Q&A with Margaret Molloy, Global CMO, Siegel+Gale

Q&A with Margaret Molloy, Global CMO, Siegel+Gale

May 20, 2019 Margaret Molloy, Global CMO of Siegel+Gale has a 20-year track record as a business-to-business growth instigator, achieved by uniting brand building with demand generation. In Siegel+Gale’s Simplifiers series, Margaret Molloy interviews business leaders who put simplicity to work. Considered a "CMO whisperer," Margaret is a highly influential CMO and convener of panels and roundtables. She has been recognized by Forbes as one of the top 10 CMOs on Twitter. Margaret also serves as the New York Chair of the Marketing Society .  MEDIA 7: If we were to say to a bunch of people who know you, ‘Give us three adjectives that best describe you’, what would we hear? MARGARET MOLLOY:  Passionate, energetic and influential. M7: What is your favourite part of working at Siegel+Gale? MM: Both our ethos—helping brands realize the power of simplicity, and the strategists, designers, researchers, and writers who deliver on that ethos to our clients. Our teams are truly simplifiers. I believe that in our harried, cluttered world, brands that focus on simplicity, win.

"It's incumbent on brands to be relevant in order to be part of a conversation that drives their business forward. And to be relevant, you must be in tune with your customers’ needs."

M7: What is the ‘power of simplicity’ that you’re helping CMOs and brand leaders realize? MM: Simplicity is the ultimate driver of brand loyalty. It inspires people to spend more with a brand, motivates employees to deliver on a brand’s promise and ultimately, drives financial gain for those companies that embrace it. M7: At Siegel+Gale, how do you align sales and marketing to achieve your branding goals? MM: There has always been a natural tension. A CMO’s job is to reconcile that tension by setting a vision for the brand and determining the resource allocation between short-term revenue targets and long-term brand value. At Siegel+Gale, we do not engage in random acts of marketing—all marketing is in the service of the brand and the revenue targets.

"A CMO’s job is to reconcile tension between brand-building programs and performance marketing by setting a vision for the brand and determining the resource allocation between short-term revenue targets and long-term brand value."

M7: Margaret, you were listed on Forbes Top 10 Most Influential Chief Marketing Officers on Social Media in 2017 and have won IrishCentral’s 2018 Creativity and Arts Award in Fashion and Design. How is social media transforming the marketing landscape and how do you see it evolving in future? MM: In previous eras, a brand’s responsibility was to broadcast its message and product offerings to the community. Today, with the advent of social media, it has become a multi-party dialogue. The fundamental shift is from controlling the brand message to engaging constituencies (i.e., customers, shareholders, the community at large). Therefore, it's incumbent on brands to be relevant in order to be part of a conversation that drives their business forward. And to be relevant, you must be in tune with your customers’ needs. Social media is a great mechanism not only for engagement but also for listening.

"Simplicity is the ultimate driver of brand loyalty. It inspires people to spend more with a brand, motivates employees to deliver on a brand’s promise and ultimately, drives financial gain for those companies that embrace it."

