TwentyFirstCenturyBrand

We’d like to take a moment to highlight Chime, one of our brilliant clients and a financial technology company that believes basic banking services should be helpful, easy, and free for everyone. We had the pleasure of collaborating with Chris Britt, Ryan King, Vineet Mehra and the rest of the team to rewrite the company’s foundational brand strategy which would encapsulate their ambition to address the fundamental misalignment in the industry between what’s good for banks and what’s good for consumers. Driven by their new mission “to unite everyday people to unlock their financial progress” they are way underway to reimagine what banking can be and to empower millions of everyday people to take control of their finances, through disruptive product innovations like MyPay™ which is a new way to get paid between paydays. And let’s not forget the fantastic rebrand and powerful brand campaigns which are led by the wonderful people at AKQA and Jones Knowles Ritchie. We are inspired by every action you take to make your vision a reality and excited to see what you’ll achieve next!

VIRTUAL | Join Our Global Conversation: CMO Thrive Guide 🚀 Don't miss our next workshop, where marketing leaders will explore how to prove and enhance their role in driving growth. Led by experts Neil Barrie and Sara Tate from TwentyFirstCenturyBrand, this session will cover: 🔹 Building a business case for brand investment 🔹 Understanding the value of a strong brand 🔹 Defining business ambition for growth 🔹 Collaborating with peers to boost brand impact 📅 Date: Wednesday, 18 September 🕒 Time: 2pm - 3pm BST, 5pm - 6pm GST, 9pm - 10pm HKT/SGT, 9am - 10am ET 🔗 Book your spot now - https://lnkd.in/eh_f7MB9 In partnership with TwentyFirstCenturyBrand #CMOThrive #MarketingLeadership #BrandGrowth #BusinessStrategy #LeadershipWorkshop

On behalf of the team at TwentyFirstCenturyBrand - thanks so much for the shoutout Vineet Mehra! A strategy only has true impact when there is bold leadership, an incredibly capable team, strong partners, and collective conviction to do something amazing. We are so proud to see this work coming to life in such a powerful way and are looking forward to see how you will unite everyday people to unlock their financial progress!

Is the CMO role unnecessary? Thought-provoking article and data here from Paul Hiebert at ADWEEK, including a quote that proclaims "Certain jobs are mandatory. The CMO role isn't." Two reactions: 1. I strongly believe that the job of a CMO is mandatory in the sense that someone in the org needs to have a clear role as the ultimate decision-maker on anything related to marketing, brand, and community. However, the actual title of "CMO" is not mandatory. I've worked with thriving companies where this decision-maker has a different title whether it's a CEO with marketing focus, a highly strategic Chief Comms Officer, a versatile CRO or COO, and many other variations. Less important than the title is the value that this role brings in creating a singular focus on the customer and aligning the rest of the C-suite. 2. I was struck by the disparity in the data point that "84% of B2C Fortune 500 companies have a conventional CMO role, compared to 48% of B2B firms." Perhaps this can be attributed to B2B's greater reliance on sales vs. traditional marketing. But it also points to an untapped opportunity for B2B leaders to leverage the power of brand and marketing as key differentiators in a highly competitive landscape. We can debate whether the word "CMO" is right or not, but it's inarguable that the best marketing leaders and orgs are vital growth drivers, not cost centers! https://lnkd.in/g6BNVSHh

The #1 priority for any CMO is understanding what levers drive measurable growth. This isn’t news to anyone and has been confirmed by many brand leaders we’ve talked to, especially since we launched the CMO Thrive Guide in June. We know that at a company level, driving growth attributed to brand can be a challenge. Then there are the added hurdles for marketing to prove its role in said growth, which might even vary by type of business and the industry you operate in. We’ve proven that using a framework like the “Business Case for Brand” drives strategic business discussions with your CEO, CFO and other x-functional leads to identify the critical challenges they are facing that the brand can help address. This framework summarizes the critical external and internal dynamics influencing the company’s growth strategy, the key ‘jobs to be done’ that the brand will focus on to address those dynamics and the two horizon scorecard of KPIs to track progress. We’d love to hear which of the components might be the hardest one to define in your experience? A clear overarching business ambition? The critical dynamics influencing the company’s growth strategy? The role of brand to address these dynamics? The KPIs to track the progress? Which other roadblocks do you face in defining these elements in your industry?

Some thoughts on London’s IPO revival and the implications for the UK’s most ambitious tech brands. The signs of a mini IPO boom for the London Stock Exchange were a highlight of the commercial conversation this summer. Our investor community have been making cautiously optimistic noises as have the likes of Fortune and Financial Times in the wake of the successful IPO of the beloved Raspberry Pi and confirmation of a London listing for SHEIN. On the regulatory side we’ve seen a relaxation of rules around dual class share structure which have put off home-grown hotshots like Arm in recent years while the Labour government is making moves to channel more pension funds into local stocks. On the ecosystem side, the London VC is stronger than ever with significant new funds from top tier VCs Balderton Capital and LocalGlobe and the recent entry of US giants Sequoia Capital & Andreessen Horowitz. So what of the companies themselves?  In TwentyFirstCenturyBrand’s European client community - the likes of Monzo Bank and Flo Health Inc., Europe’s first femtech unicorn, have been the subject of IPO speculation along with the likes of Klarna, Flix and Bolt One thing I know for sure from our team's pre-IPO work with the likes of Pinterest & Airbnb is that a strong brand with a unified employee, customer and investor narrative is a powerful asset in building investor confidence. Here are three critical ingredients to make that a reality: 1. Community Congruence.  Many tech brands hype up the power of their community powered platform, its network effect and viral power. But while authentic stories of host empowerment were powerful for Airbnb’s narrative, IPOs often shake out ‘community-washing’ - look at how Deliveroo’s London debut was marred by rider protests.  Scale-ups need to ensure congruence between idealistic rhetoric and business reality - putting meaningful community incentives at the heart of their brand & product. 2. Performance x Purpose flywheels A compelling purpose with a strong connection to the business model has bolstered countless IPOs.  I was so proud to see 21CB client founders/CEOs at the likes of @Pinterest (Home of inspiration) and @Next Door (Kinder Neighborhoods) put their purpose front and centre of their S1s and even stock ticker in the case of NextDoor. But again if there’s a reality gap (WeWork - selling office space while elevating the world’s consciousness) it's likely to be called out. 3. A brand-enhanced growth model A brand designed to travel across audiences & markets is a valuable tool to inspire investor confidence in future growth. The scale-ups that  grasp this constantly assess how their brand can work harder to overcome growth obstacles, from crossing the performance marketing plateau to crossing the chasm into lucrative new audiences. As we get ready for a hopefully pivotal period for the London tech ecosystem, what are your thoughts on how to leverage brand to drive a successful IPO?

