Welcome back to our series of “Top 10 Lessons from 100 CMOs”.
We’ve interviewed over 100+ CMOs in the last 2 years on Scratch: CMO Interviews Podcast, and are now doing a series of articles around the top 10 lessons we’ve learned from all of our conversations. The first chapter was about having a Framework for Innovation, and the second chapter was about building a culture of Relentless focus on the Customer. In this chapter, we are going to focus on the process of seeking new perspectives and ideas. We’re going to cover each idea with an example from 3 conversations. The first is from Rory Sutherland of Ogilvy, the second is from Mark Kirkham, CMO of Pepsico International Beverages, and the third is from Raja Rajamannar, the Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and Founding President of the Healthcare Business at Mastercard (If you’re looking for the first chapter - “Framework for Innovation”, click here. If you’re looking for chapter #2 on having a “Relentless Focus on the Customer”, click here).
The Power of Diverse Thinking
The ability to gather and synthesize diverse perspectives is not just beneficial – it's essential. As we've heard from industry leaders like Linda Boff and Zara Mirza of GE in chapter #1, fostering an environment that encourages different viewpoints and ideas is crucial for driving innovation and creativity in marketing.
At its core, creativity is about connecting ideas in novel ways. By definition, this requires bringing together different perspectives and experiences. While this concept is often discussed in the context of hiring diverse talent – which is undoubtedly crucial – seeking new perspectives goes far beyond staffing decisions. Rory Sutherland, Mark Kirkham, and Raja Rajamannar don't passively wait for ‘diverse’ ideas to emerge. Instead, they actively cultivate an environment of intellectual curiosity and continuous learning, both for themselves and their teams.
Here at Rival we’re big on finding diverse perspectives and experiences, so every month when we host our CMO roundtables we make it a point to ensure that each CMO who is invited is from a different background or industry.
The Hackathon Model
Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK uses a "hackathon model" that brings together individuals from various disciplines to tackle marketing challenges.
This goes beyond the traditional agency-client relationships, since the people you speak with in the agency, or event client side both work ‘inside marketing,’ regardless of the industry they operate in.
"You can bring in people from operations, you can bring in people from finance, you can bring in people from new product development... Into a hackathon. And you can create something much more multidisciplinary.”
He cites Tesco's example, where it's mandatory to include store managers in all brainstorming sessions. This also ensures that ideas are grounded in practical reality while your team is trying to push creative boundaries.
Develop a Basic Understanding of Behavioral Science
Behavioral science studies how people make decisions and interact within various environments, combining insights from psychology, sociology, and economics. Once understood, it helps in codifying recurring patterns of human behavior.
"Behavioral science gives you the why. And if you know the why, you can see recurring patterns in human behavior and preference... It enables you to enjoy that efficiency of redeploying an idea from one place to somewhere else."
This "lateral category analysis" encourages marketers to look beyond their immediate industry for solutions, recognizing that their specific challenge may have already been solved in a different context. Sutherland gives the example of the Amazon Prime subscription model, which he believes could be adapted across various industries but often isn't due to a lack of lateral thinking.
He applied Amazon Prime’s model to EasyJet, resulting in the creation of EasyJet Plus, a subscription-based service similar to Amazon Prime. Customers would pay an annual fee (around £80 at the time) in exchange for benefits like:
- Upfront seating
- Speedy boarding
- Additional baggage allowance
Learn from Emerging Markets
Apart from looking at other categories, we should also look at other markets for inspiration. In our interview with Mark Kirkham, CMO of PepsiCo International, we learned how we need to look beyond traditional markets for truly ‘innovative’ ideas. He cites the example of "Sting," an energy drink that started in Vietnam and became one of PepsiCo's fastest-growing brands globally.
Sting carved out a unique proposition in Vietnam, becoming one of the highest-penetrated categories in the world with 40% market penetration. The brand's success lies in its cultural relevance and specific market development work, including:
- Finding the right price point
- Changing sugar content to align with health trends in different countries
- Incorporating local storytelling tied to specific cultures when scaling to other countries (e.g., connecting with Indian culture by tying Sting to Bollywood’s dance numbers in the Indian market)
Kirkham explained how his role is to find the balance between driving global scale and ensuring local relevance. He sees his job as nurturing these "fledgling" or younger iconic brands and helping them expand, while also using their success to inspire innovation in established brands like Pepsi and Gatorade.
Continuous Learning
In our final example, we’ll explore the value of continuous learning and cross-industry exposure. Imagine this. You get a client brief and need to brainstorm ideas with your team.
You cannot look to other industries one by one each time you need an “innovative idea”. Ideas come from the unconscious part of your brain, sometimes happening so randomly that even you can’t understand where the idea originated from. Unlike AI, humans are much more complex, and creativity comes from existing knowledge, connections, and a state of flow where your neural pathways are speaking with each other and connecting bridges. That is why you might get an award-winning idea when you’re falling asleep vs when you’re trying to force one out during a brainstorming session.
You need to build a system where you are regularly exposed to news & events from other industries, so when you need an idea, your brain by itself pieces the puzzle together. It’s about around increasing the number of inputs you have in your brain so you have more data as a baseline to work with.
Raja Rajamannar, CMO of Mastercard said that one of the best things you can do for your career is to continuously expand your knowledge base.
The Importance of Technology and Multi-Industry Exposure
When asked what he would do differently if starting his career over, Rajamannar emphasizes two key areas:
- Spending more time in technology: Recognize the growing importance of tech in marketing.
- Gaining exposure to multiple industries simultaneously: Keep up with news from consulting or private equity to gain broader industry knowledge
"Today, no industry is operating in isolation. The most successful ones operate at the confluence of multiple industries. So if you know more about these, you can really connect the dots much better than everyone else.”
Learning should be a lifelong pursuit, no matter your position or experience.
Conclusion
Yes, we know that this advice feels a bit generic. But how many of us actively follow these rules in our jobs? We all think that we are ‘pushing’ ourselves and our teams, and of course, we are all doing our best. But a lot of this is lost in theory, and very few organizations build a culture around these facets. Below, we’ve summarised the core points from this article. Ask yourself, how much you would rate your organization in each of these points on a scale of 1-10.
1. Foster a Culture of Curiosity: Encourage your team to explore ideas and trends outside your immediate industry. Consider hosting regular "show and tell" sessions where team members present interesting campaigns or innovations they've encountered.
2. Embrace Multidisciplinary Collaboration: Look for opportunities to bring in perspectives from other departments or even external experts when tackling marketing challenges. This could be through formal hackathons or more casual brainstorming sessions.
3. Study Behavioral Science: Invest time in understanding the underlying principles of human behavior. This knowledge can help you recognize patterns and apply successful strategies across different contexts.
4. Look Beyond Your Home Market: Pay attention to emerging trends and successful campaigns in other countries, particularly in fast-growing markets.
5. Never Stop Learning: Continuously expand your skill set, whether through formal education, attending conferences, or simply dedicating time to explore new technologies and industry developments.
In an industry that thrives on fresh ideas and novel approaches, the ability to synthesize different viewpoints is not just an advantage, it's a necessity to keep your brand differentiated and unique.
Remember, the goal isn't simply to accumulate a load of different opinions, but to create an environment where these diverse ideas can collide and combine in unexpected ways. This is where the true magic happens - leading to breakthrough campaigns, products, and strategies that drive meaningful business results. If you’d like to view the entire episode that we recorded on the 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
