Over the last 3 years, we’ve interviewed over 100+ CMOs on Scratch.
After speaking to so many senior marketers, we noticed some common themes emerging across our conversations. So, we’ve distilled them into the top 10 lessons that we’ve learned from all the CMOs we’ve interviewed. Because, who better to ask about marketing than the brains that are rewriting the rule book? The same strategy cannot be applied everywhere, because every situation is unique, but the same mental models can.
In this article, we break down the 1st mental model that we’ve learned from our conversations with CMOs - Innovation in marketing.
Marketing Innovation: What We Learnt
One of the most recurring themes from our conversations with CMOs is the importance of having a solid framework for innovation.
When we say ‘having a solid framework for innovation’, it does not mean that you go out and build an entire team simply for the sake of innovation. It means that you’ve allocated dedicated time, budget, and responsibilities for innovation. It’s not just what’s working right now for your brand, but also what could work next. There are a ton of different innovation frameworks out there, but the one we’ve found the most useful and heard repeatedly about from marketers is the "70-20-10" framework.
We like to use the "70-20-10" rule for both our own marketing, and for our clients. Let’s see what this rule means:
- 70% of resources are allocated to proven, tried-and-true methods. This ensures stability and consistent performance in areas that are already known to deliver results for the business.
- 20% is dedicated to emerging trends and near-future opportunities. These are relatively safe bets that are likely to become mainstream soon.
- 10% is reserved for high-risk, high-reward ideas. These are the moonshots, the big swings that could either fail spectacularly or succeed beyond expectations.
An example of our 10% is the F*** My Marketing Life page, or the Cannes postcards we made and left at every event we attended in 2023 👇
A healthy gut check for any ‘10% innovation’ is - “Will my competition do this?”. If the answer is yes, then that does not count as ‘High-risk’ innovation.
If you’d like to view other innovation frameworks that you can use, check out this article from JD Meier on the top 10 innovation frameworks.
An example that explains why innovation is a must comes from Soyoung Kang, the CMO of Eos beauty products.
1. Soyoung Kang, CMO of EOS Beauty Products
In one of our earlier episodes, Soyoung shared the story of their incredibly successful "Bless Your F***ing Cooch" campaign.
This viral campaign led to a staggering 2500% increase in product sales and a 450x surge in website traffic. Despite the campaign's success, it was a high-risk initiative—one of many attempts where nine others might have failed. The key takeaway here is that the most successful CMOs don't just rely on what’s currently working. They make it a point to allocate a portion of their resources toward testing and trying out innovative, unproven ideas.
This strategy not just boosts creativity within your team, but also keeps your brand agile and forward-thinking.
Takeaway:
If you’re looking to replicate this success, the advice is clear: Even if you can’t commit 10% of your resources to high-risk ideas, start with 5%.
The key is to ensure there’s always room for innovation in your strategy. You will slowly need to build a culture of continuous learning and risk-taking to make this work (especially with your leadership). Remember, it’s not “Success or Failure”, that is too black & white for a function like marketing. It's about “Success or Learning”. Soyoung said that her team never repeats the same strategy twice; instead, they constantly tweak their approaches, whether in content strategy, organic vs. paid mix, or platform strategy.
People often think marketers only do superficial creative tasks. In reality, marketing leads to innovation and must be treated as a key part of the business's overall strategy. It’s time we view marketing as a research and development function.
2. Linda Boff, CMO of General Electric
Scale is often something which stifles innovation, but when we spoke to Linda Boff, CMO of GE, arguably one of the biggest organisations in the world, she gave us an insight into how she tackles innovation.
She believes that true creativity thrives under constraints. Rather than random brainstorming sessions, she emphasizes setting clear boundaries and understanding the problem they are trying to solve. This focused approach helps the team stay productive and prevents them from getting carried away with unfocused ideas. Linda also values having healthy tension and debate within her team. For a well-known brand like GE, she knows it's essential to take risks and avoid playing it too safe. Tension here means that you create a comfortable space within your team for respectful disagreement, regardless of their seniority level.
By embracing different viewpoints and challenging each other, Linda's team is able to create impactful, unexpected campaigns that ensure GE remains relevant and forward-thinking.
Conclusion
Having a solid framework for marketing innovation is critical for driving breakthrough results.
Successful CMOs make it a priority to explicitly allocate time, budget and focus toward testing new, unproven ideas alongside their proven strategies. While the specific tactics and level of risk-taking will vary for each brand, the common thread is a commitment to continuous experimentation and learning. The most successful CMOs don't just double down on what's currently working - they relentlessly push the boundaries to keep their brands agile and innovative. If you’d like to view the entire episode that we recorded on 10 biggest marketing lessons from 100 CMOs, you can watch it from the links below.
YouTube - The 10 Biggest Marketing Lessons From 100+ Leading CMOs | Scratch by Rival
Apple Podcasts - The 10 Biggest Marketing Lessons From 100+ Leading CMOs | Scratch by Rival
Spotify - The 10 Biggest Marketing Lessons From 100+ Leading CMOs | Scratch by Rival
