The Solution to Mediocre Marketing? A CMO Leading Multiple Niche Agencies
Posted by
Joe Grace on Thu, Apr 26, 2012 @ 07:43 AM
It sounds like a great idea to turn your business's entire multichannel marketing campaign over to a single large marketing agency, doesn't it? You simply tell the agency, "Here's our target market, this is our brand, here's how we would like to position ourselves. Now go create the content, buy the media and help us grow." And the agency promotes itself as a "full-service" provider capable of handling every detail of your marketing from soup to nuts. So why are the results so frequently lackluster?
The fact of the matter is that every company has strengths and weaknesses — no one firm can do everything equally well, whatever it may claim. Most "full-service" agencies have a particular niche that they cover really well, but they pretend they're good at everything. So in a turnkey campaign, an agency will knock its specialties right out of the ballpark and then attempt to fill the gaps through legacy systems and approaches that just don't work all that well. The result is hit-and-miss marketing. A junior marketing team relying on a big agency to solve all its problems is a formula for mediocrity.
Experience and Specialization
Instead of going with one big "jack of all trades" agency, how about employing various smaller "boutique" agencies, each specializing in a different medium or approach? This approach ensures the most effective results across the entire spectrum of your marketing campaign. But, to get these niche media companies working together smoothly, you need a CMO who knows the entire industry — an experienced top-tier executive who can take the reins over a hand-picked team to take your company where it wants to go.
That's the kind of expertise we provide here at Chief Outsiders, so if you want to get the most from your marketing dollar, contact us.
by Joe Grace call me now at 203.247.0796 or JGrace@ChiefOutsiders.com
A strategic problem solver and marketing innovator, Joe Grace has helped develop a “Who’s Who” of consumer health and wellness brands. His portfolio, which spans 20 years, includes the introduction, positioning and growth of such name-brand companies as WebMD, Medscape, Perricone MD Cosmaceuticals, and Suzanne Somers’ ThighMaster. As a key Chief Outsider, Joe brings his expertise to all our strategic marketing consulting engagements.
Chief Outsiders' blog is written by top CMOs and executive guests for CEOs looking for business growth strategies, current thinking on effective leadership skills, and ideas and insights from real-world marketing strategy implementation.