Gannett CMO Mayur Gupta: Marketing has a marketing problem

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Gannett Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer Mayur Gupta is everywhere. And for some reason, that doesn’t feel like an exaggeration. When I check out my LinkedIn news feed throughout the day, Gupta is usually at the top of my feed waxing poetic on why marketing is a specialized skill, the 3 archetypes of marketers (might you be a blender?), and why too much budget can be bad for marketing. This list could go on and on. But he’s starting conversations about marketing almost every day. 

Some of Gupta’s strongest views are on the importance of “marketing without marketing” and the idea of the “always-on” campaign. But perhaps the most animated part of our conversation was when I asked him why everyone seems to be questioning the value of marketing. How do you position what was once seen as a cost center to be seen as a center of growth?

"One of our biggest challenges and opportunities as marketers is to figure out how to remarket ourselves internally within the organization. We need to drive education and awareness on the scope and success of marketing," Gupta said. "What is our purpose? What does successful marketing look like? Marketeers have to win the right to be at the table every single day up until we have all proven that marketing is a sustainable and proven growth engine for every company. Marketing has a marketing problem and that's what we have to solve internally."

In September, Gupta announced he had taken on the role of chief marketing and strategy officer at Gannett - USA Today Network and would lead the brand’s efforts to become an increasingly subscription-led business. Prior to joining Gannett, he held top marketing jobs at companies ranging from Spotify to the meal-delivery service Freshly and the healthcare marketplace Healthgrades. He was the first chief marketing technologist at Kimberly-Clark, which owns brands ranging from Kleenex and Cottonelle to Huggies, Kotex and Depend. 

As VP of Growth and Marketing at Spotify, Gupta launched the Wrapped Campaign that recaps your year in music. The “yearly wrap” format is a franchise many brands have since glommed on to as a way to engage customers. It’s a year-end opportunity to say, 'We get you, you’re important to us. And don’t forget, we’re important to you.'

Gupta said launching the campaign was exciting because “it was an experience at the convergence of data, insights and brilliant, creative storytelling that drove a tangible human behavior and created magic both on and off platform. I think it’s one of the most anticipated and awaited campaigns and it gets better each year.”

Below, he shares more of his story.

1. What has had the most impact on your perspective as a marketer?

I've had an unusual journey as a marketeer. I majored in computer science and started my career as a hardcore engineer. And then I evolved into building ad tech products for marketing and advertising. So my career has had a few pivots, from technology to product management and growth and now marketing. The pivots have been full of mentors and experiences with iconic purpose-driven brands that have shaped my perspective. But there's one funny incident related to one of my daughters that I want to share. 

Back in 2012, I was traveling back and forth between Miami and Chicago, working as a chief marketing technologist for Kimberly-Clark. My daughter was almost four years old, and one day I came back and I saw this ugly red polka dot pair of socks. I asked my wife, "Did you order this?," because it was a very unlikely purchase. She said, "I don't know, I thought you ordered it." We thought maybe it was our neighbor’s and moved on.

A week later, my wife told me that my daughter had accidentally ordered them on the Gilt app using my wife's phone. Luckily Gilt was only selling merchandise and clothes and not houses and cars, otherwise I probably wouldn't be sitting here. It was funny but underneath that, it really taught me the world we were living in. We could no longer do digital marketing but had to market in a digital world where the consumers are inherently living, breathing a digital life. Digital is no longer a bolt-on. 

As a marketer, that’s the bar the consumer has set for us. They expect no friction, in fact incremental value every time they engage with a brand. Their behaviors and expectations are evolving exponentially and brands have to catch up at the same pace.

2. What’s changed the most about your job as a marketer over the course of your career?

Almost everything. I can bucket my career in 2 halves. The first half was more like a hammer and everything looked like a nail. I had no perspective or purpose. The second half has been a journey to find that purpose, have a perspective and a belief system. It’s been an evolution from using technology as a hammer to building experiences that impact and change human life. It has been more about outcomes than outputs.

I have seen almost 4 phases of marketing through my career, from one extreme to the other. 

