Executive Connections LLC

Connecting organizations with the future of marketing

Executive Coaching

Filed Under: Ask Our Coach, Connections E-Zine, Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, Marketing Conferences & Events, New Executive Search, Personal Branding

CONNECTIONS EZINE: Issue No. 60

In this issue:

  • In Our Opinion:  Are You Addressing the Mobile Marketing Talent Gap?
  • Blog Roundup:
    •  Mobile Marketing 2013 Forum Recap – What You Need to Know!
  • Career Announcements: Digital Consulting, HR Consulting, Investment Banking & Financial Services

In Our Opinion

Are You Addressing the Mobile Marketing Talent Gap?
by Jeff Gundersen & Lola White

OVERVIEW – Mobile Adoption is Scaling Rapidly
Organizations know consumers’ attention is increasingly being drawn to their mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.), but most marketers are still in the early stages of mobile marketing strategy development — and they face an uphill climb to evolve beyond basic mobile marketing strategies to building the dedicated mobile marketing organizations and recruiting/developing/training the talent required for sustained future mobile marketing growth and success.
Marketers need to assess the current and future mobile talent needs (and gaps) and develop “best practices” related to education, hiring, training, and development of the future mobile marketing talent needed for sustained success in this new connected mobile marketing age.

CENTRAL ISSUES – Mobile Talent Gap
Consumer mobile adoption is outpacing mobile marketing talent investment. The central issue facing marketers is the rapid pace of consumer mobile adoption outpacing mobile marketing talent investment as marketers are still at an early stage in proving ROI of mobile marketing investments. Only 16% of marketers out of 250 global marketers surveyed have developed a mobile strategy, according to an October 2012 report from the Chief Marketing Officer Council and 46% of marketers surveyed in this study said they are evaluating the role of mobile in their organizations. One major factor slowing marketers response is proving the ROI case for increasing mobile marketing investments.

Consumer adoption of mobile technology is increasing extremely rapidly. Marketers understand that mobile has opened up a new touch point through which they can engage their customers, but while mobile budgets and programs are on the upswing, they don’t yet come close to matching consumer enthusiasm. By the end of 2012, more than one-half of US online adults owned smartphones — and 45% of US online adults fall into a category Forrester calls “SuperConnecteds”- people who use the mobile Internet at least weekly and who download and use applications and consume news and information on their smartphones.

Marketers are behind in developing mobile organizational strategies.  Most large marketers are spending $1 million to $5 million on mobile marketing today, and 60% of them expect their budgets to increase significantly in 2013. However, the CMO Council’s study findings point to marketers treating mobile as a standalone channel instead of being incorporated into an overall strategy. Additionally, 47% of CMOs said they are not satisfied because of a lack of talent or resources to roll out mobile engagements.

Additional Findings CMO Council Study
“Mobile spend should be an integral part and extension of all marketing and customer relationship investments including customer help, service and support, advertising and custom content delivery, website interactions, word of mouth and search optimization, loyalty and rewards program management, feedback and insight gathering, point-of-sale merchandising and shopper marketing as well as campaign performance measurement,” said Donovan Neale-May, Founder & Executive Director or The CMO Council.

Mobile strategies are still young. More than one-third of marketers say their company has had a mobile strategy for just two years, and another one-third have even less experience with the mobile channel. It’s still early days for most companies with this emerging channel. They’re still figuring out what mobile means to their businesses — which tactics to use, how to use them, and how to staff to support the programs.

Companies are using a variety of talent and staffing approaches to support mobile programs. This increased investment in mobile requires an increase in talent and staffing support — but there’s no one way that companies are staffing fast enough to meet the growing talent needs. Internally, only a small percentage of marketers have hired full-time mobile-dedicated employees, others are having full-time digital marketing teams supporting mobile part-time, and others use contract or freelance employees. One-third of marketers plan to hire more full-time mobile employees, and one-quarter plan to hire more contract mobile employees in the next six months…but marketers still rely primarily on agencies and part-timers.

