Among the many impressive Olympic performances in Paris, this one likely didn’t hit your radar: Norway’s Markus Rooth won the decathlon. As I write the next chapter in my career, an analogy has leapt to mind. As someone who often views the world through the lens of sports, I hope you’ll indulge me.
Marketing has migrated from a generalist field to a specialist one. Brand managers used to be responsible for “the 4 Ps,” but today the vast majority of effort goes to 1 of them.
Sports used to feature multi-disciplined athletes, and the Olympics had deep cultural resonance, with the decathlon celebrating the best all-around athlete (e.g., Bruce Jenner in Montreal). Today, one can earn $1/4B long-term contract for catching a football.
Let’s examine each a little more closely.
Marketing. Chief Marketing Officers have many responsibilities, but some don’t have the breadth that even far more junior marketers once did. Brand and product management roles were a breeding ground for general management. As a brand manager at Campbell’s, I remember spending roughly equal time on each of “The 4 Ps” of marketing:
Digital marketing and media fractured “Promotions” into so many pieces that many marketers – even senior ones – spend nearly all their time on the 4th P. And as if specializing in one weren’t enough, there’s been further splintering into types of marketing (and marketers). The false distinction between brand and performance marketers reminds me of the next job I took: Strategic Marketing Manager. A mentor quipped: “Is there another kind?” Hopefully not, and no performance marketer can operate in isolation of brand awareness and other upper-funnel metrics, and vice-versa.
2. Sports. Football players used to be paid so little that some would play other sports and/or sell used cars in the off-season. Now, contracts are measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The Olympics were a huge deal because it was the only time every four years – then every two – where sports were televised around the clock. Since ESPN came along, Olympic viewership has been in steady decline. And while certain Olympic events continue to permeate the public consciousness – the 100 meter dash tells us who the fastest human is and gymnastics feature amazing feats of athleticism and grace – most have been diluted by the sheer number of sports (now more than 50) and medal events (e.g., 35 in swimming alone). The decathlon identifies the best all-around athlete across 10 events (same with heptathlon, the women’s equivalent across 7 events). The gold medal is given to the person with the highest aggregate score, even if he wins only one or two – or even none – of the 10 events.
What does this have to do with marketing and me? I feel that if there were a marketing decathlon, I’d win it. You’re not likely to meet another executive who’s worked for leading companies “at every side of the table:” manufacturers / advertisers, retail, ad agencies, and management consulting.
If it sounds like a humblebrag to compare oneself to a decathlete, it’s more humble than brag. I’m a hockey fanatic trapped in a basketball player’s body, and would have trouble throwing a javelin across my front yard. When executive recruiters like Spencer Stuart or Russell Reynolds – which have placed me in VP Marketing and Chief Growth Officer roles – go looking for a Chief Marketing Officer, I’m up against people who’ve spent their entire careers on one (or maybe two) of those sides of the table. In other words, A CMO search for a consumer brand has so many well-qualified candidates to choose from that they can further winnow the field to those with Consumer Package Goods, Durables / Electronics, Retail, DTC, automotive, healthcare / pharma, or any other type of experience.
A decathlete will be beaten nearly every time they’re up against a specialist – someone who does one event extraordinarily well. Compounding the dilemma, each role has a different composition, with certain facets more important than others, such as brand advertising / content, customer experience / design, social media, web, e-commerce, PPC/SEO/SEM, trade marketing / retail.com, CRM / email, lead generation. Again, one can find excellent marketers with depth of expertise in any of these, just like there will be a separate gold medalist in each of the 10 decathlon events: 100M, 400M, 1,500M runs, 110M hurdles, long jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put, discus, and javelin.
So where does a marketing “decathlete” fit into today’s marketplace? Happily, I’ve found a few areas where they can not only fit, but thrive:
Marketing Consulting and Fractional/Interim Marketing leadership for Small / Mid-Size businesses (SMBs) that can benefit from a marketing generalist to diagnose and execute only the marketing strategies and tactics they really need. My clients benefit from the broadest conceivable strategic perspective and the tactical skills I've kept sharp along the way, from content marketing to CRM / email management.
Commercial Due Diligence in Mergers & Acquisitions, whether for private equity clients or “strategics” looking to grow inorganically. I’m partnering as an official independent contractor with a large firm that specializes in financial and tax diligence and is having success in cross-selling operations and – in my case – commercial diligence. This can involve market sizing and analyses on the target acquisition's customers, products / services, and competitors. In short, a deep dive into any of "the 6 Ps" (the 4 in the table above, plus People and Positioning if there are multiple brands in the portfolio... all with a view toward maximizing revenue and EBITDA.
Business Brokerage. I’m also partnering with a boutique mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures firm that’s been selling businesses in the Greater Philadelphia / Eastern Pennsylvania area for 30 years. This demands a great breadth of skill sets that lean heavily on marketing – from understanding a company’s P&L, packaging the overall story, finding prospective buyers, and executing the overall plan.
In sum, I've learned that whether you’re a specialist or a generalist with “T-shape” skills and spikes, there’s a place for you in the marketing industry (and in the world of sports).
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