Brent Smart, former CMO of Telstra and IAG, joins That’s What I Call Marketing to discuss how creative conviction builds brands, changes businesses and makes marketing more effective.
From rebuilding NRMA Insurance around its heritage of help to changing how Australians felt about Telstra, Brent explains how to get a business behind bold creative work, protect brand investment under pressure and give it time to deliver commercial results.
In this episode, we cover:
– Why influencing people and protecting ideas are essential skills for a CMO.
– How Brent brought NRMA’s “help” positioning back to life and why employee pride matters for customer experience.
– How to balance current demand with future demand without sacrificing long-term growth for this quarter’s targets.
– How Telstra challenged corporate advertising conventions with 26 short, stop-motion films during the Olympics.
– Why craft is a strategic choice and how it can signal a premium brand.
– How holdout tests and switching activity off can help reveal what your marketing is contributing.
A useful listen for marketers interested in brand building, creativity, marketing effectiveness, CMO leadership, agency relationships and commercial impact.
That’s What I Call Marketing is the podcast for marketers who care about brand, B2B, creativity, effectiveness and the future of the profession.
Follow the show for more conversations with CMOs, marketing leaders, agency leaders, professors, authors, thinkers and practitioners.
Find more episodes at: https://www.thatswhaticallmarketing.com
Timestamps
03:13 Missing law school by one mark
05:41 What agencies teach future CMOs
10:05 Protecting creative ideas inside a corporation
16:08 Marketing science: Australia, the UK and America
18:37 Moving from agency CEO to insurance CMO
23:12 Why low-involvement categories need creativity
25:35 Rebuilding NRMA around help and heritage
30:09 Balancing current demand and future demand
35:58 Making the commercial case for brand investment
39:55 Telstra’s reputation challenge and customer research
43:18 The Olympic campaign: 26 films, one better network
46:27 Why craft is a strategic choice
48:06 Holdout tests and learning by switching things off
50:43 What Brent wants to do next
Further reading
Explore the Telstra Playbook from Future Demand:
https://community.futuredemand.com/playbooks/the-telstra-playbook
Brent also discusses Future Demand by James Hurman and its practical distinction between converting today’s buyers and building demand among the people who will buy in the future.
Episode partner: Tracksuit
This episode is brought to you in partnership with Tracksuit, the always-on brand tracking platform. Tracksuit helps marketers understand brand performance over time and bring evidence into conversations about brand investment with business leaders.
Find out more: https://www.gotracksuit.com
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