Marketing Gets Real

During this Marketing Gets Real podcast episode, Cari and Dana sat down with Gemma Hood, Founder and CEO of the company culture consultancy Culturehood. The group discussed imposter syndrome and career growth, workplace happiness versus engagement, and maintaining appropriate work/life balance. Some key takeaways include:The importance of employee engagement over happiness and how engagement leads to discretionary effort and commitment to the company's mission.The role of leadership in cultivating a positive culture and being involved in employee experience initiatives.  Changing employee expectations around work-life balance, personal growth opportunities, and authentic company culture.Strategies for keeping culture and engagement top of mind like running engagement surveys and implementing peer recognition.RELATED LINKSConnect with Gemma here!Check out Culturehood.Learn more about Unreal Digital.

Nowadays, we are bombarded with vast information, making it crucial to effectively convey complex data in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand manner. This is where the role of data visualization comes in. Data visualization is a powerful tool that allows us to present complex data in a visual format. The main goal is to communicate insights and trends effectively, making it easier for people to understand and make informed decisions.During this Marketing Gets Real podcast episode, Cari and Dana chatted with Meg Maffitt, VP of Business Strategy, Marketing, and Communications for the water information tech company True Elements. The group discussed how to uncover the powerful techniques and strategies that can transform intricate data into compelling visual narratives. Some key takeaways include:Meg’s winding career path from anthropology and art history to pharmaceuticals, environmental advocacy, and water conservation.The role of water intelligence in making informed decisions about water resources.Visualizing complex water data and educating audiences at different stages of understanding were discussed as important challenges in marketing water intelligence solutions.The speaker shared their experience starting a driver training company with a new paradigm focused on safety through highly trained instructors and parental participation.RELATED LINKSConnect with Meg here!Check out True Elements.Learn more about Unreal Digital.

Podcasting has become an incredibly practical and strategic approach to fostering meaningful relationships with target audiences and accounts. By featuring industry experts, thought leaders, and influential guests, you can engage prospective buyers throughout the sales funnel and establish a strong rapport — through insightful conversations, valuable insights, and thought-provoking discussions.During this episode of the Marketing Gets Real podcast, hosts Cari and Dana chat with Devin McDonnell, Founder of Devenio Podcasts, about how podcasting offers a unique opportunity to showcase your expertise, build credibility, and cultivate long-lasting connections with your audience. Some key points discussed include:Why podcasting became an important channel for driving engagement and fueling B2B marketing initiatives.How video is an emerging trend in podcasting that can boost discoverability and engagement.How Account-based marketing strategies using podcasts can help build relationships with target accounts.The new tools that allow B2B marketers to accurately measure podcast ROI by tracking listener journeys.Why video and derivative content are important for B2B marketers to fuel marketing efforts on a limited budget.RELATED LINKSConnect with Devin here!Check out Devenio Podcasts.Learn more about Unreal Digital.

Every decision can be the difference between profit and loss. That’s why the field of Revenue Operations (RevOps) stands as a critical pillar for sustainable growth in modern businesses. As companies strive to streamline their operations and maximize revenue, they encounter intricate challenges requiring sophisticated solutions. During this episode of the Marketing Gets Real podcast, hosts Cari and Dana chat with Ellie Cary, Unreal Digital’s Global Head of RevOps, to unravel the complexities of this vital business function. Key talking points include:How Marketing and RevOps teams are evolving to support core functions and needs, focusing on unified direction, processes, and strategies. The importance of understanding the customer journey and breaking it down into manageable steps to achieve goals.The need for scalable attribution frameworks and data tie-ins to accounts, partners, and contacts.How RevOps teams must adapt to changing policies and leverage AI to build logic and track high-intent data.RELATED LINKSFollow Ellie here!Learn more about Unreal Digital.

