Part 3: Insights from a Trifecta of (Female) CMOs -- Alysia Borsa

Episode 44 which you can listen to in its entirety here was so chockfull of information that I generated a companion article dedicated to each of these masterful marketers individually In this Part 3 text companion I summarize how Alysia Borsa raises the CMO bar by adding a quotDquot for Data to her title As CMDO she joined me to discuss the marriage of data and marketing at Meredith CorporationBorsa39s dualtitle was achieved by an unusual path to this role amp8212 best understood by the very evolution of publishing overall and Meredith Corporation specifically While most of its 40 channels or brands amp8212 fromPeople to Better Homes and Gardens to Real Simple amp8212 are steeped in a printbased history Meredith is positioned now as an omnichannel organization and is the leading media company focused on womenIts reach of over 180 million consumers is monumental but the more impressive stat to me is that every month it reaches 90 percent of all women in the US Although print numbers are in decline amp8212 and at an end of an era for the MPA as it closes its doors this month as an evangelizing association and moves to lobbying only amp8212 Meredith has stemmed the tide using digital OTT and yes podcasts to reach about 150 million consumersThe Meredith mission is to quotengage women across platforms to inform entertain and inspire them to take an action That39s really what we are all aboutquot Borsa explainedThe following topline has been edited for clarity and length Subscribe to MediaVillage39s Insider InSites just named a top podcast for digital advertising professionals everywhere Stitcher Spotify iHeartRadio GooglePodcasts Apple TuneIn and YouTube EB Moss You got deep tech and telecom experience at Nokia and Comcast and as a strategy consultant at Accenture so you first focused on mobile and data at Meredith Now you39re in a dual chief marketing officerchief data officer role Never let it be said that women aren39t great at multitaskingAlysia Borsa That39s right I became chief data officer first to centralize all of the consumer data analytics and insights for the entire company And then I also became CMO because at the heart of it we are a directtoconsumer company and understanding our consumers is core and critical to all aspects of our business It39s key to driving consumer revenue which is 50 percent of our business and key for our advertising partners as well as our edit and product teamsamp8230 We brought the two responsibilities together to elevate that and make sure we are a consumer and datadriven organizationMoss It makes absolute sense If you have the insights then you can apply them to reach the consumer more effectively and know how to engage better You describe Meredith as a diversified media company and with that 5050 split between consumer and advertising revenues how do you appeal to both advertisers and consumers these days Borsa They39re absolutely intertwined We39re focused on creating intentdriven content and experiences to make sure we39re constantly reaching and engaging the female consumer to take action and to buy And we39re also enabling quotcontent to commercequot which our brands have the right to play in and then influence The power of that engagement and data and insights is extremely useful We also leverage what we call quotactionable innovationquot for our partners making sure that we have new platforms audio using QR codes and AR and VR and chatbots and AI and providing opportunities for our advertisers to engage along with our predictive advertising platformMoss What39s the coolest thing you39re doing now and offering advertisers these days Borsa With the example of the predictive advertising platform we start with understanding our consumers and creating what we call a consumerdecision framework then use that information to dynamically recommend activate and target against consumers based on where they are in that decision tree We39ve done that with a couple of core clients right now such as Ste Michelle Wine Estates where we39ve developed the consumerdecision framework We39re using AI to recommend wine pairings and then target advertising related to that experienceMoss What about on content to commerce Borsa We drove over 1 billion in retail sales last year through a variety of means ecommerce and affiliate shops shoppable images video recipes and now shoppable articles It is taking the consumer through a natural funnelWe also did something interesting from a print perspective in InStyle Magazine You can use a QR code and leveraging AR you can try on then purchase makeup from that experience It39s a really interesting way to connect consumers across platforms give them an experience and then drive to purchaseMoss With it having such a focus on women I39m guessing that that makes the working environment for women at Meredith pretty good Borsa As a woman I feel very empowered and supported There are a lot of women in leadership at Meredith We still need more women at the most senior levels of our organization But it is absolutely recognized and talked about openly It39s something we are addressing One example we shared actually with all of our employees is from our board of directorsamp8230 We now have over 40 percent representation of women which is progress right Again is there still work to be done Absolutely But we are moving towards thatMoss And your personal mantra as adviceamp8230 to supporting and encouraging women Borsa One of my key messages that I truly believe is that women shouldn39t feel stuck If they feel like they are being slighted or being discriminated against at all there are so many opportunities for change I don39t think in today39s world anyone should feel stuck where they are Everyone needs to embrace and feel comfortable with changeOur industry is never going to be static We have to push ourselves amp8212 and should feel uncomfortable in our roles and in taking on new challenges And if you feel too comfortable then it39s time to change or take on more or something new Even the definition of what a CMO is or should do is continuing to change There39s opportunity to again expand and change as our consumers change and the industry changesMoss Are you hopeful of seeing more women in STEM and embracing that side of the businessBorsa Absolutely And I39m proud that for the data team I run I have over 50 percent representation of women to men and all my direct reports are evenly split male to female There39s still more work to be done But I see a lot of progress thereMoss Meredith is very involved with SeeHer We have a forthcoming interview with Shelley Zalis who39s being inducted into our Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors and I know how involved she is with that What are some places women can go or do things for growth Borsa Whether it39s formal or informal mentoring I think that39s really important for women and it doesn39t mean you need a female mentor Not only are we a part of SeeHer which has become a companywide internal and external type of initiative we also have employeeled organizations and committees which let employees take the lead on how to increase diversity and inclusion It39s really important to give your employees a voiceAnd we39re a big supporter of the ANA39s CMO Growth Council where we talked about not only SeeHer but also Brands for Good among many othersMoss As a last word for any marketer what39s your projection for the future Borsa Marketers need to embrace the data and insights piece to be more informed but there39s always got to be a balance between those two We can39t lose creativity as part of that it39s not eitheror I think that39s an evolving changing way of thinking about the new marketing eraClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Part 3: Insights from a Trifecta of (Female) CMOs -- Alysia Borsa

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E.B. Moss

We Are the Outliers - By Jack Myers

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Part 3: Insights from a Trifecta of (Female) CMOs -- Alysia Borsa

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