Actionable results

Marketing leaders can assess themselves using the quick mini ‘taster’ questionnaire or the full 60 question version,

The more detailed full assessment has 60 questions, 5 for each ANCHOR Factor, and drills in detail successful skillset of The Marketing Leader’s CODE.

This fuller assessment allows you to collect 360-degree feedback on your personal skills or key skills needed in the marketing leadership role itself. The information feeds into a 37 page report with a detailed explanation of your CODE, corresponding ANCHOR Factors and development tactics to try.

The report can be simply downloaded or combined with 121 coaching from the Sideminds team.

Buy the book

“Something is going very wrong in the relationship between CEOs and CMOs… …80% of CEOs don’t trust or are unimpressed by their CMO.”

Kimberley Whitler and Neil Morgan
The trouble with CMOs. Harvard Business Review.

“Average CMO tenure is lowest level in more than decade. CEOs now stay in their roles more than twice as long as CMOs”

Gregory Welch and Richard Sanderson.
Spencer Stuart.

“The responsibilities of marketing leaders have changed by over 51% in 10 years. That is a lot of change for a marketer, but to a CEO or CFO can feel a revolution.”

Data from Shift by PHD.
A marketing rethink.

“Some with the CMO title will continue to be side lined – while elite CMOs (those with data, martech, customer experience, and product) will capitalize on this moment.”

Forrester’s 2022 Predictions Report.

Unlocking the marketing leader’s potential

The Marketing Leader’s Code helps shortcuts the process for marketing leaders to be successful. It is the culmination of over two years of work reviewing published material, collecting feedback from marketing leaders and testing and validate a working model. It is a marketing leadership book by marketing leaders for marketing leaders.

The Marketing Leader’s Code explains the challenges the marketing leader faces and organises critical success areas into a model made up of 4 genres: Connector, Operator, Disruptor and Explorer or CODE for short.

Each genre is further divided into 3 ANCHOR Factors, where ANCHOR is an acronym for pairs of essential marketing leadership capabilities and behaviours the marketer needs to deliver.

Interactive Marketing Leaders Code Map

Every marketing role and every Leadership Team is different, so the blend of ANCHOR Factors needed is different, which changes the CODE and ultimately success in the role. This individual blend can be determined through the assessments in the book or online.

The CODE also starts to demystify the differences between the Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Digital Officer, Chief Growth Officer, Chief Customer Officer, Chief Brand Officer and Chief Strategy Officer. Each of these roles have different weights of ANCHOR Factors and knowing this can help the CEO or Leadership Team decide what type of marketer they really need.

Click on the interactive Marketing Leaders Code map to find out more.

Explorer

Marketing leaders who have Explorer as their lead genre are strategic, insightful and brand-led and look at longer term growth. These people could have been management consultants, planners in an advertising agency or have a more traditional mass market background. They thrive in developing business vision, M&A plan, brand strategy and customer value propositions.

Connector

Marketing leaders with Connector as their lead genre form very close relationships with the CEO, Leadership Team and wider business. They are skilful managers of the marketing team and are great at developing talent and building a strong marketing culture. They are good at adopting and following business processes and use internal expertise effectively.

Disruptor

Marketing leader who have Disruptor as their lead genre are entrepreneurial leaders who are opportunistic and thrive on change. They are externally focused and bring in fresh ideas. They tend to be very assertive with the team, rapidly changing the team shape to the situation at hand. They may have come from a strong start-up background and follow agile procedures.

Operator

Marketing leaders who have Operator as their lead genre tend to be more analytical and data led, with a strong skill set in performance media, sales conversion and short term action. They are focused on campaign optimisation lower down the marketing funnel, where there is strong existing intent with customers, and create strong partnerships with the sales team.

Connector

Operator

Explorer

Disruptor

Connector

Unity ANCHOR Factor

Builds trust and influence, establishing key relationship and alliances with the Leadership Team, so critical jobs get done. Politically savvy and a strong team player, aligning with the Leadership Team for the company benefit. Does what is right for the company even if this sacrifices marketing activity. Constructively drives project prioritisation. Adept at noticing group bias and managing Leadership Team brinksmanship around strategy. Ensures discussions are brought to a conclusion, so clear unified messages are delivered to the wider business.