M7: For your platform #WearingIrish, which channels helped you the most in reaching out to the target audience? MM:  I created WearingIrish to expose Ireland’s talented fashion designers to new markets and to showcase Irish fashion design on the global stage. Instagram is an obvious choice to reach shoppers and influencers; it’s a robust platform for any fashion brand because it's inherently visual. In addition to Instagram, I leveraged my professional network on LinkedIn to build a broad-based board of advisors and potential collaborators for WearingIrish. M7: What motivates you to get out of the bed in the morning? MM: I’m a connector, and I get my energy from convening the marketing community via live events and other programs. On a daily basis, I host conversations with ambitious CMOs and brand leaders about their challenges. I relish the opportunity to connect marketing leaders with the team at Siegel+Gale because of our depth of expertise in helping our clients build brands. ABOUT SIEGEL+GALE Siegel+Gale is the simplicity company. We seek it, defend it and embrace it in everything we do to help brands reach their true potential. Simplicity is the centerpiece of the strategies we develop that reveal the unique truths of an organization, the engaging stories we create that connect brands with their audiences and the meaningful experiences we deliver that are both unexpectedly fresh and remarkably clear. Since 1969, Siegel+Gale has championed simplicity for leading corporations, nonprofits and government organizations worldwide. We have offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Dubai, and Shanghai, but we’re willing to fly just about anywhere. We’re also not alone. As part of Brand Consulting Group, a division of Omnicom Group Inc., we have strong partners all around the world. Sangram Vajre, Co-Founder & Chief Evangelist at Terminus is also an author and host of the podcast FlipmyFunnel. He is one of the leading minds in B2B marketing.MEDIA 7: What are you passionate about?SANGRAM VAJRE: Three things: Lead professionally. Grow personally. Love family.M7: Terminus has been recognized as one of Georgia’s 40 fastest-growing companies by ACG Atlanta. What factors contribute to this pace?SV: One of our core values is #OneTeam – which means we think and act as one team and know that if we treat our team right, they will treat our customers amazing. There are no great companies, only great people that make those companies. Andrea Lechner-Becker, Chief Marketing Officer at LeadMD is an experienced Marketing and Sales Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing and advertising industry.Skilled in Business Process, Marketo, Sales, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and IT Service Management, Andrea is also a strong business development professional and a storyteller.MEDIA 7: What inspired you to get into marketing?ANDREA LECHNER: Frankly, not having better options. I originally attended the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse thinking I’d major in Archaeology. I wanted to be Indiana Jones! But, after visiting the archaeology building – i.e. the cold, dark basement of the science building – where a girl sat to piece together pieces of an old Native American vase, I knew archaeology was not going to be the right path for me. And so, without being good at science and a major in art or art history was unlikely to pay my bills, I decided to go into “business”. I originally registered as a management major, but took my first marketing class and thought it was more interesting and switched my sophomore year. That was pretty much it. I’d never been involved in business classes or DECA in high school – I didn’t really know what to do or what jobs in marketing were even possible. I dumb lucked myself into it really.M7: As a storyteller, do you relate the brand to a story or story to the brand?AL: Both? Neither? I think there are stories in every brand, because there are people working on the brand and people engaging with the brand and people using what the brand creates. People, most often a single person, are at the heart of great stories.You can start with the “point” of the story you’re trying to tell. Say you have a software that help accountants better create reports for board meetings. It’s likely you’ll want to tell a success story about an accountant getting promoted to CFO in part because your software helped better communicate their work product to the board. You could have the idea for that and go looking for that story in your customers. OR, you could hear that story, and say, “That’s amazing!” and share it with customers, partners and internal people. Stories are all around us – the most important thing is to keep your ears and eyes open for finding them. Ed Breault, Chief Marketing Officer at Aprimo is a marketer with over 18 years of industry experience. At Aprimo, Ed is responsible for the global brand and growth which includes all Paid/Owned/Earned media, Brand Experience, Product Marketing, Industry Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Strategic Communications, Content Marketing, Analyst Relations, Alliance Marketing, Public Relations, Events, Demand Generation and Account-Based Marketing.MEDIA 7: What’s your superpower?ED BREAULT: I would say it’s applying the full spectrum of art and science that is required in marketing today. Not just left or right brained, but whole-brained strategy. Being human yet data-driven and really understanding numbers and (the right) metrics to make connections to business drivers. Add storytelling to that, so I can effectively communicate to my team, the CEO and CFO as well as my Board of Directors on those metrics, and connecting all that we are doing in marketing to the mission of the business. Then quickly shifting gears to the art and creative aspects of marketing that are required to engage an audience and tell great commercial stories that take complex