• Phase 1 - The era of the “Mad Men,” the Midas touch, where every brand was unique but just like the other brand. Marketing was unaddressable and unaccountable, it was hard. This built the perception of marketing within the C-Suite, as a “cost center”. 
• Phase 2 - The era of “Digital Confusion,” the proliferation of channels, innovation in technology and data that put the customer in full control, infinite discovery and access. For marketers, digital became a bolt-on. It was marketing and then “digital marketing” until we all realized, we were “marketing in a digital world.”
• Phase 3 - The “Growth At All Cost” period, with the launch of the iPhone and Facebook. Everything changed forever. Now it was all about addressability, performance, data, numbers, growth and less and less about the why, the purpose, the brand, the soul. But it worked. At least numerically and in the short-term until a global crisis would change the world forever again. 
• Phase 4 - The “Post COVID Era.” COVID took everyone back to the basics - being human, being empathetic. It forced us to listen as marketers. It took the monkey off the back. It was suddenly ok if they did not “buy” right at that moment. Brands wanted to do what was best for the customer and not just best for them. 

Hope that stays as the new normal. 

3. What’s the hardest part of a marketer’s job today?

The hardest part is finding that balance point of the marketing pendulum that has oscillated from one extreme to the other in the last 5 decades. It needs to settle where the customer is. That’s the center. 

• Customers want utility but they also want to have a shared purpose. 
• They want faster access but not at the cost of quality. 
• They appreciate discounts but are ready to pay more if they believe in your belief. 
• They will engage with you but not if you are not authentic. 
• They will talk about you if you are brave, if you are still standing when the rest pull back. 

Interestingly the customer has understood it's a world of “ANDs,” unfortunately as marketers we are still operating in a world of “ORs.” We are still choosing between Purpose and Profit, between Brand and Growth or Brand and Performance. 

Our biggest challenge is proving how true Purpose drives Sustainable Growth. Winning the customer today is not just a short term metric game. You have to invest in that relationship to win the long term metric. 

We have almost isolated marketing in 2 parts - a part that feels right but does NOT work in terms of business impact and the other part that does not feel right but definitely works. Our challenge is to converge these and prove (with data) that what feels right actually not only works but works even better. Because it does. Just not in the very short term.

Underneath that requires not just art and science but art in science and science in art. 

4. Tell us about the marketing campaign you’re most proud of working on in your career.

Over the years I have become a believer in an “always-on” mindset as a marketer. A marketing rhythm that does not have a start and end data because that’s how the customers operate. A parent is likely making a purchase at 10:30 at night on their phone when the kids have gone off to sleep. As a brand, you want to be there at that moment. There are examples where we have tried to do that. 

The most exciting one was at Spotify, the Wrapped Campaign, your personalized year in music. It has now become a platform, not just for Spotify, but for many other categories -- entertainment, travel, tourism, wellness and more. The reason why it was exciting was because it was an experience at the convergence of data, insights and brilliant, creative storytelling that drove a tangible human behavior and created magic both on and off platform. I think it’s one of the most anticipated and awaited campaigns and it gets better each year. 

Another was at Kimberly-Clark, Depend had been a leading incontinence brand, in fact a category creator. At one point the growth had started to decline. It could have been anything - from the quality of the product, to increasing competition or a shift in customer behavior. 

The research teams invested in behavioral science to understand the WHY. The key insight was not about the product or the channel, it was the “stigma” associated with the category. Nobody wanted to be seen with an incontinence product in the aisle. That was a big aha moment. It led to a lot of great creative ideas focused on breaking down that stigma. 

Those are the kind of ideas in marketing and advertising that inspire me because they're very humanistic. They inspire human behavior at the intersection of data, technology and incredible storytelling. The business impact is so tangible. 

5. What’s a marketing campaign you wish you’d thought of and why?

There are some fascinating campaigns that I've seen while growing up that influenced me a lot. The one that stands out, which I think it's an evergreen, is the effort that Dove led about Real Beauty. They've created a platform. 

