In our latest episode of Take 5 Live, we sat down with the one and only Peter Shankman for a discussion on integrating marketing and comms (related to the CMO Council report that came out last month).
We highlighted some key takeaways below— not just around the challenges in integrating marketing and comms, but also how we're all still coping with the ongoing pandemic and other daily stressors.
1. What are the top challenges facing marketing and comms leaders when trying to align?
Without honesty and full-disclosure the ability to get a message across is hurt; this is a struggle for both marketing and comms. Each team needs to own their part in it and work to break down the silos.
Owning what you're talking about together- presenting a unified front- and making it fair and honest will take you further with the C-Suite and with your audience.
2. What tactics can bring marketing and comms together?
Empathy. When everyone comes together to solve a problem and tell the story, that's going to have the biggest impact.
One overlooked tool your team might be able to tap into? Twitter lists. Create lists of customers, coworkers, the C-Suite, other notable people in your industry, etc and decide how you can best keep up with and amplify these voices.
"What can you do to prove that it's valuable? Data. Men lie, women lie, children lie— data doesn't lie." -Peter Shankman
3. How are we all coping with the stress of the current year on top of the stress of things like aligning marketing and comms?
It has never been more important to take care of our health. Get up and walk around, eat a vegetable every once in a while. If we're not taking care of ourselves we can't take care of other people or do our jobs (the airplane mask theory).
We can create a time to take care of ourselves. We have a lot of stress, but we have to shut off the alerts and take some time to just sit there quietly when we can to help shift our mindset. Even that makes a difference.
