Learn how an agile approach to marketing management may be the single most valuable decision your organization can make. Plus, examples of successful agile marketing for content marketing, social media & conversion optimization.

1. Agile Marketing
by Scott Brinker @chiefmartec

2. Do you like multiplication?

3. Multiplication of
touchpoints.

4. Multiplication of content.

6. Multiplication of devices.

8. Multiplication of technologies.

9. Multiplication of data.

10. “There must be a pony
in here somewhere!”

11. Multiplication of ideas.

12. Holy cats!
It’s a full-time job
just keeping up with
all the things you
should be keeping
up with.

13. Unprecedented scale of change.

14. Unprecedented speed of change.

15. Stop the ride.
I’m going to be sick.

16. Sorry, this is the new normal.

17. Real-time marketing.

20. High-metabolism
marketing.

22. What’s next? Something even faster?

23. Warp-drive marketing?

24. Is it too late
to consider a career change
to something more tranquil?

25. Like a role on Deadliest Catch?

26. TRUE FACT:
Commercial Alaskan king crab
fisherman have longer average
tenure than CMOs.

27. CMO tenure: 4.8 years
Source: CMO Survey, February 2013, www.cmosurvey.org

29. But we love marketing.

31. We need a more enlightened
approach to change.

32. Agile marketing.

33. Buzzword
du jour?

34. Who wouldn’t want to be agile?

35. Little-a agile: an adjective.

36. Big-AAgile: a methodology.

37. Let’s just go with “agile marketing”
because shift keys are a pain.

38. “Agile marketing” is
applying agile management methods
in the context of marketing.

39. So what is agile management?

40. An iterativeand adaptiveprocess

41. An iterativeand adaptiveprocess
where small, highly-collaborativeteams

42. An iterativeand adaptiveprocess
where small, highly-collaborativeteams
work in a series of short cycles,

43. An iterativeand adaptiveprocess
where small, highly-collaborativeteams
work in a series of short cycles,
incorporating rapid feedback,

44. An iterativeand adaptiveprocess
where small, highly-collaborativeteams
work in a series of short cycles,
incorporating rapid feedback,
to deliver emergentsolutions,

45. An iterativeand adaptiveprocess
where small, highly-collaborativeteams
work in a series of short cycles,
incorporating rapid feedback,
to deliver emergentsolutions,
emphasizing transparency
among all stakeholders.

46. FOUL:
Gobbledygook
on the stage.

47. An iterativeand adaptiveprocess
where small, highly-collaborativeteams
work in a series of short cycles,
incorporating rapid feedback,
to deliver emergentsolutions,
emphasizing transparency
among all stakeholders.

48. An iterative and adaptiveprocess
where small, highly-collaborative teams
work in a series of short cycles,
incorporating rapid feedback,
to deliver emergent solutions,
emphasizing transparency
among all stakeholders.

49. A brief history of “agile.”

50. It began with software engineers...

51. “Waterfall” project management.

53. This is a predictive process,
not an adaptive one.

55. In the real world, things change.

56. Going back up the waterfall
is perilous.

57. There must be a better way.

58. agilemanifesto.org

59. Scrum is the #1 agile framework.

61. An agile task board.

62. Driven by user stories.
As a ____(role)_____,
I want __(goal/desire)_
so that __(benefit)___.

64. Sprints: 1-4 weeks,
4-8 cross-functional people.

65. T-shaped people.

66. The daily 15-minute stand-up.

67. 3 Questions of the Daily Stand-up:
1. What did I do yesterday?

68. 3 Questions of the Daily Stand-up:
1. What did I do yesterday?
2. What am I going to do today?

69. 3 Questions of the Daily Stand-up:
1. What did I do yesterday?
2. What am I going to do today?
3. Are there any impedimentsin my way?

70. Potentially shippable increment.

71. The sprint review.

72. The sprint retrospective.

73. Inspect, adapt, repeat.

75. Benefits of adopting agile:
84% Ability to change priorities
Source: VersionOne 6th Annual State of Agile Survey

76. Benefits of adopting agile:
84% Ability to change priorities
77% Improved project visibility
Source: VersionOne 6th Annual State of Agile Survey

77. Benefits of adopting agile:
84% Ability to change priorities
77% Improved project visibility
75% Increased productivity
Source: VersionOne 6th Annual State of Agile Survey

78. Benefits of adopting agile:
84% Ability to change priorities
77% Improved project visibility
75% Increased productivity
72% Improved team morale
Source: VersionOne 6th Annual State of Agile Survey

79. Benefits of adopting agile:
84% Ability to change priorities
77% Improved project visibility
75% Increased productivity
72% Improved team morale
71% Faster time-to-market
Source: VersionOne 6th Annual State of Agile Survey

80. What does this have to do
with marketing?

81. The marketing plan
is dead.

82. Who killed the
marketing plan?

83. The connected customer.

84. ZMOT: Winning the Zero Moment of Truth, Jim Lecinski

85. Hey, who
twisted up
my funnel?

86. The Cynefin Framework
(pronounced ku-nev-in)

88. A Ferrari is complicated.

89. A rainforest is complex.

90. Marketing used to be complicated.

91. Marketing used to be complicated.
Now it is complex.

92. This is complex.

93. This is complex.

94. This is complex.

95. From Stretched to Strengthened, IBM Global CMO Study 2011

96. What do you do in
a complex environment?

97. Probe, sense, respond.
Experiment.

101. That, sir, is a dead
marketing plan.

102. The yearly marketing plan process
kind of looked like this:

103. “Little strategy” marketing cycles
kind of look like this:

