Be Bold

Welcome to The Beat by Rockstar CMO. I’m Ian Truscott, a CMO, trusted advisor, strategy consultant, and Chief Bottle Washer at Rockstar CMO. In this newsletter, I’d like to share a mix of what’s caught my eye, topics from our podcast, and our street knowledge blog.

Hello!

My chum Keith Smith just shared this on LinkedIn:

“A LinkedIn study finds that a majority of B2B marketers (80%) believe they need to invest in creative strategies but say they are being held back by senior leadership because they’re risk-averse.”

If you click through the link, the study claims to champion creativity, but it mainly focuses on more video, which is not the same thing. Using video or social media to regurgitate a message of how your product is leading or innovative does not make it creative.

However, Keith is spot on, B2B needs more creativity, and I suspect FOFU (Fear Of F**king Up) is inhibiting the industry from grasping it’s inner artist.

You could question whether marketing leaders are not pushing, assuming they’ll get pushback, or whether the blame lies at the door of a conservative C-suite. However, there is a general complicity in playing it safe, nice, and blue - the new beige of B2B.

As some of you know, once upon a time, as a CMO working for a CEO who liked to be bold, and in fact urged me to be bold, I had the very good fortune of working with an excellent Creative Director, Andrew Day, who took me by my creative hand and led me, sometimes a little scared, out of my comfort zone.

We embarked on a rebrand, crafting a fresh message written in plain language, including a fantastic brand video, culminating in a frankly bonkers stand at a huge German trade show. Possibly the highlight of my career, and I suspect many of my team and our colleagues across the business.

Now, the unfiltered manifestation of that brand has not stuck, as errrr.. neither did I, as the leadership changed, and, as life imitates art, or at least imitates Keith’s post, the new leadership was more risk-averse.

BUT - it had an effect, it pushed the brand forward, and maybe that got pulled back, they were bolder than before.

What’s my point?

Well, to share the thrill of doing something truly creative, resurrect a wonderful memory and suggest everyone should work with Andrew, or find one, and, as the subject line always comes from a song - to use “Be Bold”, a tune by Tam Cooper, that was used in a UK ad, and that quirky, creative video that you’ll find at the bottom of this email.

Have a great week!

Cheers!

Ian

Ian Truscott | Chief Bottle Washer Rockstar CMO

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This week’s street knowledge

What caught my eye on the topic and a bit more from me…

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Get your Monday Marketing Mojo Working

Be bold!!