Back in September, we attended the FutureM and INBOUND Conferences in Boston. As you might expect at an event called “Future of Marketing,” we spent a lot of time talking about, well, the future of marketing.
We had a chance to interview some of the top thinkers who are driving innovation and transformation in the marketing world, and get their perspective on the Big Question: what is the future of marketing?
This next installment features a conversation with Tamsen Webster, senior vice president of executive communications at Oratium, a messaging consultancy.
Who is Tamsen?
- An expert communicator, working with individuals and organizations to learn to convey their ideas in an impactful and articulate way
- Executive Producer of TEDxCambridge, where she selects and mentors each season’s roster of presenters
- Find her online @tamadear and tamsenwebster.com
In this conversation, Tamsen discusses where she sees the future of marketing, from audience-centric strategies to what she thinks is missing from sales and marketing departments:
- It’s all about the people we are marketing to, not the companies that are doing the marketing.
- Let go of a singular marketing message. Each audience on each individual channel need messages catered directly to them.
- You need an audience strategy before you come up with a messaging or content strategy. Don’t make the mistake of starting with the content you want to share.
- Traditional sales and marketing departments are missing one critical piece within their strategies: in order for people to convert (buy!), they need to believe something to be true. Both sides need to work together to determine the “belief” and get that message in front of the audience.
- Marketing needs to have a seat at the strategic table, at the highest level of the company. If the company is unwilling to allow them to have a strategic role, marketing’s hands will be tied and they will be unable to sell the product.
Tori Sabourin
Marketing Analyst
Disclosure: Oratium is a current SHIFT client.
[futurem]
[cta]
Keep in Touch
Want fresh perspective on communications trends & strategy? Sign up for the SHIFT/ahead newsletter.