Many firms are turning to their agencies to help them navigate this opportunity. Currently, marketers work with an average of three external agencies for mobile marketing. One-quarter of them use anywhere from four to 15 or more. And these agencies are only working on execution — the majority of companies are working with their traditional brand agency, or digital and mobile agencies, to help them incorporate mobile into their overall plans.

Some marketers are making acquisitions to quickly scale the mobile talent gaps.  One of the most important strategic staffing decisions CIOs and CMOs will make this year is deciding how to meet their mobile development needs. Most companies have leaned on specialist firms and don’t have first-rate mobile development skills in-house. Now they must decide if that approach will cut it as smartphone and tablet platforms become as indispensable as the Web in engaging customers. The Financial Times decided that relying on a contractor wasn’t good enough and they acquired Web app developer Assanka.Walmart also acquired the 13-person mobile development firm Smart Society in 2012, as well as other mobile and social acquisitions including Kosmix and Grabble. These strategic mobile acquisitions by large marketers underscores the challenge large companies face in scaling mobile talent acquisition once the ROI case for mobile has been proven.

Where Does Your Company Stand?
Where is your company in terms of developing a mobile marketing strategy, and hiring/developing the talent required for sustained success? While this may feel like the early days of online marketing, the difference is the rate of acceleration in mobile advertising and m-commerce will be faster than any previous new media channel we have experienced. If you are behind the curve, as many companies are, it’s time to act now.

Blog Roundup: Did you catch these recent posts on our blog?

BLOG:  Mobile Marketing 2013 Forum Recap – What You Need to Know!

The MMA-NY 2013 Forum filled the Marriott Marquis Hotel in NYC for 3 days, the eye-opening information, the program/content was excellent, and both the attendees and presenters confirmed MOBILE is rapidly becoming the next NEW media channel. These are exciting times for both the advertiser and consumer alike. …Read more

Career Announcements

Chief Marketing Officer
Managing Director, Alliance Sales Lead
Managing Director, Social Media Offering Lead
Managing Director, Investment Banking
Senior Executive – Financial Services

Learn more.

Filed Under: Connections E-Zine, Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Marketing Conferences & Events, New Executive Search, Personal Branding

CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue No. 59

In this issue:

  • In Our Opinion:  Proving the ROI Business Case For Mobile Marketing/Social Media Investment
  • Blog Roundup:
    • Join Jeff Gundersen at MMA-NY Forum 2013 in NYC on Wed, May 8
    • Become a Champion of Innovation
    • Online ID Survey Update
  • Career Announcements: Digital Consulting, Investment Banking & Financial Services

In Our Opinion

Proving the ROI Business Case For Mobile Marketing/Social Media Investment
by Jeff Gundersen & Lola White

It is clear as we are in the early stages of Q2, the economy is growing more rapidly than economists projected just a few months ago. CEO confidence is improving and companies are investing (in marketing and related technology investments) to build their businesses globally.

Consumer attention is increasingly being drawn to their mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.), however as marketing is rapidly shifting toward greater digital/social media/mobile initiatives, most companies are still in the early stages of mobile marketing and social media strategy development. One of the biggest challenges for marketers is proving the ROI business case for mobile marketing/social media investment (including staffing and marketing technology infrastructure investments). As a result, marketers are falling behind in evolving beyond basic mobile/social marketing strategies to building the dedicated mobile marketing/social media organizations and recruiting/developing the talent (in several functional areas) required for sustained future mobile marketing/social media growth and success.

MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) is contemplating creating a Mobile Talent Task Force to further the conversation (including all constituencies – marketers, agencies, media companies, technology suppliers, educators) regarding the specific current and future mobile talent needs (and gaps) in the current marketplace and to develop future industry standards and “best practices” related to education, hiring, training, and development of the future mobile marketing talent needed for enterprises to sustain success in this new, connected mobile marketing age.

A special workshop has been scheduled on Wed., May 8th at 8:30am as part of the pre-conference program at MMA-NY 2013 Forum. Brand marketers registering for this session will be eligible for a complimentary registration to the entire MMA-NY conference (May 9-10), so we invite all interested parties to check out this program.

