In her CM Spotlight, Elvira Palermo, CM, Senior Advisor at the Ontario Energy Board, highlights the power of strategy in marketing and the necessity of continuous learning. She reveals that behind-the-scenes effort, skill, and negotiation drive seemingly effortless results. Elvira also demonstrates versatility in marketing skills, sharing her successful transition from financial services to energy literacy after nearly 20 years.

Being Challenged

While I loved the diversification of marketing roles, my inspiration to become a marketer came primarily from the ability to inform, educate and influence decision-making. I enjoy the art of bringing ideas together while being challenged to use different skill sets, from communication and project management to strategy and creative problem-solving.

Strategy First

The most important lesson that would have saved me a lot of time and effort in my career is that strategy comes first and is more important than any set of tactics or deliverables. I think sometimes marketers, especially those early in their careers, respond to requests for a plan or tactic without analyzing how and if it fits or will help fulfill the objective. I worked for a VP who used to humorously refer to it as “tactic envy.”

On more than one occasion, I have tried to explain why the latest fad/tactic/channel wasn’t the right approach for the audience or objective without the client feeling that their needs weren’t being met. Sometimes a big part of our role is education and consultation with internal clients.

Flawless Delivery

The marketing function has grown immensely and transformed over the years. Early in my career, I found that marketing was one of the most misunderstood roles in some organizations. It sometimes included an umbrella of initiatives for delivery looking for a home. It’s empowering to see that marketing has earned a well-deserved seat at the table over the years because marketing’s impact and partnership are valuable contributions to the organization’s success.

Effective marketers make the job look easy to outsiders, and I think there is still a misunderstanding of the effort, skill, timing, people skills, negotiation, etc., required to produce a flawless delivery on time and on budget.

Learning is Energizing

Unfortunately, your skills may become obsolete unless you commit to keeping up to date with the latest best practices. Embracing and learning about change and how it affects your role and industry is an absolute necessity as a marketer. I love what I do and find learning energizing. It opens the door to suggesting new ideas and strategies in real-time. I am committed to continuing to take courses through the CMA and other institutions to hone my skills or learn new ones.

I am a newsletter junkie, so I subscribe to much content related to the marketing profession both domestically and internationally. During covid, I was introduced to open learning platforms, which is a great way to take short courses and earn a micro-credential at your own pace. While I have participated in many online formats, I miss in-person sessions as the dynamic isn’t easily replicated in the online space.

Change

I’ve seen much change, but I think the most significant change is the availability of metrics in a very short period so fast that you can hone or change your campaign midstream. Digital and social have allowed us to be laser-focused, and if we don’t get it right, we can quickly correct. Of course, introducing AI is another big change which brings both opportunities and challenges.

Marketing is Transferable

After almost two decades in the Financial Services Industry, I moved into Energy Literacy, which was new to me. It was incredibly satisfying to take all my experience and knowledge and make a difference in another field. Marketing knowledge is truly transferable because it’s the skills that matter, not the subject matter.

The Future

When I think about the future, I’m both excited and weary about AI and how it can help or hinder marketers. At a conference recently, someone shared a thought: if you don’t learn how to leverage AI, you will become irrelevant. I’m reassured by knowing that even good AI will need a someone to vet the content and confirm it reaches the right objectives and demographics.

 

 

 

 

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