"There are still folks who feel like marketing is just fluff, it's just, 'make things pretty,'" says Lauren Beckstedt. Her mission, as CMO of the recreational boating company Brunswick, is to redefine what marketing is and to educate her organization about its power.
Brunswick's portfolio includes iconic names in aquatic recreation, like Mercury Marine, Sea Ray, and Boston Whaler. And one of Lauren's initiatives has been implementing a new brand identity for the 175-year-old firm, under the tagline of "next never rests."
Today on Building Better CMOs, Lauren talks with MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart about why being a hand-raiser opens doors in your career, leveraging consumer insights in the boating industry, and how she journeyed from talent management to CMO. They also discuss the importance of ethnographic research, implementing quarterly business reviews, and — most importantly — what kind of boat Greg should buy.