The marketing field constantly evolves, presenting new opportunities and challenges for professionals. So when we get a chance to provide valuable insights and strategies to help you navigate the dynamic marketing job market, we take it! During this episode of the Marketing Gets Real podcast, hosts Cari and Dana chat with Brenn Scott, Founder of found.Consulting, and Lindsay Warren, the company’s Head of Talent Acquisition, explore everything you need to know to thrive in the competitive marketing world. Key talking points include:How the talent market was very competitive in 2021-2022 but has cooled off more recently as some tech companies slowed hiring or laid people off.How to significantly impact employee retention, performance, and costs with well-done onboarding.Common perceptions and misconceptions of working for an agency. Managing Gen Z employees who want flexibility and new challenges will require balancing excitement with ensuring they thoroughly learn roles before moving forward.RELATED LINKSFollow Brenn and Lindsay!Learn more about found.Consulting.Learn more about Unreal Digital.

Alignment between sales and marketing continues to be a prevailing topic of discussion. Despite their shared goal of driving business growth, their distinct approaches often lead to divergent strategies and perspectives.During this episode of the Marketing Gets Real podcast, hosts Cari and Dana chat with industry pioneer Pam Didner about why this alignment is still a subject of contention and explores the underlying disparities that fuel this conversation. Some key points discussed included:Practical ways marketing can better support sales, such as analyzing attendee data from webinars and events to find new leads for salespeople.Advice for marketers in the current economic environment, such as focusing on quick wins in the first 90 days at a new job.Perspectives on how AI can help but not replace human judgment and the importance of having a unique point of view.RELATED LINKSConnect with Pam on Twitter and LinkedIn.Learn more about Pam’s career.Learn more about Unreal Digital.

In this episode of the Marketing Gets Real podcast, we listen back to Cari and Dana's conversation with Sandra Freeman, VP of Strategic Marketing at Demandbase, a software company helping companies give better account-based experiences (ABX). With all of her experience, she has seen her share of marketing mess-ups! Even seasoned professionals can hit some bumps when working to drive revenue.Join our hosts, Cari and Dana, as they dive into Sandra's unforgettable moments when everything went wrong, from accidentally misspelling the CEO's name to shedding tears after webinars. The group also discusses their mishaps during in-person events, including the infamous "Silverado Weekend Mistake." Get ready for some real-life stories and valuable lessons learned. Tune in now!RELATED LINKSConnect with Sandra on Twitter and LinkedIn.Learn more about Demandbase.Learn more about Unreal Digital.

If you're a marketing pro eager to stay ahead of the cool stuff that happens when AI and marketing collide, this is the place for you! We're here to spill all the juicy insights and practical tips for using AI tools in your marketing adventures. So, let's dive in and discover how AI can supercharge your marketing game without any worries or doubts holding you back.During this episode, Dana and Cari chat with Lynsey Barron, the newly appointed President at Unreal Digital Group, about artificial intelligence and how it relates to B2B marketing. Tune in to learn:The different use cases of AI, like content generation and process efficiencies; Opportunities and challenges around AI discoverability; and Lessons from using AI for consumer research and personalizing content. RELATED LINKSFollow Lynsey here!Learn more about Unreal Digital Group.Check out our other episodes!

As many generations coalesce in today's dynamic workplace, colliding perspectives, values, and work styles will either lead to tension or become a powerful catalyst for growth and innovation. But to ensure you’re fostering this innovation, business leaders must be authentic and supportive, and create a nurturing environment where teams can thrive. It’s very similar to parenting!During this episode, Cari and Dana chat with Hana Jacover, ICF certified coach and advisor for the consulting firm Hype House. The group discusses the intersection of leadership, authenticity, and parenting, uncovering the key principles and strategies to help us become empowered and influential leaders within our workplace and families.Listeners will learn about:What leadership journeys look like for new and experienced professionals.How professional development and emotional intelligence play into building leadership acumen.Diversity and inclusion in the workplace, as well as Neurodiversity accommodations and support.RELATED LINKSFollow Hana here!Learn more about Unreal Digital Group.Check out our other episodes!

