Jenn Chase, CMO of SAS, joins us to share how one of the world’s most established AI and analytics companies is reinventing its brand. From launching SAS’s first brand campaign in 25 years to shifting the organisation from performance-led to brand-led thinking, Jenn walks through what it takes to drive meaningful change inside a founder-led business.

We also discuss how COVID reshaped the brand, why SAS is leaning into humour, the decision to sponsor Liverpool FC, and where AI is having the biggest impact on marketing today. Plus, Jenn shares leadership lessons, the skills every modern CMO needs, and how to build a great culture.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
01:00 - What is SAS?
02:11 - Being a founder led business after 50 years
04:38 - Being at the company for 27 years
06:03 - How Jenn became CMO of SAS
07:57 - How COVID changed the brand forever
08:33 - Launching their first brand campaign in 25 years
09:22 - Convincing the business to switch from performance to brand
10:45 - Creating an effective relationship with the finance team
14:31 - What did the business think of the first brand campaign in 25 years?
17:22 - How did they manage the effectiveness of their brand campaign?
22:04 - Why their new campaign leans into humour
24:28 - Why SAS decided to sponsor Liverpool FC
27:06 - How to sell in a big idea to an organisation?
32:16 - Where is AI having the biggest impact in marketing?
36:25 - Leadership advice from Brene Brown
39:54 - Skills to be a successful CMO
42:59 - What creates a great culture
45:12 - How big of a change will AI search be
47:08 - The 95:5 rule

This is the first episode of the Uncensored Renegades podcast. To hear episodes of this new show, subscribe here:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncensored-renegades/id1868870960
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qnkqq0XSpgif9A5ZNgSpX?si=f181c3a0e9af480c

Failure needs to be rebranded. Most see it negatively, but history shows great successes are followed shortly after failures. Jon and Kory tackle the stigma against failures, why we should embrace them across the organisations we work for. They also share their biggest failures in their career and what they’ve learned from them.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:54 - Why are we afraid to talk about failure?
04:07 - Why failures set you up for success
11:11 - Jon’s biggest failure
18:20 - Kory’s biggest failure

After collaborating with Worldwide Partners on the Confessions of a CMO report (the anonymous report asking top tier CMOs what they really think about the state of the role), I thought I'd team up with the world's most opinionated professor to discuss some of the comments. We talk tenure, politics, management and more.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:04 - How the Uncensored CMO started
02:41 - How Confessions of a CMO originated
03:44 - The CMO tenure data
06:35 - Why the CMO role isn’t dead, it’s just changing
12:02 - The real 4 Ps of a CMO
18:57 - Becoming the Chief Mood Officer
22:16 - Why marketing needs to provide the meaning for the business
27:04 - Why CMOs need to combine data and storytelling
28:38 - Why CMOs need to create momentum
40:53 - Were there any surprises from the report?

About Worldwide Partners:

Worldwide Partners, Inc. (WPI), the world’s most collaborative agency network, enables growth through access, flexibility and partnership. With over 90 independent agencies in more than 50 countries, and experience in over 90 industry verticals, Worldwide Partners serves as a hub that harnesses the talent, expertise and diversified capabilities of the agencies within our network to reimagine growth for both brands and agencies.