Authentic Brand Blog - Marketing Insights for Growing Businesses

Marketing budget: From zero to unlimited

Business leaders often want us to tell them how much to allocate to their marketing budget. But there’s no easy answer to this question; no universal formula exists that works for all companies due to varying factors, such as industry, business model, market, company culture, appetite for investment, the maturity of the existing marketing programs, and how quickly they’re willing to change. (more…)

Tech & SaaS growth: Marketing tips from experienced fractional CMOs

Technology and SaaS companies are up against many challenges: The industry is rapidly changing, requiring them to continually assess how to evolve their offerings to stay relevant and reach ideal buyers where they are. (more…)

Go Next: Client Story

Group travel operator Go Next hired Authentic Brand to re-envision and grow the brand after a tumultuous time. “The Authentic Brand imprint certainly positioned us for future growth and marketing opportunities; we’re well-positioned to make further enhancements to our marketing.” John Weeks, President & CEO, Go Next Go Next at a glance Company size: 20 employeesBusiness type: Group travel operatorCategory: B2B, B2CHeadquarters: Edina, MNKey initiatives: Brand messaging and design, digital strategy, marketing resourcing, employee development, agency management The Challenge Go Next, a group travel operator that works primarily with alumni and affinity groups wanted to refresh its brand to better…

Inbound Back Office Podcast Featuring Jennifer Zick

Why Agencies Need Marketing Leadership Our founder and CEO, Jennifer Zick, was recently the featured guest on the Inbound Back Office podcast. Jennifer explained why agencies need marketing leadership and shared how Authentic Brand's fractional CMOs help agencies (and many growing businesses) overcome random acts of marketing to take the next right step toward healthy growth. Jennifer also covered the following: What is marketing leadership, and why do you need it? Different phases of business and when you need a strategic marketing leader What happens when no one "owns" the marketing role in a business How fractional CMOs can help…

Poised for Exit Podcast Featuring Jennifer Zick

Build a High Value Authentic Brand Our founder and CEO, Jennifer Zick, was recently the featured guest on the #PoisedforExit podcast with host, Julie Keyes. In this episode, Jennifer discussed the important role of the CMO for growing businesses and the fractional CMO model. Fractional CMOs work with the internal leadership team of companies to quarterback the marketing strategy and implementation, and provide resources and insights to build the company's brand through measurable and effective marketing tactics. Jennifer also discussed Authentic Brand’s proprietary Authentic Growth™ Methodology that is designed to help our clients stay focused on the right marketing strategies…

Marketing technology: From basics to optimized for scale

The role of a marketing leader has changed dramatically in recent years. What once was a role focused on brand, communications, creative, and advertising has expanded to include the ability to navigate a technology landscape that continues to grow exponentially and change rapidly. (more…)

hearX Group: Client Story

Digital hearing health company hearX Group hired Authentic Brand to nail down its Lexie Hearing marketing strategy and launch OTC products into an entirely new market. “Since hiring our fractional CMO, I’m most excited about our team’s cohesion and knowing they have the inner confidence to implement new initiatives. But more so than that, they have the voice and the understanding to work through the strategy behind those initiatives before implementing them.”Seline van der Wat, COO, hearX Group hearX Group at a glance Company size: 140 employeesBusiness type: Digital hearing healthCategory: B2CHeadquarters: Pretoria, South AfricaKey initiatives: Product launch, brand messaging,…

Humentum: Client Story

Global nonprofit Humentum hired Authentic Brand to transform its marketing from unstructured and random to disciplined and metric-driven. “We’ve gone from having no data to knowing what data to use to make business decisions. I think this underscores Authentic Brand’s intentional and data-driven approach.”Chris Proulx, Global Director, Humentum Humentum at a glance Company size: 50 employeesBusiness type: Global nonprofitCategory: B2BHeadquarters: Washington, DCKey initiatives: Marketing fundamentals, metrics, messaging, martech, employee developmentThe challenge The Challenge Humentum, a global nonprofit that helps humanitarian and development organizations unlock the strategic power of operating models, was formed by a merger of three other non-profit organizations.…

Buyer’s journey: From unscripted to an unmatched experience

A buyer’s journey is the experience a buyer has at each encounter with a brand. Marketing teams often map a buyer’s journey to stages, and many buyer’s journey examples are available to help teams visualize them. (more…)

eyebobs: Client Story

Eyewear company eyebobs hires an Authentic Fractional CMO™ to maintain business momentum while its marketing leader unplugged during maternity leave. “At the end of the day, our Authentic Fractional CMO™ helped us maintain our business without interruption. Our sales were on forecast, and our ad spend was at the level we expected it to be. There were a lot of moving parts, and many of them could have gone off the rails. But they didn’t.”Mike Hollenstein, CEO, eyebobs eyebobs at a glance Company size: 50 employeesBusiness type: Eyewear manufacturer & retailerCategory: D2CHeadquarters: Minneapolis, MNKey initiatives: Agency and marketing performance management,…