Brands' personalities are starting to mesh together because marketers are ignoring the insights they should be drawing from to develop their voices and tones. This week, we're going to talk about how to design better, more ownable ways for our brands to show up.

Show notes:

• Qualtrics article about brand voice
• HubSpot brand voice guide

As marketers, we know how important it is to hook audiences so that they begin along our consumer journey. Yet we often throw our skillset out the window when we go about hiring; we treat job descriptions like admin functions and not like marketing opportunities to a different kind of audience. This week, let's talk about how to use our skills to attract the right talent and communicate more effectively about what our companies need!

No marketing plan is complete without prioritization – whether it's explicitly stated or something you tuck into your back pocket. Whether we're doing it as part of a budget exercise or to simply be prepared, we should always be able to articulate the things our marketing can't live without, the things that would be nice value-adds to maximize our learnings, and the big ideas that are fun what-ifs. How do you know where things fit? Give this episode a listen!

It's been awhile, huh? Let's catch up and talk about what's been going on – and use that as a jumping-off point to make space for changing directions along your career path.

Annual plans, campaign ideas, and creative concepts are all high-visibility deliverables that often are surrounded by stress. And when things get stressful, we as humans are inclined to take shortcuts. When you let your strategy hygiene go in marketing, you're hurting the integrity of your thinking. This week, we explore 3 key behaviors you want to keep up so that hygiene stays in check and you lay a strong foundation for ideas to build from.

Show notes:

• I recommend following Sweathead and Mark Pollard for ongoing strat chat; here is a great resource relevant to our discussion in this episode
• Here are a few helpful strategic planning models to aid in your thinking from HubSpot

🤘Check out more information and resources at stephparker.com.

Season 4 is here (albeit a bit later in the day than usual) and we're kicking things off with a framework that'll help you make better decisions. It's called the Impact Effort Matrix, and you can use it for marketing and career development efforts alike.

Show notes:

• How an impact effort matrix can help you prioritize tasks
• ModelThinkers Impact Effort Matrix
• Impact/Effort Matrix Template on Miro

🤘Check out more information and resources at stephparker.com.

TL;DL the next season of Hire Ground is comin' atcha August 22nd (2023). And after a thoroughly enjoyable time talking about marketing LAST season, we're going to keep exploring the industry alongside the usual work bants. Catch you next month!

It's time for a download on artificial intelligence, and all of the things we as marketers need to consider as we take in the many perspectives, innovations, and products that are leveraging it. But first, we have to talk about TikTok. Again.

Show notes:

• Details on the Montana TikTok ban: https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-montana-china-data-chinese-government-71143a3a87c9a0b692d927f72b6fec70
• How generative AI can revolutionize customization and user empowerment: https://venturebeat.com/ai/how-generative-ai-can-revolutionize-customization-and-user-empowerment/
• A.I. Poses ‘Risk of Extinction,’ Industry Leaders Warn: nytimes.com/2023/05/30/technology/ai-threat-warning.html
• Open letter from tech giants on AI: https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/pause-giant-ai-experiments/
• How can I use ChatGPT for marketing? https://www.smartinsights.com/managing-digital-marketing/marketing-innovation/how-can-i-use-chatgpt-for-marketing/
• Midjourney: The gothic AI image generator challenging the art industry https://www.sciencefocus.com/future-technology/midjourney/
• The Ethics of AI Art https://mediaengagement.org/research/the-ethics-of-ai-art/

🤘Check out more information and resources at stephparker.com.