Contributing to the current efforts by marketers to prove the business case (ROI) for mobile marketing and social media, we have attached an interesting article from BazaarVoice on “Real ROI From Social In 5 Steps.”

According to BazaarVoice, the 5 critical steps include:

  1. Be social where shoppers are buying.
  2. Enable conversations that help consumers buy.
  3. Get found with fresh consumer content
  4. Use multiple paths to show ROI
  5. Measure your social mix to optimize results

Proving the business ROI case for mobile marketing and social media investments is one of the top priorities/challenges currently facing CMOS. As a follow-up we are requesting our readers provide feedback on other current articles and studies related to proving ROI from mobile marketing and social media.

Blog Roundup: Did you catch these recent posts on our blog?

BLOG:  Join Jeff Gundersen at MMA-NY Forum 2013 in NYC on Wed, May 8
Please join Jeff Gundersen, Co-Chair, MMA Talent Task Force, in NYC on Wed, May 8 from 8:45am-9:30am at MMA-NY Forum 2013 for a COMPLIMENTARY session Jeff is moderating:

Mobile Marketing Talent Needs – Immediate & Long-Term – Strategies for Identifying and Filling Talent & Skill Gaps in Today’s Mobile Driven Marketplace

…Read more

BLOG: Become a Champion of Innovation
Spring has brought forth a spirit of new beginnings, and as we look at what’s new and what skills we can add leverage or  focus on in the next quarter, we believe the emphasis should be on how to champion innovation within your business. …Read more

Online ID Survey Update  
Congrats to our lucky Personal Brand Makeover winner! Stay tuned… for announcement in weeks to come!

Career Announcements

Chief Marketing & Communications Officer – NEW – details to come
Managing Director, Alliance Sales Lead
Managing Director, Social Media Offering Lead
Managing Director, Investment Banking
Senior Executive – Financial Services

Learn more.

Filed Under: Ask Our Coach, Board of Directors, Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, Personal Branding, Recommended Articles, Recommended Books, Webinars

Become a Champion of Innovation

Spring has brought forth a spirit of new beginnings, and as we look at what’s new and what skills we can add leverage or  focus on in the next quarter, we believe the emphasis should be on how to champion innovation within your business.

In the past, innovation was considered “hot,” now it is often a matter of business life and death.

We are seeing this in the media sector with newspapers shuttering and other print media consolidating as consumers move from ink on paper to on-demand digital media and entertainment. There is a growing body of thought and research suggesting the ability to systematically innovate may be the only truly sustainable competitive advantage in this new globalized digital and social economy. [Read more…] about Become a Champion of Innovation

Filed Under: Connections E-Zine, Executive Coaching, New Executive Search, Personal Branding

CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue No. 58

In this issue:

  • In Our Opinion:  Mobile Marketing Talent Needs – Immediate & Long Term
  • Blog Roundup:
    • Build Endurance for Maximum Performance
    • Managing Change: Respond Instead of React
    • Survey: The Results of Our Online ID Survey
  • Career Announcements:  Digital Consulting, Investment Banking & Financial Services

In Our Opinion: Mobile Marketing Talent Needs – Immediate & Long Term

by Jeff Gundersen & Lola White

We recently teamed up with Michael Becker, Managing Director, North America of the Mobile Marketing Association (“MMA”) to launch a new, industry-wide mobile talent (and skills) initiative which we would like to share with you since mobile is one of the newest, fastest growing areas of marketing and advertising spending in 2013.

[Read more…] about CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue No. 58

Filed Under: Ask Our Coach, Branding Yourself Online, Executive Coaching, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, Personal Branding

The Results of Our Online ID Survey

In our recent Online Identity Survey, we gained further insights into the role your online identity plays in your ability to land the right career opportunity and your challenges in building out an online presence that is a match for your personal brand.

Thanks so much to those of you who participated and to the many who remarked that our questions were “eye-opening” and “thought-provoking.”

