Renegade Marketers Unite

Drew Neisser
  • 4.9 (53)
  • Marketing
  • Updated Weekly

Renegade Marketers Unite focuses on marketing innovators, uncovering the how, what and why behind their on-going success. Award-winning marketer, author, and entrepreneur Drew Neisser keeps these conversations interesting and inspiring, wrapping up each episode with on-the-spot analysis and insights for big marketers and those that want to be. For more information visit http://DrewNeisser.com/podcast

  1. 5d ago

    535: Building the Brave Habit

    How do you know whether the brave move is to go for it or plant your feet?  CMOs are making that call with short runways, incomplete information, and teams being asked to adapt fast. Comfort can delay the hard decision. Pressure can push leaders toward false certainty or speed for speed's sake. Brave leadership is more measured, and it gets stronger with practice.  In this episode, Drew talks with Todd Henry, author of The Brave Habit, about building that practice into leadership. Todd shows how clarity and agency help teams move when the path ahead is still taking shape. The superhero cape can stay home. This is bravery with judgment, habit, and a much better read on what makes your team tick.  Three Ways Leaders Get Bravery Wrong:  Trying to manufacture certainty in an uncertain moment  Equating bravery with action Motivating the team through the leader's own lens What You'll Learn: How to turn brave leadership into a weekly habit Why separating true risk from perceived risk matters Why AI works best when it amplifies expert thinking  Listen in for how CMOs can build bravery into their leadership, lead with clarity through uncertainty, and give their teams the agency to move.  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

  2. Sep 2

    The Leadership Move You're Avoiding

    Before you ask for another leadership tip, check the glasses you're already wearing.  Ty Hammond doesn't do tips anymore, which slightly complicates Drew's plan to grab a few quick leadership nuggets. Good thing. When leaders already know the move they need to make and still keep avoiding it, the blocker is often the assumption coloring how they see the moment. If the glasses say "nice guy," accountability can start to look like becoming the bad guy. That's the kind of lens Ty wants leaders to notice first.  In this episode, Drew talks with leadership coach Ty Hammond about the hard moments CMOs tend to label as problems to fix. Some need a tactical solution. Others are adaptive, asking leaders to build the capacity to sit with the discomfort long enough to see what's really going on.  What You'll Learn:  Why leadership tips fall short without awareness How blind spots shape the moves leaders avoid Why some hard moments are adaptive, not tactical How to spot the story making accountability harder  Listen in for a quick way to spot the assumption behind the leadership move you're avoiding, and decide whether the challenge in front of you is tactical, adaptive, or both.  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

  3. Aug 28

    PE-Backed CMOs

    PE-backed CMOs have to make marketing make sense at board speed.  The questions come faster. The comparisons come from portfolio companies that look nothing like yours. And no budget line stays "just marketing" for long.  In this episode, Drew talks with Kevin Ruane (Precisely), Julie Kaplan (Higher Logic), and Alan Gonsenhauser (Demand Revenue) about what it takes to succeed as a PE-backed CMO. They explain how to learn the investment thesis, build CFO trust early, use customer success as a signal source, and make growth more predictable, explainable, and easier for the business to back.  In This Episode: Kevin shows how to make brand and demand credible with PE sponsors by tying every investment to a clear business story Julie explains why CMOs need to understand the PE firm's thesis, exit story, and pressure points before adapting the marketing plan Alan shows how PE-backed CMOs make growth more predictable by owning outcomes and translating marketing into financial language  Plus: Why PE-backed CMOs need a business point of view fast How marketing becomes the glue across the business Why CFOs need to see customers, not just line items How to use board meetings to sharpen priorities Listen in for how PE-backed CMOs can turn the investment thesis into a stronger marketing agenda, make every bet easier to defend, and show the business exactly how marketing creates value.  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

  4. Aug 21

    Seeing Around Corners: The Signals CMOs Can't Afford to Miss

    Change only looks sudden when you missed the signals.  Rita McGrath gives that idea teeth for CMOs leading through AI, org design changes, and markets that refuse to sit still. The signals are usually there. But in businesses wired to confirm what already happened, they get drowned out by revenue, pipeline, CAC, and other lagging indicators. Those numbers still earn their seat, but left alone, they can keep everyone staring backward while customers and competitors move ahead.  In this episode, Drew talks with Rita McGrath, Columbia Business School professor and author of Seeing Around Corners, about how CMOs can build the muscle to spot change early enough to act. Rita connects weak signals, leading indicators, arena thinking, and strategy-led AI to a bigger job for marketing leaders. Help the business move sooner, then make sure new efficiencies fund the next bet. Because as Rita says, you can't shrink your way to greatness.  What You'll Learn: How strategic centering helps leaders make stronger bets Why the next threat may not be the rival on the battlecard What separates AI users from AI-powered thinkers How to balance the core business with future growth options Listen in for how CMOs can read the signals sooner, put strategy before AI, and turn efficiency pressure into fuel for the next bet.  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

