Squarespace CMO Kinjil Mathur: ‘Give a damn’ about your impact at every level

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When marketers talk about legacy, the conversation often focuses on those in the most senior roles and veers into platitudes on the number of awards they’ve won. But at Squarespace, which helps people build and host their own websites, CMO Kinjil Mathur wants you to “give a damn” about your legacy at every stage of your career.

Regardless of an employee’s level, Mathur says she asks everyone on her team, “What's the work that you're just going to be so excited about and you're going to forever look back and be like, ‘Squarespace couldn't have done that without me?’” 

It’s an empowering perspective to take on no matter where you sit in an organization. “Why exist within [a company] if you don’t have work that’s going to leave a footprint?” she asks.

Mathur says this idea of “sincere impact” drives her noting that in her previous CMO roles at Foursquare and Artspace, she’s taken opportunities to build.

But developing a marketing department or fighting for a seat at the table can come with skepticism. 

“We need to build up the brand of marketing, even within Squarespace,” she says. “I think it's a very misunderstood part of the operation -- in tech specifically.” 

She came to that realization in 2014 while at Foursquare. At that time, the tech world was largely operating from a if-you-build-it-they-will-come mentality, and having to market your product was often seen as a failure. She says marketing was a team brought in as a “band-aid” to fix problems.

“It’s definitely changed from being seen as putting gas on the fire to now becoming a really early-on strategic thought partner about how to grow and build a sustainable company,” she says. “I’m excited about the flip of that conversation, really moving toward marketing as a differentiator.” 

The through-line to her career, she says, is personal. 

“My father passed away when I was in my mid-20s, and I always think about how hard he worked. He never got to enjoy the wealth that he accumulated and saved his whole life,” she says. “I always think about that, and I want to spend my days enjoying the journey...I want to look back and be like, ‘I spent my time thinking about problems that I care about.’” Below, she shares more of her story.

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

Realizing the social responsibility a marketer has on shaping the world around us.

Our entire job as marketers is centered around understanding the customer enough to predict their behavior so that we can interject and, ultimately, influence them. And with that comes great responsibility.

 In 2016, I attended Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit and I remember hearing Bozoma Saint John speak about her time at Apple. While these weren’t her exact words, what I took from that moment was the realization of just how influential marketers are in shaping the world around us. That was a major unlock for me. I realized I had a responsibility as a marketer to drive business impact through social impact.

Motherhood has just compounded that. I thought it was my millennial self wanting to change the world, and now being a mama, I’m like, nope it’s my divine feminine power wanting to ensure I leave the world in a better place than when I came into it for my child. 

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

Conscious Consumerism. It’s not enough to have a really beautiful or flashy or big spend campaign anymore. It’s all about connecting with customers to break through the noise. And that doesn’t start and end with marketing. Your product story, brand purpose, company culture, community, socially responsible mission -- it all matters to the end customer now and marketing is just in service of that larger storytelling to customers. It’s actually made marketing a more strategic role at the table because effective go-to-market strategies can’t be achieved without putting the customer first and no one knows how to do that quite like a marketer.

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

Finding the balance between delivering on long-term strategic growth goals, while taking into account what's happening right now. You have to care about the world around you and you can't be a passive marketer, especially now. It’s about giving a damn, fighting for what you believe in and taking risks. You have to care about what your customers are going through and you have to care about the causes your team is invested in. Oftentimes, we need to react or adapt to the world around us because we're on the front lines of engaging with customers. It’s all about building conviction and acting fast.

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

I’ve been a part of some incredible campaigns but nothing compares to a commitment to do the same campaign annually. In 2017, we announced our partnership with MSG and The New York Knicks, and launched the “Make It Awards,” a program that provides entrepreneurs in the Tri-state area with the funds, exposure and guidance they need to take their businesses to the next level. Each year we give four businesses $30,000, and that grant is inspired by the loan Squarespace Founder and CEO Anthony Casalena received from his parents to launch the company. The winners are a diverse set of entrepreneurs launching businesses to change the city’s landscape.

But the best part about it is that we present them with their award during halftime at a televised Knicks game and give them billboards and other ad units with MSG. How amazing is that? They get their moment to shine on the world’s greatest stage. Last year we had a diverse slate of businesses -- the winners were DollaRide, Fast Feet, OONEE and The Lead. We’re entering our 4th year and now more than ever, watching our city stay resilient through COVID, I love being able to give back to small business owners in our community. 

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

Burger King’s “A Day Without Whopper” where BK supported their rival McDonald’s in an effort to raise money for children's cancer. 

Burger King removed Whoppers from their menu and encouraged patrons to purchase a Big Mac during McDonald's annual fundraising day. The creative featured Ronald McDonald and the Burger King holding hands. In a fiercely competitive profession like marketing, it’s deeply inspiring to see a brand put differences aside for the greater good.

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

There isn’t one thing in particular for me, and my must read, watch or listen is always changing. I tend to gravitate toward books and documentaries that dive into human behavior, after all, I’m a people watcher by trade. As a marketer, I’m always searching for ways to understand different perspectives and experiences, and building empathy by better understanding the challenges we’re facing, together. During the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, like many people, I found myself searching for answers to unpack what I was experiencing. I read the book Caste by Isabel Wilkerson and it has helped me better define the problem we are working to solve in the US.  

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

There are so many good people building great things right now! The brands that inspire me the most are the ones that innately understand the power of community, like LiveTinted and Crown Affair. 

LiveTinted wants to end colorism in South Asian culture. Deepica Mutyala started with that purpose in mind and worked the needs of her community into her product development. And Crown Affair, founded by Dianna Cohen, sells hair care products but launched a mentorship program during COVID when she realized career guidance during these most uncertain times would be the most helpful to her community. Brands that can successfully put people first sincerely motivate my own work.

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

A packed suitcase. If 2020 taught me anything, it’s how much I relied on being “only a plane ride away” from my family.

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

A visual artist of some sort. 

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

Coming out of COVID, I think people are going to be more intentional with their time but have a strong desire to connect with people, often. Shared experiences will become even more important because we’ve been so deprived of them for so long. I think there are some masterminds really formulating what next gen experiential marketing will look like as a result -- my friend Niraj Mehdiratta down in Austin has some thoughts. Marketers should be interested in hearing what experiential marketers like him have to say about marketing in a post COVID world. 

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