We will spotlight the prize winning recipient of our Online Identity Package Makeover (valued at $1,500) conducted by our personal branding experts, Lola White and Kirsten Vernon, along with the results of our collaboration in an upcoming issue.

Highlighted survey results:

  • 100% cite LinkedIn as the social network they use most often for professional purposes
  • 93% believe their online identity plays a role in securing or finding new roles and/or clients
  • 93% are not using video to communicate their brand message
  • 89% are mindful of the personal brand impact of every post
  • 86% feel they need to invest more time managing their online reputation
  • 85% have not registered their name as a domain name
  • 68% would like to raise their visibility and credibility as a subject matter expert or thought leader, but are not certain of how to publish and promote their content so their target audience will actually find it
  • 65% regularly monitor their online ID in some way
  • 44% feel they are not taking the opportunity to fully maximize their brand building activities (speaking, article writing, etc.) using social media
  • 41% invest 30 minutes per week in managing their online brand
  • 37% agree they are using the full potential of LinkedIn

Stay tuned…the top challenge in building your online brand is not knowing the best tools to utilize. We’ll have our personal branding experts address this in an upcoming blog post.

Filed Under: Ask Our Coach, Branding Yourself Online, Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, LinkedIn, Marketing Conferences & Events, Personal Branding

Managing Change: Respond Instead of React

The world of work as we have known it is changing and evolving at an extraordinary pace. The “rules” of the past no longer apply, and new “rules” are being written and rewritten all the time.

Changes can be unsettling, whether they’re potential or actual, positive or negative. You may be gearing up for a promotion/new position, staring at a wide-open field of new prospective clients, or launching new products and services. Or you may be hunkering down in the face of outsourcing, downsizing, mergers/consolidations, takeovers, and local or global competition.

Consider the Changes Taking Place at Yahoo!

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has certainly unleashed enormous, untold passions about how, when and where people should work at Yahoo.

The recent, now infamous, change requiring Yahoo employees to work in the office instead of telecommuting from home has been likened to the shot heard round the world.

No less than a great war has ensued and Marissa Mayer has been villainized and vilified by some and verified and validated by others.

It is no secret that Yahoo has been struggling to keep pace with the likes of Apple, Facebook, and Google, all of whom have strong in-office cultures and not coincidentally, strong revenues to match.

In Our Opinion…It’s not about trusting people to work at home, it’s about Mayer’s challenge in the turnaround of Yahoo regardless of where people are working. Mayer has to build a new corporate culture of trust in the infinite possibilities of what the Yahoo organization can create together.

However, as we are hearing, this change process is creating considerable stress for Yahoo employees.

How We Respond to Change

Do you respond or react to change and do you know the difference? As soon as something nudges you out of your regular routine, or challenges your understanding of how the world works and where you fit into it, it will likely trigger a deluge of feelings including; fear, anxiety, overwhelm, excitement, distraction or denial.

How Does the Way You Respond to Change Impact Your Brand?

These feelings can manifest in your behavior.  You may, unconsciously, act out with behavior that is not a brand match for you, or your communication style alters, both at work and at home. You might feel compelled to push yourself and others to overwork, or take the opposite approach – which most do – and procrastinate, avoid the work that’s on your plate and get sidetracked with misconceptions, assumptions and gossip to changes that may or may not happen.

On a personal level, your self-care may suffer and you may reach for unhealthy substances, get less sleep, skip meals or overindulge. You might cut yourself off from friends and family, and spend more time alone or with other people who have unhealthy habits or attract people who are in the same place as you.

The Impact

Dealing with change requires flexibility, resilience and an ability to think on your feet. Unfortunately, when you’re caught up in your reaction to change, these mental abilities are affected as well. When you’re preoccupied, worried and focused on the future instead of the present, it’s much harder to concentrate and apply your brainpower to what’s in front of you.

Great leaders are admired for their serenity and confidence even in the face of uncertainty and upheaval. For many of us, though, when change is afoot, serenity is far from our reach. Instead, emotions are much closer to the surface and can flare up at the most inopportune times. Whether you lash out, cry, or pound on your desk behind closed doors, it’s incredibly uncomfortable to feel so out of control.