  5. Aug 14

    Marketing and Communications as One Growth System

    Marketing and comms lose leverage when the story, the proof, and the teams carrying them run in separate lanes.  That's how strong work gets less mileage than it should. Recognition stays in PR when demand could use it. Analyst proof misses the sales motion. Internal messaging sounds adjacent to the market story instead of connected to it. Bring the right lenses together early, and the narrative gets sharper, the proof works harder, and the brand voice becomes unmistakable wherever the business shows up.  In this episode, Drew talks with Clay Helm (At the Helm Consulting), Julia Goebel (Alight Solutions), and Marni Puente (SAIC) about what it takes to make marketing and communications work as one team behind the business story. They focus on trust, shared measurement, clear decision rights, and a healthy respect for what each discipline brings to growth.  In This Episode:  Clay shows what changes when comms plugs into pipeline, customer journey, and the daily rhythm of the business  Julia explains how leaders can honor each team's lens and make earned credibility work harder  Marni shows why unified leadership can sharpen brand alignment, culture, execution, and market impact  Plus:  Why one unmistakable brand voice matters across employees, customers, media, and the market  Why employee comms deserves C-suite attention in people-powered businesses  Why separate CMO and CCO roles need tight partnership and clear swim lanes  How to spot healthy integration before anyone has to force it  Listen in for how CMOs can bring marketing and communications into tighter sync and get more mileage from the story, proof, and credibility they already have.  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

  6. Aug 7

    Stop the Sales Enablement Scavenger Hunt

    A stuffed content library can still leave a salesperson empty-handed.  Somewhere along the way, sales enablement got mistaken for asset production. Sales asks, marketing makes, the asset goes somewhere, and the next thing you know, a seller is five minutes from a call wondering which deck, battle card, proof point, or customer story actually helps. If the seller has to stop selling to find the enablement, the enablement has not enabled.  In this Drew-on-Drew solo episode, Drew plays both host and guest to take on the request-fulfillment loop. Drawing on conversations in the CMO Huddles community, he helps marketing leaders rethink sales enablement around one better question: Did it make sales more effective?  The mandate is clear. Pick one selling outcome, build trusted answers where sellers work, and measure whether buyers move, deals advance, and sales wins faster, more often, or bigger.  What You'll Learn:  How AI can turn approved content into timely answers without creating more content chaos  Why adoption depends on workflow, peer stories, and help at the moment of need  How recorded sales calls can strengthen messaging, coaching, content, and product decisions  Listen in for Drew's take on what sales enablement needs to become and how CMOs can replace the content maze with a system that helps sellers show up smarter and move buyers forward. For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

  7. Jul 31

    What 2026's CMO Survey Reveals About Marketing Under Pressure

    When every marketing decision has to pay off this quarter, growth starts losing its owner.  That's the uncomfortable read from the latest CMO Survey. Under pressure, CMOs are making perfectly rational moves. Safer bets, tighter proof, more focus on the customers already in hand. The danger is what those choices start to signal. If every case for marketing comes back to pipeline now and near-term ROI, the function that should be finding growth can get managed into something much smaller.  In this episode, Drew sits down with Christine Moorman, founder of The CMO Survey and professor at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, to unpack what the spring 2026 results say about marketing's next move. The data points to rising AI value, a stubborn talent gap, and underfunded marketing capabilities. Running through it all is one warning CMOs cannot afford to ignore: Safe can get small.  Three Findings CMOs Need to Take to Heart:  Short-termism is narrowing marketing's role  AI value is rising faster than team readiness  Capabilities matter, but investment is lagging  What You'll Learn:  Why safe bets can defend marketing today and shrink its role tomorrow  How metrics shape what the C-suite believes marketing is for  Why AI success depends as much on talent and training as it does on tools  How CMOs can prove value beyond pipeline, from customer relationships to durable growth  Listen in for a clear read on the latest CMO Survey, from why safe can get small to how CMOs can use better metrics, stronger talent, and AI-ready capabilities to reclaim the growth agenda.  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

  8. Jul 24

    Marketing Inside the Sales Rhythm

    Sales has one clean tell for whether it trusts marketing. Timing.  Bring marketing in late, and partnership turns into a very polite scramble. The field has moved, the campaign needs context, and sales is working leads without the story that made them worth chasing in the first place. Trust grows when marketing stays close enough to hear the objections, spot the stalls, and change the work while there's still time to help.  In this episode, Drew is joined by Ellina Shinnick (HUB), Joan Jenkins (Fastly), and Sara Braun (FORTA) to look at where marketing belongs inside the sales rhythm. Their examples ground partnership in the weekly decisions, shared numbers, and field-ready enablement that turn marketing from a separate function into a stronger growth partner.  In this episode:  Ellina shows how HUB embedded marketing in weekly sales leadership meetings, creating faster pivots, clearer lead ownership, and a 3x lift in conversion  Joan explains why Fastly keeps marketing accountable through pipeline creation, progression, and revenue instead of stopping at the lead handoff  Sara shares how field visits, customer input, and rep feedback helped FORTA build sales playbooks around the accounts and moments that mattered most  Plus:  How CMO-CRO behavior sets the tone for sales-marketing alignment  How AEO, AI content, and recorded calls surface new customer signals  What marketing needs from sales, from honest feedback to field activation  Why speed and flexibility matter more than rigid annual plans  Listen in for how B2B CMOs can build stronger sales partnerships, improve pipeline accountability, and make marketing more useful from first signal to final outcome. For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

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4.9
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About

Renegade Marketers Unite focuses on marketing innovators, uncovering the how, what and why behind their on-going success. Award-winning marketer, author, and entrepreneur Drew Neisser keeps these conversations interesting and inspiring, wrapping up each episode with on-the-spot analysis and insights for big marketers and those that want to be. For more information visit http://DrewNeisser.com/podcast

Information

  • Creator
    Drew Neisser
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    636
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © CMO Huddles, LLC 2026
  • Show Website
    Renegade Marketers Unite

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