Huddlers in the News

Listen Here | From Renegade Thinkers Unite, Episode 242: So You Want to Create a Category?

Category creation is the ultimate form of B2B brand differentiation. Think Salesforce and CRM, HubSpot and inbound marketing—these top-tier brands are the leaders in their category because they were the champions of it from the very beginning. It takes a lot of work to get there, however, and not all brands are made for category creation.

This episode features three expert marketing execs who also happen to be veteran category creators—Chip Rodgers of WorkSpan, Gabi Zijderveld of Affectiva, and Bernd Leger (now at Mimecast). Tune in to learn the ins and outs of category creation, like how to engage with analysts to build credibility, how you know you’re on the right track, and how to manage competitors as a category leader.

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

Marketing as a discipline does not exist in every company. In smaller companies, the absence is often driven by founders who believe that if they make a great product, the market will find them. In larger companies, the reasons are harder to pinpoint but the result is often the same: Marketing is really an order-taking function for sales. How does a newly arrived marketer correct this situation?

When Johnny Smith, Jr., began as VP of marketing services at Encompass Health in late 2019, those assigned to marketing suffered from low morale and labored to keep up with requests. Taking a methodical approach, Smith transformed the department into one that knew customers, built the brand, drove demand and was unafraid of saying no to sales.

Read the full Q&A on Ad Age: How Encompass Health Refocused Marketing to Build the Brand

Listen to the Episode: One Marketer’s Change Management Playbook

Listen Here | From Renegade Thinkers Unite, Episode 240: Structuring the Ideal B2B Marketing Department

B2B success starts with carefully considered organizational design. Whether strategically allocating budget and staff across multiple marketing functions or managing a growing MarTech stack, organizational design is no easy task. In this episode, CMOs Kathie Johnson of Talkdesk, Anna Griffin of Smartsheet, and Melanie Marcus of Surescripts discuss how they’ve structured their marketing teams for today and tomorrow, aligning to C-Suite expectations and adapting to both predictable and unexpected change.

Be sure to tune in to learn how the right B2B marketing structure can align Sales and Marketing teams, grow revenue, and transform marketing into an integral part of a B2B brand (and why DE&I should be a priority for building marketing teams). Check it out!

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

Listen Here | From Renegade Thinkers Unite, Episode 239: B2B Brand Transformation in 3 Acts

Powerful narratives tend to follow a 3-act story structure: the setup, the confrontation, and the resolution. Act One is about establishing characters and their challenges in the world they live in; Act Two is about the actions they take in response to said challenges; and Act Three brings the story to a climax, effectively giving characters a new sense of who they are.

In this fascinating episode, CMO Paul Stoddart lays out the 3-act story behind Epicor’s recent brand development. Tune in to learn how Epicor identified where it was lacking, discovered a new purpose that aligned its brand strategy to its business strategy, and brought its new promise to life through its employees and customers, effectively transforming the organization from the inside out.

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

Listen Here | From Renegade Thinkers Unite, Episode 238: The B2B Vertical Marketing Playbook

Artful marketers don’t just chuck paint at the wall and hope people notice, they come with a full set of brushes and an eye for detail. It’s this focus that can lead to some really effective, targeted marketing campaigns, and in this episode, we’ll be exploring the medium called “Vertical Marketing.”

There’s a lot to sift through when it comes to building a robust B2B vertical marketing program, but Ian Howells of Sage Intacct, Lynne Capozzi of Acquia, and Mika Yamamoto of F5 are great guides. Tune in to hear how they apply vertical marketing in the real world, where they’ve noticed mistakes, and why vertical marketing is here to stay.

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

Listen Here | From Renegade Thinkers Unite, Episode 235: Brewing a Simple Brand Story with Tealium

When CMO Heidi Bullock joined Tealium in 2019, her mandate was to grow the company from great to greater. Tealium already had a solid standing in the customer data management space when she arrived, having reached over $100 million in ARR with no plans of slowing down.

Heidi dove in immediately, directly reaching out to customers and partners to figure out how to level up the brand. Tune in to hear Heidi spill the tea on how Tealium simplified its brand story, infused it into the organization, and brought it to market with a flourish. This episode is a remarkable lesson in B2B brand strategy—you don’t want to miss it!

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

Listen Here | From Renegade Thinkers Unite, Episode 234: B2B Marketers Marketing to Marketers

Like any good magician, a great marketer never reveals their secrets. The best marketing is so good that it wows its target audience on the stage, but when that audience is a group of marketers, things become a lot trickier. It’s like pulling a rabbit out of a hat at a magician’s convention—your fellow marketers already know all the tricks of the trade, so they are that much harder to impress.

In this episode, we spoke with three master CMOs of marketing to marketers: Norman Guadagno of Acoustic, Jamie Gilpin of Sprout Social, and Eric Eden of Postclick. In this insightful conversation, they share all kinds of tricks of the trade, from strategies to really engage the marketing community to how much MarTech is too much. Check it out!

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/