104. Could we adapt
agile development
methodologies
to help us manage
complex, modern
marketing?

105. Short answer: yes.

106. Agile Development Values

107. Agile Marketing Values
Individuals and interactions
over processes and tools.

108. Self-organizing teams.
High-bandwidth
communications.
Direct customer interactions.

109. Agile Marketing Values
Responding to change
over following a plan.

110. Respond to market feedback.
Avoid “sunk cost” traps.
Act on new opportunities.

111. Agile Marketing Values
Remarkable customer experiences
over formalized internal procedures.

112. Marketing is not manufacturing.
“The model is not reality.”
Customers don’t see silos.

113. Agile Marketing Values
Testing and data
over opinions and conventions.

114. Beware the HiPPO.
Seek “validated learning.”
Detect when things change.

115. Agile Marketing Values
Many small experiments
over a few large bets.

116. Adaptive and iterative campaigns
over “Big Bang” campaigns.
Probe, sense, respond.
Discovery over prophecy.

117. Agile principles have many advocates.

123. Big data thrives with experimentation.

124. Big Data
Generate
hypotheses
Big
Testing Prove cause-
and-effect
Big
Experience Deliver better
experiences

125. Agree in principle?
How does that translate into practice?

126. If agile development
delivers software, what
does agile marketing
deliver?

127. We ship content!

128. Stories along the
buyer’s journey.
As a ___(persona)____,
I want __(goal/desire)_
so that __(benefit)___.

129. Marketing missions with
small, discrete components.

130. Content marketing
is great for agile marketing.

131. Social media marketing
is great for agile marketing.

132. Web development
is great for agile marketing.

133. Search engine optimization (SEO)
is great for agile marketing.

134. Mobile app development
is great for agile marketing.

135. Marketing automation
is great for agile marketing.

136. PPC advertising
is great for agile marketing.

137. Landing page optimization
is great for agile marketing.

138. Landing page optimization
is great for agile marketing.

139. Mobile landing page optimization
is great for agile marketing.

140. Disclosure: my company sells
software for agile production of
amazing landing pages (and more).

141. FOUL:
Blatant self-promotion
on the stage.

142. Many marketingmissions can
be broken into discrete chunks for
iteration and adaptation.

143. How do you get started?

144. Read “Essential Scrum”
by Kenneth S. Rubin
For software
development, but Chapter 2
will give you a great high-
level explanation of
Scrum, and Chapter 3 is one
of the best articulated
arguments for adopting
agile for any executive.

145. Read more specifically about
“agile marketing” on the web:
http://chiefmartec.com/category/agile-marketing/
http://www.agilemarketing.net
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/agile-marketing-whiteboard-friday
http://www.agilemarketingblog.com
http://agilemarketingmanifesto.org
http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2012/10/01/agile-
marketing-guide
http://neilperkin.typepad.com/only_dead_fish/agile-planning.html
http://gregmeyer.com/?s=agile+marketing

146. Share and discuss with
with colleagues.
Not just marketing:
sales, IT, and beyond.

147. Win executive support.

148. Get volunteers for your
first agile team.

149. Prepare for acclimation.
Modest expectations
for your first sprints.

150. Focus on being agile,
not just doing agile.

151. Brace yourself for resistance.

152. Most sacred cows
are not agile.

153. Why agile adoption fails:
52% Inability to change culture
Source: VersionOne 6th Annual State of Agile Survey

154. Why agile adoption fails:
52% Inability to change culture
39% General resistance to change
Source: VersionOne 6th Annual State of Agile Survey

155. Why agile adoption fails:
52% Inability to change culture
39% General resistance to change
34% Lack of manager support
Source: VersionOne 6th Annual State of Agile Survey

157. “To the uninitiated (and sometimes
even to those in the industry),
this way of working feels like
barely controlled chaos.”
February 2013
www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Business_Technology/BT_Organization/Competing_in_a_digital_world_Four_lessons_from_the_software_industry_3058

158. Challenge in a Complex Domain
“Of primary concern is the
temptation to fall back into
traditional command-and-control
management styles—
to demand fail-safe business plans
with defined outcomes.”
– David J. Snowden and Mary E. Boone
A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making

159. Is it worth it?

160. “Accelerated cycles,
increased transparency,
and teaming outside the
typical organizational boundaries
(both within and outside the company)
will have great impact.”
February 2013
www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Business_Technology/BT_Organization/Competing_in_a_digital_world_Four_lessons_from_the_software_industry_3058

161. Punctuated equilibrium.

162. Modern marketing
is an Olympic sport.

163. Modern marketing
is an Olympic sport.
It’s better to be agile.

164. Thank you!
Want to reach me?
sbrinker@ioninteractive.com
Twitter: @chiefmartec
More about agile marketing:
http://chiefmartec.com
Software to help you be agile:
http://ioninteractive.com

165. Credits:
Inspiration from these brilliant people (and others):
Agile Marketing Agile Development And More
Matt Blumberg Kent Beck David Armano
John Cass Ron Jeffries Brian Clark
Jonathon Colman Mitch Lacey Steve Denning
Frank Days Robert C. Martin Jim Manzi
Jim Ewel Kenneth S. Rubin Eric Ries
Neil Perkin Michael Sahota Peter Sims
Todd Shimizu Ken Schwaber David J. Snowden
Jascha Kaykas-Wolff Jeff Sutherland Brian Solis

166. Thank you!
Want to reach me?
sbrinker@ioninteractive.com
Twitter: @chiefmartec
More about agile marketing:
http://chiefmartec.com
Software to help you be agile:
http://ioninteractive.com