As we gather again to embark on our next thrilling podcast adventure, we can't help but reflect on the whirlwind journey we've been on over the past couple of years. It has been nothing short of chaotic and exhilarating, hasn't it? Now, as we dive into this new chapter, we find ourselves asking some important questions. How can we, as B2B marketers and entrepreneurs, seize the opportunity amidst our challenges? With recessions looming and marketing departments tightening budgets, how can we navigate this chaos and turn it to our advantage? These are the conversations we're eager to delve into – exploring the strategies and insights that will help us uncover hidden opportunities amid uncertainty. During our first episode this season, we discuss plans for the podcast and talk about realigning Unreal Digital Group to serve clients better, hiring new talented team members, and opening an office in the UK. Tune in to hear:Changes and restructuring agencies to focus more on client needs and expectations;Opportunities to help clients navigate economic challenges through ideas like focusing on revenue, marketing operations, and go-to-market strategies; andThe podcast’s upcoming episode topics like AI, generational differences in the workplace, and better-aligning sales and marketing.RELATED LINKSFollow Cari here!Follow Dana here!Learn more about Unreal Digital Group.Check out our other episodes!

In a world where digital marketing is king, it's easy to forget the power of good old-fashioned event marketing. But this tried and true approach can still be highly effective in engaging potential customers and driving leads. All that said, event marketing is its own breed and can lead to unique mishaps and uh-oh moments.Stefanie Maragna is a passionate, tenacious, motivated sales and marketing professional with 20+years of experience in both sales and marketing fields. She has a strong track record of success in sales, field marketing, events, customer advocacy programs, and marketing communications. She has worked both in FMCG, Not-for-Profit and IT. Currently managing corporate marketing at Sage Intacct, Stefanie has many experiences and “Oh-Shit” moments to share, highlighting what can happen when working events for enterprise-level brands.Tune in to this episode of the Marketing Gets Real podcast, where our hosts Cari and Dana talk with Stefanie about the value of having a sales background in a marketing role. The group also discusses Stefanie’s “Ha-Ha” moments in event marketing, including running events while struggling with morning sickness and losing a whole truckload of branded swag for an event!Other talking points include:What it’s like to work and market in different countries and how that impacts campaign planning.Stefanie’s experience owning the corporate marketing function at Sage Intacct.The importance of blurring lines between sales and marketing and how those relationships impact the success of both departments.Other surprise moments in event marketing include coping with morning sickness during a big keynote and handling the occasional signage issue.RELATED LINKSConnect with Stefanie on Twitter and LinkedIn.Learn more about Sage Intacct here!Learn more about Unreal Digital.

Marketing leaders know that building a customer-centric organization is essential for success in the modern marketplace. And while there are many different approaches to achieving this goal, one critical element is cultivating a diversity, equality, and inclusion (DE&I) mindset within your team.With a great passion for being a driving force for innovative change, Deanna Ransom is a woman on a mission to make a difference through empowering women and DE&I positive businesses.  She is a leader with over 25 years of growth and leadership within B2B and non-profit sectors, recently serving as the Global Head of Marketing Services and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Chairperson for Televerde.  Deanna helped develop a new go-to-market strategy transforming and modernizing the business while delivering organizational change by leading the cultural transformation initiative for the company.As the Executive Director of Women in Revenue, Deanna and the team at Women in Revenue are helping businesses grow and scale with a DE&I mindset. They continue to help women in revenue-impacting business roles through education, support, mentorship, and networking opportunities. Tune in to this episode of the Marketing Gets Real podcast, where our hosts Cari and Dana talk with Deanna about the current state of diversity, equality, and inclusion in the marketplace. The group also discusses Deanna’s biggest “Oh Shit” moment, in which her team was persuaded into a big (and unsuccessful) product marketing campaign and its impact on customer relationships.RELATED LINKSConnect with Deanna on Twitter and LinkedIn.Learn more about Women in Revenue.Check out upcoming events from Women in Revenue.Learn more about Unreal Digital.