Consider, also, the impact on the people around you. Emotional outbursts, whether at work or at home, can irrevocably damage your effectiveness, your reputation and your relationships.

Successful Strategies for Dealing With Change

Here are five strategies to help you remain flexible and resilient in the face of change:

1. Take care of YOUr body. Eat well, sleep well and refrain from harmful habits like indulging in caffeine adrenaline behavior, excessive drinking, or other risky behavior. Work out whatever that is for you!

2. Take care of YOUr mind. Stay in the present moment. Challenge your negative thinking and keep things in perspective; when the doom and gloom sets in, ask, “How important is this, really?”

3. Take control of YOUr emotions. Find reasons to smile and laugh, even when you don’t feel like it—especially when you don’t feel like it! Funny movies, blogs or videos can help. Vent your negative feelings by exercising, banging on a drum or pounding on a pillow.

4. Treat others well. Strengthen your good relationships so you can draw on their support and work at your challenging relationships so they don’t add to your stress.  In fact, this may be a good time to remove them from your life altogether.

5. Take charge. Be proactive and prepare the best you can for the changes that might come, but then accept the reality of the moment. Think back to other challenges that you’ve come through and remind yourself that everything will work out okay this time, too.

Filed Under: Ask Our Coach, Branding Yourself Online, Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, LinkedIn, Personal Branding, Uncategorized, Webinars

Build Endurance for Maximum Performance

When we hear the word endurance, we usually relate it to the performance, stamina and the resilience of an athlete. As leaders and emerging leaders, we suggest you “hear” the word and take the same definition, but add the elements of bravery, prevail, and persistence.

Particularly in these challenging economic times, we need to create athlete-like minds AND bodies to sustain performance in the pace of the current marketplace, to be great role models, and to create outstanding results in every area of our lives! [Read more…] about Build Endurance for Maximum Performance

Filed Under: Connections E-Zine, Executive Coaching, New Executive Search, Uncategorized

CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue No. 57

In this issue:

  • In Our Opinion:  Bring On The Sequester!
  • Blog Roundup:
    • Are You Ready To Work for Private Equity?
    • Are You a Digitally & Socially Proficient or Deficient CMO?
    • Survey: Online Identity Update – Contest Ends March 5th
  • Career Announcements:  Healthcare, Investment Banking & Financial Services

In Our Opinion: Bring On The Sequester!

by Jeff Gundersen & Lola White

From our vantage point, we are seeing hopeful signs of progress early in 2013 with a number of business sectors advancing and hiring new C-level talent to fuel their global growth strategies. EC made two senior-level executive placements in January and we are working on three new senior-level global search assignments all related to clients expanding and growing global businesses!

In our opinion, all the current hype, hysteria and fear-mongering regarding the coming sequester deadline ($85 Billion in Federal government spending cuts will automatically begin being implemented as of March 1st) is just the U.S. government reminding the business sector they are collectively not doing their jobs. The dysfunction of our government leaders and their unwillingness to face the hard choices in making spending cut decisions is clearly concerning to  the vast majority of CEOs we speak with regularly. Once again, we are experiencing our government getting in the way of business instead of doing their jobs, and their inaction threatens the current recovery.

There is something fundamentally wrong about the media messages we are receiving from Washington as they continue “politics as usual.” I say bring on the sequester cuts, they are desperately needed now, and cutting into our huge deficit spending will give the business sector the confidence the government is heading in the right direction and this will enhance the chances of a sustained economic recovery.

In yesterday’s (2/27/2013)  WSJ, Phil Gramm authored an article entitled “Obama and the Sequester Scare“ in which he writes, “The president’s response to the sequester demonstrates how out of touch he is with the real world of working families. Even after the sequester, the federal government will spend $15 billion more than it did last year, and 30% more than it spent in 2007. Government spending on non-defense discretionary programs will be 19.2% higher and spending on defense will be 13.8% higher than it was in 2007.” So clearly, even if we proceed with $85 Billion in across the board budget cuts, we will not be in the dire straights some government officials are projecting.”