concepts and craft them in a way that is interesting for people to pay attention to. I have to be the ultimate point of truth for the brand.M7: At Aprimo, how have marketing leadership roles and responsibilities evolved over the past few years?EB: There are so many dimensions needed by marketing leaders today. There are several elements driving this evolution, it’s the new experience battlefront that is emerging and also marketers themselves driving changes. From a market perspective, there is a clear appetite for disruption and consumers are wanting more experiential elements to their buying experience and interactions with brands. Take a few direct to consumer disruptions like trialing products in-home, purchasing directly from a brand or even wanting to ensure that the producer’s trade practices are in line with the buyer’s or even a regulator’s for that matter. Then we want to try before we buy, and we emotionally care about the supply chain of products. Do we TRUST this brand to do business with them? Behind all of this is a story that needs to be told, and it is those marketers who know their audience well and make connections that will win the commercial game.Back to the marketer, there are so many diverse backgrounds that marketers bring now and I’m really intrigued by those who have unconventional backgrounds because they contribute something uniquely new to the field. I love hearing about the marketer’s journey. Charter Next Generation | January 30, 2024 Charter Next Generation (CNG), a leading provider of sustainable films, announced that it has expanded its GreenArrow portfolio with a new line of cavitated polyethylene (PE) films. Developed in collaboration with VOID Technologies (VOID), the new recycle-ready films meet the rapidly growing demand for flow wrap and confectionery applications. Using VOID's patented VO+ PE Voiding Agent Masterbatch and Machine Direction Orientation (MDO) film processing, CNG has successfully developed high-performing PE film structures that are opaque yet compatible with existing PE recycling streams making more packaging suitable for recycling.Adoption of MDO PE film is a rapidly growing industry trend as it enables recyclable, high-performing flexible packaging. By using VO+ Masterbatch, CNG can now produce thin gauge voided MDO PE films that offer a combination of low density and high opacity not achievable with mineral additives such as TiO2 pigments or CaCO3 cavitation agents. This innovation creates a unique PE-based recycle-ready alternative to conventional PP-based substrates that often require biaxial orientation."CNG continues to raise the bar and re-invent packaging with a sustainability-first mindset. Using VOID's patented VO+ technology enables us to achieve the high opacity, ease of processing, and recycle-ready performance we are targeting for these films. This in turn allows our customers to reduce their use of virgin materials and process their packaging in existing polyethylene film recycling streams," said Brent Greiner, Vice-President of Technology at Charter Next Generation.The VO+ PE Masterbatch is added to PE resin to create nano and micro-scale voids, reducing density and creating high levels of opacity via light scattering through the voided structure. VOID's latest VO+ PE Masterbatch product is compliant with direct food contact standards in North America and Europe and has passed key recycling standards.James Gibson, CEO of VOID Technologies, commented, "CNG is a highly innovative and forward-thinking company. We are delighted with this collaboration and to be part of launching this new generation of recycle-ready voided PE films. As we look to the future, we are excited to be working with CNG across a range of projects that directly address sustainability and recycling targets."About Charter Next GenerationCharter Next Generation (CNG) is North America's leading producer of highly engineered solutions used in the food, consumer, healthcare, and industrial markets. Committed to a sustainability-first approach, CNG leverages material science to engineer materials that help companies meet and exceed their sustainability goals. Known for world-class manufacturing capabilities and an innovation-driven approach, CNG operates fifteen facilities and employs over 2,200 employees and is a proud partner of Ownership Works—a nonprofit partnering with companies to enable shared ownership, granting employees a stake in the value they create.About VOID TechnologiesVOID is a materials science company accelerating the transition to more sustainable plastics and packaging. The company combines its VO+ cavitation technology and R&D labs to help plastic and packaging companies rapidly develop new innovative products with a reduced environmental footprint. VOID's extensively patented VO+ technology was first conceived as part of a research initiative at Kimberly-Clark. Soon after, in 2015, VOID was launched as an independent company. Today, VOID has R&D labs and a compound manufacturing facility based in Neenah, Wisconsin (USA) and has commercial teams in Canada, France, and the UK. Arcadium Lithium plc announced the completion of the all-stock merger of equals between Allkem and Livent. The new, combined company is a leading global lithium chemicals producer committed to safely and responsibly harnessing the power of lithium to improve people's lives and accelerate the transition to a clean energy future. With roughly U.S. $1.9 billion of combined total revenue in 2022 and a global team of more than 2,600 employees, Arcadium Lithium is one of the largest integrated producers of lithium chemicals in the world.Paul Graves, Chief Executive Officer of Arcadium Lithium, said: "As one of the leading global producers of lithium chemicals, Arcadium Lithium has the resources, scale and expertise to meet the growing needs of our rapidly changing industry. We are a leader in every major lithium extraction process – from hard rock mining