With advancements in technology, being a CMO is more difficult than it has ever been. Gone are the days of focusing solely on print, television ads, and radio spots. Our own Jeffrey K. Rohrs recently shared his insights into today's world of digital marketing, as well as his career path from recovering attorney to Yext CMO on the Marketing Disenchanted Podcast.
Established for the marketing community by Atlanta-based consultant Temitayo Osinubi, Marketing Disenchanted hosts guests and influencers from the across the B2B, B2C, and digital marketing communities.
During the podcast, Jeffrey shared how his foundation in the arts and communications — as a radio DJ, and an actor in plays, musicals, and more — prepared him for his non-traditional rise to CMO.
"If I look back on my experience in school, college, and grad school, there was always a through line of communications, and trying to help clarify and help audiences better understand and appreciate content," say Jeffrey.
After a brief stint as a lawyer, Jeff soon realized his passions lay elsewhere. He joined the ranks at LexisNexis to hone his marketing skills, and then moved onto several agencies and finally onto ExactTarget, where he built the thought leadership and content marketing teams before joining Yext in 2015.
In addition to his career path, Jeff also discussed the rise of marketing automation, the Internet of Things, and how marketers can conform to the changing landscape of their roles. "Marketers need to take a look at how they adapt to AI, bots — things that become automated," says Jeffrey. "What are the processes in their job that potentially go away? And how do you structure a career with the things that remain permanent?"
Lastly, Jeffrey discussed trends plaguing today's marketers, including the rise of fake news, influencer marketing, and brand safety across programmatic advertising.
Listen to the full podcast to hear what he has to say.