For a new Chief Marketing Officer, prioritizing vision and strategy is crucial. However, strategy is destined to fail if its creator doesn’t become fluent in the culture in which his or her plans have to live. Peter Drucker famously said, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast," emphasizing that no matter how well-crafted a strategy is, it will falter if not aligned with the company’s culture. In her latest Fast Company column, Sara Tate, 21CB Partner, Transformation Practice, explains Why mastering company culture is the most underrated power in the CMO Toolkit. https://lnkd.in/g8NHYc9X

The role of corporations is changing. The world is facing urgent environmental and social challenges that governments cannot tackle alone. Your business needs to play its part. Don’t think about it as just doing the right thing; it’s the only way to ensure your business has a sustainable business model and operating environment. And the more our purpose and cultural and commercial responsibilities are lined up, the more impactful you will be: 1. Purpose drives productivity and pride This matters to employees. Purpose is proven to increase employee morale and productivity and to act as a magnet for attracting and retaining top talent. As well as enabling the company to thrive, purpose benefits employees. Studies show that employees fulfilled by purpose at work score higher across every measurement from everyday pride, commitment, and achievement at work to energy, health, and resilience in their lives. 2. Making a difference drives difference Switch your agenda to build a stronger, differentiated brand. There’s a weight of robust research illustrating that making a difference drives brand differentiation. Companies demonstrating an all-in commitment to their purpose stand out and outperform the market.  3. But only if your purpose strategy is authentic and actionable Companies are paying increasing penalties for “purpose-washing” and “greenwashing” claims. It’s simply not enough to have a purpose, you must back up communications with clear and consistent action. The stakes are high, but for a brand ambitious-CMO, they are worth it: Kantar’s Purpose 2020 study has shown a solid link between purpose and accretive growth, with value being added to the top and bottom line. There are a few things you can do to enable you to use company-wide purpose as a critical lever for driving positive commercial and cultural change:

Our ambition curating A Colourful View From The Top was to inspire the next generation of diverse talent to dream bigger than they ever thought possible. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to raise over £60,000 and have distributed 2,100 copies of our book to schools and students in priority National Literacy Trust Hub areas in England, Scotland, and Wales. We’re filled with pride and gratitude and wanted to thank all our incredible donors who have helped us get this book into the hands of the young people who it can impact the most. Over the past year we have also had the immense pleasure of hosting a Mutual Mentoring event with our friends at Brixton Finishing School and lollipop mentoring CIC, connecting young talent with the leaders of color that are profiled in the book. We were also thrilled to have over 30 people attending our networking social that followed the mentoring. We also partnered with the National Literacy Trust to host an event in Birmingham, where we held a panel discussion and podcasting workshop for 60 local students. While this may be the end of the fundraiser, this isn’t the last you’ll hear about a Colourful View From the Top. We continue to hear inspirational stories from readers (both students and leaders) about the impact of the book on their lives and the actions they are taking as a result. You should all feel very proud of the ripples of positive change your support is enabling. And we wanted to thank you and Amali de Alwis MBE, UAL Honorary FellowKaren Blackett OBE, Valerie Brandes, Dominic Carter, Dr Margaret Casely-Hayford CBE, Dr Sophie Chandauka MBE, Professor Frank Chinegwundoh MBE, Tianah Hodding, Shelina Janmohamed, Vania Leles of VANLELES Diamonds Ltd., Ric Lewis, Srin Madipalli, Sharmadean Reid MBE, Rania Robinson, Suki Sandhu OBE, Michelle You, Mohsin Zaidi, Sam Adefé for being a part of the journey. Neil Barrie, Jonathan Mildenhall & the rest of the 21CB Team

Getting to work on a client like Spindrift Beverage Co, Inc. is every marketer’s dream – founded on a strong conviction to do better, a company full of good, passionate people, and the desire to double down on the next ambitious chapter. When the beloved beverage brand came to us in late 2022, it needed help in expanding its audience, building differentiation from intense competition, and creating a clear north star to guide future decisions– so we partnered with the Spindrift team to create a Brand Blueprint that captured the extent of their ambitions and resonated with their communities. Inspired by a new foundational brand strategy rooted in making every beverage a positive force of nature, Spindrift took it even further and worked together with 21CB to bring the strategy to life with a refreshed brand look, feel and tone. Thank you Bill Creelman, Sue K. and the rest of the crew for inviting us on this journey with you. While Spindrift is “proudly made the hard way”, it was easy to find motivation and joy in working with all of you. We’re excited to see how Spindrift will keep challenging expectations of how good a beverage can be! You can watch the new brand film here: https://lnkd.in/gi56M9m9