to conventional pond and DLE-based brine processing – and vertically integrated, from resource to chemical manufacturing, in strategic locations around the world. This will open doors to new opportunities and strengthen our ability to deliver value to our customers, investors, employees and communities."Mr. Graves continued: "It is a privilege for me to lead this great company forward with such an incredible team. This transformational merger would not have been possible without the hard work and commitment of our integration planning teams over the past months. I want to thank them and all of our employees around the world for getting us to this position. Together, we are launching an exciting new company that combines the strengths and storied legacies of two incredible organizations, both with an wavering commitment to safe, responsible and sustainable operations. We look forward to building on this strong foundation and leading our industry forward."Arcadium Lithium ordinary shares will begin trading today on the NYSE under the ticker "ALTM." Arcadium Lithium also maintains a foreign exempt listing on the ASX (via the issue of CHESS Depositary Instruments (CDIs) to Allkem shareholders) and will commence trading on a normal settlement basis on the ASX under the ticker "LTM" at 10:00am (AEDT) on January 5, 2024. Allkem shareholders received either: (a) one Arcadium Lithium ASX listed CDI; or (b) one Arcadium Lithium NYSE listed share depending where they resided and what election (if any) they had made for each Allkem ordinary share held, except for shareholders in certain ineligible jurisdictions, who will receive cash proceeds from the sale of the Arcadium Lithium CDIs in lieu of such CDIs after closing. Livent shareholders received 2.406 Arcadium Lithium NYSE listed ordinary shares for each Livent share held. Headquartered in Luxembourg, ChemChain’s proprietary IP and technology will bring an expanded, innovative approach to further augment 3E’s Supply Chain & Sustainability solution, 3E Exchange. 3E Exchange’s unified supply chain platform helps customers organize their global library of supply chain data and streamline workflows in a scalable and compliant manner. Specifically, 3E leverages its market leading digital product passport and renowned regulatory content capabilities to drive best-in-class supply chain management for its growing list of customers. Together, 3E and ChemChain are united in their mission to accelerate global supply chain transparency and sustainability with a unique combination of technology and regulatory expertise.“ChemChain and 3E share a vision to create a safer, more sustainable world that protects people, safeguards products, and helps businesses grow,” said Greg Gartland, Chief Executive Officer of 3E. “Together with ChemChain, 3E offers an unmatched combination of global regulatory expertise and a cutting-edge platform that dramatically simplifies transferring information along the value chain in a transparent and secure manner. 3E improves cross-functional engagement across global enterprises, and future-proofs products against ever-changing regulations. We look forward to the continued expansion of our supply chain solutions and empowering our clients to further accelerate their sustainability efforts.”With 175,000+ supplier relationships across all major geographies, the 3E Exchange platform drives a strong return-on-investment for its customers. Powered by 3E’s market leading regulatory expertise covering over 500,000 chemical substances, 3E Exchange enables superior supply chain management while also advancing companies’ ESG objectives. Continued momentum towards sustainable supply chains has highlighted that preparing for a circular economy should be a critical component of every company’s product strategy.Pete Girard, Managing Director of Supply Chain and Sustainability at 3E, said “The acquisition of ChemChain illustrates our continued focus on supply chain product innovation and thought leadership. The ChemChain team has incubated a novel and tech-forward approach to drive digital product passport adoption, and we look forward to integrating these technologies into 3E Exchange.”“The highly scalable digital product passport model offers a single source of truth that underpins sustainable supply chain management, while ensuring maximum protection of company trade secrets” added Lorenzo Zullo, Co-Founder and CEO of ChemChain. “As part of 3E, and leveraging tracked experience in end-to-end supply chain transparency across multiple industries, including textile & clothing, furniture, and detergents, ChemChain will accelerate innovation and position customers for success in the face of a highly complex and dynamic global regulatory landscape.”ChemChain represents 3E’s fourth acquisition announcement since its separation from Verisk in March 2022.Shearman & Sterling LLP served as the legal advisor to 3E. Cambrian and Elev8law served as the legal advisors to ChemChain.About 3EFor more than 35 years the world’s leading companies have trusted 3E to provide the intelligent compliance solutions they need to ensure safety and sustainability. Unmatched Environmental, Health, Safety and Sustainability (EHS&S) and product compliance expertise empowers clients to improve chemical and workplace safety, product safety and stewardship and supply chain transparency. 3E is deeply committed to serving its more than 5,000 customers worldwide, representing a wide variety of industries and including the world’s largest chemical manufacturers, retailers and pharmaceutical companies.About ChemChainChemChain is a trusted, decentralized, and globally accepted infrastructure that enables customers to build, exchange, store, and track chemical-related information along the supply chain. ChemChain’s proprietary architecture, underpinned by blockchain technology, facilitates a scalable and tamper-proof digital product passport environment. #J-18808-Ljbffr