Supportive ANCHOR Factor

Skilful situational leader who can assess and develop talent. Builds team capability and creates a strong team culture with everyone having a clear role and responsibility in delivering the business and marketing strategy. Keeps the team focused on key tasks and manages conflicts. A good listener and role model. Creates a safe environment that encourages learning and growth. An authentic leader, who can be trusted with a clear sense of purpose for the team.

Consistency ANCHOR Factor

Establishes effective working practices with clear responsibility and decision-making. Gives individuals clarity on the areas they can operate freely and safely. Creates structures to keep stakeholders involved. Innovation is controlled and purposeful. Follows the business plan, monitoring progress and ruthlessly prioritises activity.

Operator

Analytical ANCHOR Factor

Rigorously uses data and logic from multiple sources to inform decision making. Keeps the company honest with its data and ensures marketing metrics are tied to business metrics everyone understands. Finds ways to enrich data and scenario test. Understands the pros and cons of new technology and how it could provide improved performance or generate new revenue streams. Interested in the detail and ensuring this is accurate and accessible.

Conversion ANCHOR Factor

Turns awareness and consideration into sales using effective direct response and optimisation techniques across multiple media channels. Understands different customers’ buying journey and with the customer experience team optimizes these journeys, so the customer is ‘warmed up’ with appropriate content and messaging. Works closely with the sales team to refine promotional offers and turn leads into sales. Carefully manages acquisition costs and maximises short-term return.

Short-term ANCHOR Factor

Assesses short-term sales performance and market indicators. Gets to the root cause of performance and responds quickly. Accelerates activity to gap fill. Street fighter attitude who finds tactical opportunities. Reviews pricing, ranges and promotional strategies. Focuses effort on highest returning activity to deliver the annual plan. Tests new channels for new sales and rapidly adjusts activity depending on costs and performance.

Explorer

Long-term ANCHOR Factor

Engages and aligns the Leadership Team in the development of a long-term plan with clearly defined goals and growth opportunities. Keeps these goals front of mind with the Leadership Team through establishing regular reviews. Defines long-term ways to build value (innovation, M&A) and the marketing rules to win in key channels. Balances a compelling clarion call and story for the business and investors.

Connection ANCHOR Factor

Creates long-term demand by developing a brand with a clear value proposition which is memorable, relevant and distinctive throughout the purchase journey. Uses mass market and mass personalization digital and analogue media levers. Goes beyond the rational to build affinity and emotional connection, so the brand becomes a primary destination. Develops compelling retention programmes for different segments. Finds ways to reduce reliance upon short-term sales tactics and instead builds lifetime value.

Creative ANCHOR Factor

Turns business issues into creative opportunities. Uses data as a springboard for insight discovery, creativity and vision. Finds creative solutions to business issues that are not always obvious to others. Prepared to make creative leaps using experience. Makes every customer touchpoint a high-quality customer experience and has sound overall creative judgement. Inquisitive and curious, interested in customers, the wider market and the opportunities new technology can bring.

Disruptor

Assertive ANCHOR Factor

Sets exacting standards, builds a high performing team and holds people and agencies to account. Confidently makes organisational changes to deliver strategy or key projects. Fairly raises the bar on performance and rewards delivery. Manages their own ego, backs high performers nd is comfortable stepping back and empowering them with increased responsibility and opportunity. Clears the way with the wider Leadership Team to help the marketing team deliver their goals.

Challenge ANCHOR Factor

Drives debate and discussion. Challenges other Leadership Team members fairly. Strong advocate for the customer and prepared to stick their neck out for what they believe. Seeks the best outcome and avoids mediocrity. High resilience and persistence. Knows the facts that matter and uses data smartly and in an unbiased way to make a point fairly and in a robust way. Observes the overall burden on the business and actively stops activity in order to speed up activity elsewhere. Ensures tough discussions are held and decisions made.

Change ANCHOR Factor

Embraces the CEO change agenda and finds ways to rapidly test new approaches. Challenges the status quo, looks for stortcuts to historic procedures and evolves the way of working or working patterns. Encourages entrepreneurial thinking and finds intelligent ways to advance working practices and break up siloed thinking. Adapts quickly, responds to change easily and copes with obscurity. Sensitive to the external market.