Ep #35: Your Role or Industry: Which is Better to Love in Marketing? w/ Melanie Marcus

Throughout her career, this week’s guest Melanie Marcus learned to pursue roles that gave her a bit more of what she liked and a bit less of what she didn’t. This philosophy eventually led her to become CMO at Surescripts where they’ve had to change their marketing mix from “very in person” to  “very digital”. Retooling her events team to develop new skills and execute on a wholly different strategy was a key reminder of something Melanie has known throughout her career -- it’s important to be constantly reinventing yourself. 

Key takeaways from this episode: 

• Pivoting is a great opportunity to bring ideas to the floor-- but sometimes you don’t have the time. It’s important to ensure your team has the time and permission to bring more ideas to the table even amidst something like a pandemic.
• Marketers are typically the ones selling the company message, and as such, they need to believe in their company message to succeed. It’s important to love marketing, but believing in your company’s  value proposition is essential.
• We think of “incubators” as specific to the tech and startup world but Melanie says she was involved in many incubators early in her career. To her, these were larger projects she was given permission to do, even in very junior roles. It allowed her to learn at a rapid pace and develop key business skills.

Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play!