“It is really important that you, as a leader, understand that your role is to inspire and motivate. It's not about what it is you do, but how you do it. You have to get outside of yourself and recognize that the true measure of success is not about what you did, but how you led others to their full potential.”

—Jerri DeVard, CEO and Founder of the Black Executive CMO Alliance (BECA)

With a career spanning 40 years of marketing and leadership experience at large global brands—from Chief Customer Officer of Office Depot to CMO at ADT Corporation to SVP at Verizon Communications—DeVard has learned a thing or two about executive leadership. On the heels of her most recent accolade as a 2024 American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame inductee, she shared her thoughts with us on mentorship, the status of Black representation in the marketing industry, the importance of influencer and creator marketing, and what makes a successful CMO today.

Speaking of influencer marketing, spending in the U.S. is predicted to hit nearly $6 billion this year. But there may be a missed opportunity for marketing leaders who only consider influencers and creators for one-off activations. There’s a case to be made for hiring them in full-time roles. Here are three considerations to ensure success when an influencer or creator joins the team.

Personalized customer experiences require a lot of data—and even more resources to help sift, segment and analyze that data. Not every company has the budget to build its own bespoke data science programs, but there are other methods of mining these valuable insights. Here are three ways companies can create cost-effective personalization to enhance customer satisfaction.

Lastly, for marketers to be strategic revenue partners, implementing a modern, data-backed go-to-market strategy requires a few absolutes. Here are five principles to prioritize.

Until next week,

Kaylee Hultgren
Content Director
Chief Marketer

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