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Drew Neisser is the founder of CMO Huddles and a globally recognized authority on B2B marketing. He’s an AdAge columnist, LinkedIn TopVoice, leading CMO coach, podcast host & friend of penguins everywhere.
CMOs know what it means to lead through pressure, uncertainty, and limited resources. Penguins do too. Drew Neisser explains why CMO Huddles supports the Global Penguin Society, what these birds teach marketing leaders about resilience and community, and how a new conservation initiative can protect the oceans that keep penguins, and all of us, alive.
When I named CMO Huddles in early 2020, I had no idea about the penguin thing.
I didn't discover that until a naturalist in the Galapagos in 2022 asked us, “What’s a group of penguins called?’ The question was timely since that day, while snorkeling, my wife and I were suddenly surrounded by 6 darting adorable Galapagos penguins.
So yes, it turns out that a group of penguins is called a huddle. And the moment I learned that, I texted (from the ship) our logo designer, Alan Irikura, to figure out how to integrate penguins into our logo.
It wasn’t until I got back to the US that I started studying up on these social, adaptable, highly communicative, nurturing, resourceful, and remarkably resilient birds.
Sound like any great CMOs you know?
Then there’s the less charming connection: CMO is the coldest job in the C-suite.
You’re expected to produce more growth with fewer resources. Demonstrate long-term brand value while delivering this quarter’s pipeline. Embrace AI, redesign the organization, align with sales, reassure the board, and somehow keep the team from freezing.
Penguins know something about harsh conditions. More importantly, they know better than to face them alone.
That’s why we say, “It’s warmer in the huddle.”
It would be easy to use penguins as a clever brand device and leave it there.
That didn’t sit right with me.
If we were going to borrow our identity from these flocking awesome birds, we needed to support the real thing. So starting in 2023, CMO Huddles committed 1% of annual revenue, not profit, to the Global Penguin Society.
GPS is the first international organization dedicated exclusively to protecting all 18 penguin species and their habitats. Its team combines science, education, community engagement, and policy work to protect penguins, coastlines, and oceans around the world.
When I interviewed GPS founder Dr. Pablo “Popi” Garcia Borboroglu for episode 400 of Renegade Marketers Unite podcast (Penguins, Purpose, and Perseverance), he summed up why this work extends far beyond one charismatic bird:
“Penguins are excellent indicators of the conditions of the oceans and the coasts they inhabit.”
Protect the penguins, and you help protect the oceans. Protect the oceans, and you help protect all of us. That’s a purpose worth huddling around.
GPS recently shared plans for a two-year conservation initiative spanning Antarctica, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and New Zealand.
The project focuses on four penguin species facing increasing environmental pressure:
GPS plans to deploy tracking devices and combine the resulting information with ecological monitoring, habitat assessments, and community participation.
Why all the technology?
Tracking allows researchers to identify critical feeding areas and migratory routes. GPS can then bring that evidence to governments, conservation organizations, and local communities to inform protected areas, industrial regulation, and marine planning.
As a marketer, I love that model. Start with evidence. Make the invisible visible. Turn insight into action.
I previously shared 10 B2B lessons CMOs can learn from penguins. But if I had to reduce the list to one, it would be this:
Don’t face the cold alone.
Penguins survive because they communicate, coordinate, and share the burden. No single bird stays permanently protected in the center. They rotate, giving others a chance to recover before stepping back into the wind.
That’s how a real peer community works too.
We see that same principle come to life at our annual CMO Super Huddle, where B2B marketing leaders gather to exchange hard-won lessons, challenge assumptions, and help one another prepare for what’s next.
Sometimes you bring the insight. Sometimes you bring the challenge. Sometimes you discover that another CMO has already crossed the iceberg you’re staring at and can show you the safest route.
You still have to do the swimming. You just don’t have to enter the water without the benefit of the flock.
Popi made this point beautifully during our conversation. GPS doesn’t simply want passive supporters:
“We want them to be part of our colony.”
That idea feels especially appropriate for CMO Huddles.
The penguin may have started as a metaphor for the CMO experience. It has become something bigger: a reminder that community creates resilience and that shared responsibility should lead to shared action.
The challenges facing CMOs and penguins are very different, but the underlying lesson is remarkably similar. Progress requires information, adaptability, perseverance, and a community willing to share responsibility.
Penguins huddle because it helps them survive.
CMOs huddle because it helps them lead.
Either way, it’s warmer in the huddle.
CMO Huddles supports the Global Penguin Society because penguins embody the resilience, adaptability, communication, and community that marketing leaders need. CMO Huddles donates 1% of its annual revenue to help protect penguins and their habitats.
Penguins survive difficult conditions by adapting, conserving resources, communicating, and relying on their huddle. These qualities reflect how CMOs navigate pressure, limited resources, constant change, and the demands of one of the coldest jobs in the C-suite.
The phrase captures the value of trusted peer support. CMOs still carry responsibility for leading their organizations, but they can make better decisions when experienced peers share insights, challenges, and practical advice.
The Global Penguin Society uses science, education, conservation management, and community participation to protect penguins and the marine and coastal ecosystems they depend on.
CMO Huddles helps B2B marketing leaders win by bringing together peers, fresh perspectives, and opportunities to build stronger personal brands. Want to join the huddle? Learn more about CMO Huddles and apply to join the community.