Businesses are forced to take a look at their marketing messaging when surprises of any severity occur. To ensure that they are not putting any customer relationships in danger, businesses have to pull back the reins on their marketing efforts in certain situations–from industry speedbumps to global pandemics!While this is understandable, it can also be quite detrimental to a company's bottom line. So, what is the right way to handle marketing during unforeseen circumstances? And what should you avoid doing?Meg Hoyecki serves as Vice President of Marketing, leading go-to-market strategy, communications, and voice-of-customer initiatives for SOC Telemed. Meg brings 15 years of healthcare marketing expertise and has been part of SOC Telemed’s leadership team since 2017. Prior to SOC Telemed, Meg led marketing teams at high-growth companies including Ciox Health and Optum, specializing in creating awareness and demand in new markets with innovative solutions. Meg has a plethora of experience marketing in a chaotic market, and has many stories to share highlighting what it takes to make messages stick with patient-first prospects.Tune in to this episode of the Marketing Gets Real podcast, where our hosts Cari and Dana talk with Meg about some of their “Oh Shit” moments in their career, including the headaches that happen when a healthcare company goes public and needs to set up a BDR team during a global pandemic! The group also discusses how messaging has grown evermore important at a time where buyer expectations and needs can change at the drop of a hat.RELATED LINKSConnect with Meg on LinkedIn.Get some marketing inspo from the SOC Telemed Blog!Learn more about Unreal Digital.

It's no secret that employees are the lifeblood of any company - they're the ones who keep things moving and make things happen. But while it's important to focus on employee satisfaction and engagement, it's also crucial to remember that companies have goals to meet as well. So how do you balance the two?Ari Fefferman works at Fitbit, recently acquired by Google, for the company’s Health Solutions team as Director of Demand Generation. She has worked in digital marketing since she was 16 with a variety of clients ranging from small business retail to global financial services. She transitioned to in-house marketing roles with Google and a cloud monitoring software startup called SignalFx, which is now a part of Splunk.Tune in to this episode of the Marketing Gets Real podcast, where our hosts Cari and Dana talk with Ari about what it’s like to run marketing at startup and enterprise companies alike. The group also discusses how to work with lean resources and walking the tough tightrope of balancing employees’ professional goals and company goals.RELATED LINKSConnect with Ari on Twitter and LinkedIn.Check out Fitbit Health Solutions!Learn more about Unreal Digital.

Marketing leaders know that in order to be effective they need to be flexible. The marketplace is always evolving and with it, the needs of the customer. To keep up, marketing teams must be able to rapidly adapt their strategies and tactics. Mac McConnell is a veteran in the marketing world and business tech market. As the former VP of Marketing at ServiceChannel, he saw firsthand how flexible teams are helping companies overcome uncertain market conditions and create unique ways to provide awesome customer experiences. He also helped many businesses adopt marketing automation as one of the co-Founders of Bluebird Strategies, now part of Square2 Marketing.Tune in to this episode of the Marketing Gets Real podcast, where our hosts Cari and Dana chat with Mac about how being flexible can help in times of uncertainty–from poor budget choices to a full-blown pandemic. The group also talks about the value of persona messaging, so demand gen, content marketing and product marketing are working from the same playbook.RELATED LINKSConnect with Mac on Twitter and LinkedIn.Learn more about Unreal Digital.

Sales and marketing teams have a unique but symbiotic relationship. Sales need marketing to generate leads, while marketing needs sales to provide feedback on what’s working and what’s not. As one can expect, this can lead to massive mixups and mistakes that offer valuable lessons to learn.Darin Medeiros is the Head of Sales for the Americas at GO1, a continuous learning platform startup that provides a single access point for the world’s best online and instructor-led training content. He has experience starting up a wide array of companies, which means he has a lot of great experience going to market with brand-new companies looking to drive demand and fill pipeline.Tune in to this episode of the Marketing Gets Real podcast, where our hosts Cari and Dana chat with Darin about his experience bringing a brand-new company to market, memorable failures around sales leads, alignment with marketing, and a better understanding of what true event ROI looks like.RELATED LINKSConnect with Darin on Twitter and LinkedIn.Learn more about GO1.Learn more about Unreal Digital.

