Marketing Manifesto

I begin with the humble acknowledgment that there are many paths to success.  Anybody who tells you that their way is the only way is trying to sell you something.  However, we must all walk the path that feels “most right” to us, and this is my path.  This marketing manifesto is my vision of how a marketing department should orient itself.  I believe that by following these principles, a marketing department can actualize itself into the best possible version of itself.

Think Customer
Nobody cares about your brand – they care about their problems. Our marketing efforts are focused on the customer’s problems and how we can provide a solution. Every piece of marketing material – down to the tweet – must be judged from this perspective.

Always Two There Are
We iterate to success based on relentless and never-ending testing. There is never just one ad or one landing page – every “Champion” must continually defend it’s crown from a challenger. A|B testing is in our DNA.

Be Data-Driven
The answers are in the data – you just need to know what questions to ask. All marketing activities must have data collection built into them, and all marketing decisions will be made on the basis of dispassionate analysis. There is a story in the numbers – it is our job to bring it to life.

Dwight Was Right
A wise man once said, “Before I do anything, I ask myself ‘Would an idiot do that’? If they would, I do not do that thing”. Marketing is inherently public facing and our activities reflect on everyone in our company. One errant tweet or botched email can undo years of hard-won respect. Don’t be an idiot.

Play To Your Level
At halftime of a National Championship football game, Head Coach Nick Saban told his players that to win, “All we have to do is be us”. Our goal is not to be better than the competition – that is far too low a bar. Our goal is to be the best marketers that we can be. We set our standard of excellence – not our competitors.

Own Your Ls
Not every campaign is going to succeed. That’s ok. Babe Ruth himself only hit the ball 34% of the time he came to the plate. Mistakes will be made. Own them, understand why they happened, and develop a way to prevent them from happening again. Conversely, we will always celebrate our Ws – which are always sweeter when you’ve owned your Ls..