How do marketing leaders build long-term aligned strategies?

Joshua Spanier

Vice President · Google

Own the growth conversation

Joshua Spanier says marketing leaders should own the growth conversation for the business across every part of what they do, because otherwise marketing gets relegated, delegated and compressed.

The answer starts at 13:42.

Kyla Malone

Director of Marketing · Idt Corporation

Align with company goals

Kyla Malone says marketing leaders should align their work with company goals, saying her team focuses on those as priorities, including board goals at her publicly traded company.

The answer starts at 17:29.

Jonathan (Jon) Moran

Head of MarTech Solutions Marketing · SAS

End-to-end ownership

Jonathan (Jon) Moran says there needs to be a journey owner with actual authority and shared end-to-end metrics, because communication and coordination must be built into systems and incentives, not left to goodwill.

Jessica Apotheker

Managing Director & Senior Partner · Boston Consulting Group (Bcg)

Orchestrate across buckets

Jessica Apotheker says marketers should work across three buckets she calls orchestration, art and science, where orchestration links to the business through portfolio management and planning that ensures strategic intent and coordinated execution.

The answer starts at 6:12.

Nataly Kelly

Chief Marketing Officer · Zappi

Elevate insight teams

Nataly Kelly says marketing leaders should stop siloing insight teams in the corner and instead put them in the corner office, fighting with the CEO and CMO to inform strategy.

The answer starts at 55:52.

Vineet Mehra

(NASDAQ: CHYM) Chief Marketing Officer (IPO June’25) · Chime

Obsess over growth

Vineet Mehra says marketing leaders should get less attached to titles and functions and get much more obsessed with the growth they need to drive and the customer problems they solve, since he expects functions to matter less.

The answer starts at 38:43.

Laura Jones

Chief Marketing Officer at Instacart · Instacart

Bring everyone along

Laura Jones says marketing leaders have to bring everyone along on a journey, since a brand doesn't just live in marketing but in every touchpoint, making everyone a steward of it.

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Ronnie Lim

VP, Unilever Food Solutions · Unilever

Start with clear KPIs

Ronnie Lim says to start by understanding the business issue or opportunity you're helping resolve, then determine the strategy and the KPIs to focus on; knowing success makes saying no easier.

Mark Abramowitz

Chief Marketing Officer · Dataiku

Align to revenue outcomes

Mark Abramowitz says marketing leaders should orient their strategy toward revenue outcomes, noting he has committed to a percentage of pipeline marketing will contribute and wants marketing to be a significant contributor to business success, not just marketing success.

Jordan Slover

Founder · Neon Ambition

Focus on clear goals

Jordan Slover says the best marketers are really clear on what success looks like and then focus only on those things, because good strategy is more about what you say no to.

Kate L. Price

Partner at Prophet: Marketing Transformation and Operating Models · Prophet

Integrated collaborative planning

Kate L. Price recommends integrated collaborative planning: a structured approach starting from business goals and customer jobs to be done, with teams meeting for about three core touch points to debate, because it can't be done in silos.

Todd Kaplan

Chief Marketing Officer, North America · Kraft Heinz

Strategy with flexibility

Todd Kaplan says great marketing is like jazz: you have a strategy and a framework, but you also have to be ready to improvise when culture presents an opportunity.

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Kim Reedy

Sr Manager, Consumer CRM | US Marketing · Ford Motor Company

Focus on business objectives

Kim Reedy says that if you focus on specific business objectives and are intentional about audiences, data and content, showing up when it matters most in a personalized way, you can move some needles and see great results.