The federal government needs to take a page out of the corporate handbook. BOA just announced 17,000 layoffs, Time Inc. recently announced 2,000+ layoffs, and major staffing and expense reductions are major tools in the corporate playbook when economic conditions change and tough actions and decisions are warranted.

Clearly, the world is watching (including China which is holding most of the U.S. debt) and waiting for the U.S. to do the responsible thing. Whether it happens through reasonable compromise (unlikely this week) or automatic sequester cuts, reigning in federal government spending we can no longer afford is a critical element to a long-term, sustained economic recovery.

Blog Roundup: Did you catch these recent posts on our blog?

Are You Ready To Work for Private Equity?

As an executive search firm with a specialization in digital marketing, we obtain 20%+ of our assignments through introductions by private equity firms to their portfolio companies needing a CEO, CMO, CRO, CFO or other C-level positions. We are always looking for candidates who meet the needs of our clients and in particular…Read more

Are You a Digitally & Socially Proficient or Deficient CMO?

With digital marketing, social media, mobile advertising and marketing budgets growing at a compound rate of more than 20% annually, what steps are you taking as a CMO to build and develop your personal brand in an increasingly digital, social, and mobile marketing world?… Read more

Survey:  Online Identity Update – Hurry…Contest Ends March 5th

As we continue to provide offerings that meet the evolving needs of our executive clients, we created this survey related to how executives manage their online reputation. Here are preliminary results highlights to date:

  • 87% agree that their online identity plays a part in securing new roles and/or clients
  • 57% report that their biggest challenge in building their online brand is knowing the right tools to utilize
  • 85% agree that they should be investing more time in managing their online reputation

Here’s what else we know…Read more

Career Announcements

VP, Marketing Intelligence — Global Healthcare – NEW
VP, Digital/Social Marketing – Global Healthcare – NEW
Managing Director, Investment Banking
Senior Executive – Financial Services

Learn more.

Filed Under: Ask Our Coach, Board of Directors, Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, LinkedIn, New Executive Search, Personal Branding

Are You Ready To Work For Private Equity?

As an executive search firm with a specialization in digital marketing, we obtain 20%+ of our assignments through introductions by private equity firms to their portfolio companies needing a CEO, CMO, CRO, CFO or other C-level positions. We are always looking for candidates who meet the needs of our clients and in particular, PE firms. 

What personal characteristics do we look for when hiring for Private Equity? 

How can you assess if you have the “chops” to work for private equity? Is your personal brand a match for private equity? What can you expect and what is expected once you are hired, in terms of the operational differences, compared to working for a large, publicly owned company?

If you are considering a career opportunity in a private equity financed business, then check out the top 5 qualities and characteristics to better understand if you really are ready, willing and able. 
 [Read more…] about Are You Ready To Work For Private Equity?

Filed Under: Ask Our Coach, Branding Yourself Online, Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, Personal Branding

Are You a Digitally & Socially Proficient or Deficient CMO?

With digital marketing, social media, mobile advertising and marketing budgets growing at a compound rate of more than 20% annually, what steps are you taking as a CMO to build and develop your personal brand in an increasingly digital, social, and mobile marketing world?

Are you a Digitally & Socially Proficient or Deficient CMO?

We are seeing that a surprisingly high percentage of CMOs are not compatible with the fast-arriving digital-marketing and social/mobile world, and this may explain the short average tenure of CMOs (i.e., less than 2 years) that makes this the highest-risk C-level position.

In many instances, some CMOs lack the professional experience to integrate the digital channel and new media with traditional off-line media and marketing strategies. They often don’t have the digital/social marketing, direct marketing/CRM, and analytic/segmentation skills to lead integrated media and marketing programs, where digital/social/mobile marketing and media strategies are increasingly leading branding, broadcast and print media, direct, promotion, and PR.

So what does this mean for you as a CMO as you look ahead to the future and go from a mass marketer to a one-to-one marketer?  

Here are the top five best practices we think you need to do now!

[Read more…] about Are You a Digitally & Socially Proficient or Deficient CMO?