Understanding Marketing Directors

Debby Kulber, an account director at Point to Point, noticed that while we spend a lot of time gathering insights on our client’s customers, we spend very little time understanding what it’s like to be the client. To get a deeper view, Debby interviewed 14 randomly selected corporate marketing leaders and asked the following nine questions:

1.    What’s the best part of your day?
2.    Describe the worst marketing meeting you ever sat through.
3.    If you were to compare yourself to an animal at work what would it be?
4.    If you were to give yourself a title that describes what you really do, what would your title be?
5.    If you could have one super power to help you with your job, what would it be?
6.    How many people do you have to answer to?
7.    Describe a dream that you’ve had about work.
8.    Rank in order of trust: ad executive, CEO, lawyer, marketing director, used car salesman
9.    What do you complain about when you go home at night?

Here’s a summary of what she found.

People who work in corporate marketing are stressed, over-extended and under appreciated. When asked about the best part of their day, most respondents said the beginning or end. It seems that days often start with great promise, but are often maligned by a constant flow of interruptions and misdirections,  and are further stressed by an acute shortage of time.

Interacting with other executives who don’t understand the function and objective of marketing adds additional frustration. We heard several examples of meetings where the role of marketing is grossly misunderstood. One marketing director commented, “My client is requesting something that they have no idea what the strategy is or what they are to accomplish.” And of course ill-prepared agencies can make a bad day worse.

Animal comparisons filled offices with squirrels, beavers, bunnies and hummingbirds—all members of the busy kingdom. Our favorite quote personifies a dog, “Ready for fun, loyal, good in a group but content to work alone. There for others, sensitive to their needs, able to smell trouble.”

Superpower requests also tell a story of not having nearly enough time or resources. Cloning, stretching power, time machines and mind reading would all make the day move along a little more smoothly. Equipped with these new powers our research group could more easily support the “scads, hundreds and dozens” of people who each super hero reports to.

Several of those interviewed find the job doesn’t end with sleep. “I dream about doing my job, so I always wake up tired and never get a break.”

Debby’s research verifies what many in marketing already know: the demands placed on most marketing departments are inversely proportional to the resources they have. And this will probably continue to worsen with media fragmentation, budget cuts and a basic lack of organizational knowledge of what marketing should and should not do.

So why would anyone want to be in corporate marketing or advertising? My guess is that most people enter and stay in marketing because the actually believe they can make something better and help the organizations they work for succeed.

So being a corporate marketing leader may resemble my golf game. When I leave the course I forget the 109 bad shots that I endured and focus on that one great shot that I hit so sweetly. That one shot that gives me hope to return on a better day when ball and club work in harmony.

If you would like to see the full research please click here. We’d like to hear your comments and what type of marketing animal you are.

I’d like to wish Debby Kulber a speedy return to good health. We all miss her and find that her absence leaves a giant void in our office. Get well Debby, we need you back.