4 Inspiring Quotes on Marketing Transformation
ANA events bring together some of the smartest and most-talented marketers in the industry to share insights and best practices that help ANA members get the most out of their own marketing efforts.
Naturally, when ANA members and other top marketers get together, the potential for a great soundbite or two is very high. For this reason, we'll be collecting and sharing the top quotes from ANA events during each month throughout 2023.
Below, you can find the top quotes from ANA speakers for January:
"If you knew everything about tomorrow, what would you do differently today?"
— Faith Popcorn, futurist and founder of and CEO at Faith Popcorn's Brain Reserve
The incomparable Faith Popcorn has been delighting ANA members and marketers at large with presentations at ANA conferences for years. Here, she poses an intriguing question. So often, people ask what you would do if you could go back and time. But what if you could go forward? You know Web3 is going to have an immense effect on the marketing industry. What are you and your brand doing to prepare for it?
"We all know through experience that the best intentions in transformation and innovation don't necessarily materialize the way CEOs and CMOs would hope without really applying some hefty operational rigor around them."
— Brendon Derr, SVP at Onward Imagine
Sticking with the theme of Web3 and the huge potential it holds for marketing: Brendon Derr makes it clear that technological advancements are worth nothing to brands if the organization doesn't know how to successfully operationalize them. According to Derr, existing challenges to successful innovation can be overcome if marketing operations can integrate three disciplines: design thinking, portfolio management, and agile methods.
"As procurement professionals, we are in the relationship business."
— Greg Symber, head of U.S. media procurement at Novartis
This nugget was shared at a recent meeting of the Advertising Financial Management Committee. Procurement can have a wide scope and different meanings at different organization. But at the end of the day, what it really entails is the ability to develop fruitful relationships with marketing service providers. As we move deeper into the Web3 age, procurement — and its ability to successfully manage relationships — will take on an even more crucial role, serving as the point of contact for vendors who offer services relating to new technologies.
"The disabled community is the largest group of marginalized people in the western world. Disabilities do not discriminate. Disabled people are of every age, race, gender, and disabilities aren't always visible. The majority of disabilities are invisible. You have met hundreds of people in your life who've had disabilities that you knew nothing about."
— Aunia Kahn, CEO at Rise Visible
We always love when we can end these roundups with a DEIB-related quote, as it's an issue not only near and dear to the ANA, but to the entire marketing industry. Here, Kahn touches upon something particularly poignant: While society has made progress on the DEIB front, individuals with disabilities still seem to be a bit of a blind spot. For example, as some large companies demand that staff return to the office full-time, individuals with disabilities are being left behind, as hybrid or fully remote work is much more accessible for these people. When your brand is developing its company culture and work expectations, is the accommodation of individuals with disabilities considered? If no, why not?
The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the ANA or imply endorsement from the ANA.
Ryan Dinger is a director of editorial and content development at ANA.