There are many brands that have brilliant creative ideas there. But having been on the management team in a few organizations and working with many founders and CEOs, it's not easy as a leader when you stand up for your values and your beliefs. It's easy to think and say, "Oh yeah, it's a no brainer. They did it," but I can bet you that when you're facing the quarter end, it's one of the hardest choices to stand up for something that may end up cannibalizing a part of your total addressable market. To me, that is a sign of a brand and a business that truly stands for its mission and purpose.

Nike's done that beautifully as well. People say, "Oh, that's Nike." Of course, they've done all this for the last 30, 40 years. What we all have to acknowledge and appreciate is, as you grow, that choice becomes harder and harder, not easier, because you have more to lose, which is something that I look at in a lot of founders whose companies are just on the inflection point of growth. Many of them start to become very risk averse because now you have revenue that you're trying to protect. But these brands do it time and time again, because they totally believe that their mission and purpose supersedes any kind of numbers that they may see in one, two, or three quarters. They don't let one or two quarters or one or two years determine where they are headed.

6. What’s your must read, watch or listen for all marketers?

I've been reading Satya Nadella's Hit Refresh, not directly marketing, but I think every marketer needs to understand business and transformation because marketing is a function that's on the forefront of that internal transformation. He's led one of the most incredible transformation stories in the last decade. He has used empathy to drive innovation, inspiring many to use the Microsoft platform to fulfill their own purpose. He led the evolution of a company, which was struggling back in 2013-2014, to a trillion dollar value, of course based on technology, innovation and strategic choices, but without moving away from compassion, empathy, and respect, both internally and externally. 

I strongly believe that the way you influence a culture outside is a reflection of your culture inside the organization. Your obsession with your customer outside is a pure reflection of how obsessed you are with people inside the organization. The two sides are inseparable. 

I am a Nichiren Buddhist, so I read a lot of books related to it. It's an incredible life philosophy of cause and effect, standing up for the dignity of life. It’s a philosophy that teaches you courage and compassion and the ability to create hope when it’s not easy to find it. So a lot of books and literature that I read is written by my mentor Daisaku Ikida. There's a book on the strategy of the The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, which I love and challenge myself to live by every single day. 

My personal and professional lives are based on these principles. It has given me the courage to stand up for my values and belief system, to know that we all have our own unique path and mission in life. It’s just amazing. 

7. What’s an under the radar brand you’re watching and why?

Well I just started in my new role at Gannett and the USA TODAY NETWORK to lead marketing and strategy efforts. So every ounce of my focus is there right now. I am not sure if you would call it an under the radar brand but we are going through our own transformation journey which we are all very excited about. It’s an evolution of one of the biggest news media brands to a subscription platform with content at its core. 

I am inspired by our mission to build trusted local communities especially at a time like this where we are constantly surrounded by fake news, negativity, anxiety and a lack of trust. We are operating at that same intersection of data, technology and storytelling to share authentic and inspiring stories. One example is our work called The Wall which included a spectrum of AR, VR, audio, interactive maps to tell the story behind building a border wall. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018.

It’s a 100 year legacy and we are just starting to shape the next 100.

8. Name a product you can’t live without (that doesn’t connect you to the internet) and tell us why.

My tennis racket and my books, especially the ones connected to Nichiren Buddhism. Big into sports - I play tennis now but played a lot of cricket while growing up in India. Like many Indian kids, I dreamt of playing for India. Dreams are easy, reality isn’t. After my wife and I got married, she gave me a very simple choice: choose her or cricket because I was spending the whole weekend on the cricket field. She made it quite easy and I moved on to tennis, from 8 hours to 2.

9. Finish this sentence. If I weren’t a marketer, I would be…

That's easy, a cricketer.

10. Finish this sentence: The marketer I most want to see do this questionnaire is…

The two people who have taught me most about marketing would be Seth Farbman who brought me on at Spotify and taught me a lot, and then Clive Sirkin who I worked very closely with at Kimberly-Clark. I think both are incredible, extremely futuristic marketeers who saw the world way before many of us did.

Thanks for being part of the Marketer Must Read community! Feel free to reach out to me with your thoughts on marketing or if you have suggestions for who should be featured here. And don’t forget to hit subscribe above or below to be notified when the next issue comes out.