For some people, marketing is a second language. For others, it's a foreign language altogether. No matter where you fit on the spectrum, we all make mistakes from time to time.Sandra Freeman is the VP of Strategic Marketing at Demandbase, a software company specializing in helping companies give better account-based experiences (ABX). Sandra has many years of experience running marketing campaigns - both demand gen and ABM - at companies like Apple, Marketo, and Engagio before it was acquired by Demandbase in 2020. With all of her experience, she has seen her share of marketing mess ups! Even seasoned professionals can hit some bumps along the way when working to drive revenue.Tune in to this episode of the Marketing Gets Real podcast, where our hosts Cari and Dana chat with Sandra about her shit-hit-the-fan moments and the lessons learned from misspelling your CEO’s name and crying after webinars. The group also share some of their snafus with in-person events, including the infamous “Silverado Weekend Mistake.”RELATED LINKSConnect with Sandra on Twitter and LinkedIn.Learn more about Demandbase.Learn more about Unreal Digital.

As marketing leaders, we are always looking for ways to stay ahead of the curve and create amazing customer experiences (CX) that keep our customers coming back. That strategy tends to differ depending on the size of your organization. Ultimately, the scale of the initiative may change, but the end goal of offering amazing customer experiences stays the same.Ray Kemper, VP of Marketing at the API management platform Axway, and Paula Sansburn, the company’s Global Director of Campaign Marketing, are no strangers to the marketing world. Both have many years of experience heading up marketing for local brands and major global enterprises like Deloitte and Televerde. With that experience comes a lot of lessons learned about go-to-market strategies based on the size of the organization. Tune in to this episode of the Marketing Gets Real podcast, where our hosts Cari and Dana chat with Ray and Paula about the good, bad, and ugly of transitioning from local- to global-sized organizations. The group also discusses their “Oh Shit” moments and lessons learned from them, including building a balanced global and local marketing strategy and all the fun surprises when launching a new website.RELATED LINKSConnect with Ray on Twitter and LinkedIn.Connect with Paula on Twitter and LinkedIn.Learn more about Axway.Learn more about Unreal Digital.

It's no secret that managing partner expectations in the B2B world is a difficult task. The marketing team has to be strategic about how they communicate with their partners, and it can be hard to strike the perfect balance between being clear about what you are providing while also maintaining an air of mystery.Ricky Spiese, Partner Marketing Manager at Terminus, is known in the industry for his aptitude for learning and understanding the market. Coming from a sales background, he epitomizes the importance of clear expectations with prospects. And as a partner marketing manager, those learnings are now helping partners clearly understand messaging and value propositions. But, that doesn’t mean that the road to this point in his career didn’t have a few speed bumps along the way! Tune in to this episode of the Marketing Gets Real podcast, where our hosts Cari and Dana chat with Ricky about his career–including his start in the SDR world and his climb to managing partner marketing at the account-based engagement company Terminus. The group also discusses Ricky’s “Oh Shit” moments in his career, like a little MDF mishap that led to some serious lessons learned in expectation management with third-party partners. We also hear great stories about webinar snafus and how to adapt and pivot to grow as a marketer.RELATED LINKSConnect with Ricky on LinkedIn!Learn more about Terminus.Learn more about Unreal Digital.

To drive demand effectively, you need to be able to innovate even when your teams aren’t ready. That’s why you must leverage all the information your funnel can provide to make strategic decisions that move the needle.At some point, every company will reach an inflection point where they have two choices. They can either innovate and stay on top of the latest growth cycle, or get overtaken by a disruptor that changes how things are done forever. These points in your career can be referred to tenderly as “Oh Shit” moments. Jeff Marcoux doesn't believe in staying still; as a long-time marketing executive for several global organizations, his new venture at Sphere Strategy aims to help brands market themselves the way they want – instead of how the search algorithms want it.Tune in to this episode of the Marketing Gets Real podcast to learn about understanding the “full funnel” and truly targeting it when executing marketing initiatives. You’ll also learn sales enablement strategies to ensure your whole organization is rowing in the same direction.RELATED LINKSConnect with Jeff on Twitter or LinkedIn!Learn more abouts Sphere Strategy.Learn more about Unreal Digital.