenges are just opportunities for growth, innovation, and insights.
For the event, we crowdsourced challenges Marketing leaders face, and then discussed those questions as a group. Talking points ranged from discussing rising AI technology, to acquiring talent, to branding strategies. Below is a brief recap of the conversation. (We kept the identity of contributors anonymous in true Therapy form.)
The Setup Women in Marketing series highlights the thoughts and advice of prominent marketing brand and agency leaders in companies. Our most recent In This Dame and Age event encouraged women from all backgrounds to #ShareYourStory.
An hour of networking and discussion led to 4 key points women, and all marketing leaders, should keep in mind.
Three years after our last Speed-Dating breakfast, we were finally able to return to our favorite and most cherished in-person event!
With glitter hearts decorating the tables, and guiding questions to spark the romance, we kicked off the love-filled event with several agency partners and clients like Papa Johns, Orkin, Jabra, and more.
The New Year is a time to reflect on the past and make movements towards the future. At Setup, we are proud of the past year that led to new services and resources for the Marketing community, and look forward to the next year to continue to empower Marketers to level up.
The Setup #MarketingMixer is a chance for marketing leaders to connect, discuss, and learn. At previous Mixers, we’ve hosted a number of panelists, held a marketing agency showcase, discussed burnout and business matchmaking, and even facilitated Marketer “speed-dating.”
We love the opportunity to bring together the best and brightest minds to share their experiences and, in this case, we heard from three unique brands about their perspective on “The Seasonality of Marketing.”
For the past four years, Setup has conducted a Marketing Relationship Survey to take the pulse on how Companies (Brands/Clients) and Marketing Agencies operate and work together. Because we live in the space between Brands and Agencies, we are in a unique position to bridge any gaps - in communication, work style, work needs, and more. In that vein, we’re excited to share the results of this year’s survey to provide insight and perspective on the current state of Agency-Client relationships.
Check out the results that were recently featured in Ad Age!
The Setup Women in Marketing series highlights the thoughts and advice of prominent marketing brand and agency leaders. The contributors’ powerful stories and advice led to our all-women networking group: In This Dame and Age, where we host virtual discussions and connect women marketing leaders with one another.
The latest event about exploring and leveraging different Leadership Styles was attended by agency leaders and brand representatives from companies such as Invesco, The Honey Baked Ham Company, Great Clips, Slutty Vegan, and more.
At Setup, we love to facilitate environments where people can network and embrace themselves freely, so our #MarketersBreakfast for August 2022 was all about “Getting Back to the Basics to Find Human Connection.”
At this breakfast, no one was a stranger.
With a balance of attendees from both marketing agency and brand leadership teams, the breakfast consisted of open networking and an “improv” activity led by Setup’s Marketing Manager, Madeline Evans, who is actively teaching and performing improv professionally in Atlanta.
Most employers are not (and will not) demand workers to be in-person in the office five days a week. That means that there are many days when employees work from a home office, coffee shop, co-working space, or some other remote location. Connecting with coworkers through video and audio will only continue to grow.
Setup hosted a breakfast for some brand-side marketers to discuss remote work and how to make it better.
The Setup Women in Marketing series highlights the thoughts and advice of prominent marketing brand and agency leaders. The contributors’ powerful stories and advice led to our all-women networking group: In This Dame and Age, where we host discussions and connect women marketing leaders with one another. The latest event we held a discussion about fostering Creativity + Connection in the workplace.
For our first #MarketersBreakfast event back at the Miami Ad School @ Portfolio Center, we revisited a classic theme: Show and Tell, to share the marketing strategies, thought processes, and success stories of incredible brands like Aaron’s, NCR, The Coca-Cola Company, and ParkMobile.
Setup’s latest Women’s Event “In This Dame and Age” discussed the importance and power of Mentorship. Representatives from a variety of companies such as Truist, IHG, Regal Cinemas, Hiscox USA, and The Home Depot attended to network and share their stories.
This blog post was written by Setup Founder and CEO, Joe Koufman, highlighting the origin of Setup and the multiple achievements that have followed throughout the years.
In February during pre-pandemic days, we would host “speed-dating” events for marketing agencies and brands to connect with and learn about one another’s needs, business, and personal goals. Since going virtual, we’ve explored themed topic events with 1:1 networking sessions that included panels, case study showcases, and group discussions.
After two long years of no speed-dating, we decided to bring this beloved event back, but with an added twist: Bingo!
After a year of Covid, our Marketing Manager, Madeline Evans, went to camp over the summer to bring joy, insights, and a new Setup offering to the office. Read about the lessons she learned from the entire experience and more!
The October #MarketingMixer was the last one of the of the year! At the event, we provided tips to marketing leaders to combat burnout for themselves and their team. In addition to our input, the leaders who attended from a variety of companies such as Delta Airlines, Zep, Char-Broil, FIS, and more shared their own methods in their breakout and discussion rooms which ranged from running, dancing, and painting rocks.
As the expert marketing matchmakers, Setup prides ourselves on knowing the ins and outs of the agency-client relationship. After countless matches and conversations with both parties + yearly surveys tracking trends in the relationship, we’ve managed to highlight a few common themes.
In our latest virtual #MarketingMixer, we presented these findings to a group of marketing leaders from both the client and agency sides.
At Setup, we prioritize creating a safe space for communication between our client-side and agency-side marketers, and what better way to do that than through a therapy session. Last Thursday, we continued to foster those important conversations at our virtual #MarketingMixer event where we held our Marketing Group Therapy Discussion.
The Marketing Multiverse: Marketing in Small, Medium + Large Companies featured a panel of marketers with similar job roles from different sized beverage companies sharing their unique perspectives and experiences. The CEO of Arden's Garden Leslie Zinn represented the small company, the CMO of SweetWater Brewing Company Brian Miesieski represented the mid-sized company, and the Group Marketing Director of Coca-Cola Freestyle at The Coca-Cola Company Eric Lewis represented the larger company.
Our February #MarketingMixer offered attendees the opportunity to learn about business matchmaking and then put their skills to the test in one-on-one Zoom break out sessions.
It is no suprise that 2020 was a tough year for many (global pandemic, racial injustice, divisive politics, and economic despair). While we at Setup had our share of difficulties, 2020 was a pivotal year that transformed our business from a regional to a national scope as the preeminent marketing matchmakers in the US.
In the spirit of celebrating wins in the face of adversity, here are some of our top achievements from the past year.
Our November #MarketingMixer focused on providing an avenue for marketers to share their trials and triumphs during 2020. This intimate event allowed marketing professionals to network directly with one another in breakout rooms, and then share their successes and obstacles with one another in the main room. Marketers walked away with new insights, connections, and the desire to learn more from different industries and perspectives.
At our latest #MarketingMixer, we leaned into our matchmaking mantra and hosted a virtual interview and networking event featuring the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Melissa Proctor.
Connection in a post-Covid world is different. Most teams are remote and trying to rebuild the remnants of culture’s past. Our August #MarketersBreakfast was aimed to cure this slump by focusing on the tools leaders need to build better and more healthy communication practices to unite their teams and improve their organizations.