8 steps to convincing your CMO about your new (wild) campaign idea

Leah MessengerLeah Messenger
19. Nov. 2024

Us marketers have got to be extra creative to stand out these days. But how do we go from ideation to content creation? First step: Pitching it to your CMO.

Whether your—crazy or not so crazy—campaign ideas come to you in the middle of the night, during your lunchtime walk, post-wine #4 on a night out, or in the course of your working day (this one is rogue), how do you make sure they don't just vanish into thin air? 

Yes, you can immediately write it down in your Notes app or send that 1.03am message to your colleague, but what about the NEXT stage? Going from marketing campaign ideation to actual content creation requires backing; backing from your CMO or marketing leaders.

The question, my friends, is "How the *eff* do I do that?"

Here are 8 steps on how to convince your CMO about your new (and pretty wild) campaign idea, so you can get it kickstarted and kicking 🍑 in no time:

1

Get your CMO's attention

You can't get the green light on your marketing campaign idea if your CMO or marketing leader doesn't even know it's a thing. Here's what you need to do to get your CMO's attention:

  • Time it right: Choose your moments wisely—cornering your CMO during their coffee break or making last-minute pitches when they're pressed for time won't get you anywhere. Give yourself and your marketing campaign idea the time it deserves. 
  • Tease the idea: Drop hints and share intriguing snippets to pique their interest and curiosity. In terms of attention-grabbers, the wilder = the better (but we're all for creativity and experimentation, so...)
  • Get your allies in place: Get support from other influential team members who can vouch for your concept. This helps show the value behind your idea, as well as the interest it could stir up with your customers and prospects.
2

Present a compelling campaign pitch

Coming up with a genius idea is one thing, but how you present the idea is oh-so-important, too. Here's how to make a case for your marketing campaign idea:

  • Lead with the "why": Clearly articulate WHY this marketing campaign example would work well for the business and WHY it would be a hit with your target audience. Business value is key; you saying you want to do it because it would be fun... less likely to work. 
  • Highlight the competitive advantages: Show how your idea sets you apart from your rivals in the market—nothing gets the blood boiling and the heads nodding like a bit of healthy (or unhealthy) competition. 
  • Make it pretty: Bring your concept to life with mood boards, decks, (*cough cough*) our creative brainstorming template, prototypes, or even a short video to show them what's UP.
  • Come prepared with data: Back up your marketing campaign pitch with data; whether that's data from what you've done before, other similar examples of marketing campaigns, or projections and ROI estimations.
  • Anticipate objections and hesitations: Treat this just like a sales pitch and prepare for potential concerns or roadblocks that might stop this campaign from igniting into some seriously FIRE content, bby. 🔥
3

Make it hard to say "no" to

Turn that hard no situation into a hard-to-say-no situation with some seriously tempting marketing goodness—try these tips for size:

  • Provide a detailed plan: Outline the campaign timeline, resource requirements and key milestones, then you've essentially done everything you needed to do for this campaign to rollout already.
  • Showcase flexibility and open-mindedness: Demonstrate that you're willing to iterate and adapt your campaign idea and plan (/precious baby) based on any feedback you get... including theirs.
  • Identify where the quick wins are at: Highlight elements or things that can be done at rapid speed and build momentum quickly to show off those quick wins, because we all love a quick win, don't we?
4

Frame it as low-risk, high-reward kinda vibes 

Low-risk and high-reward is not something to shake ya stick at, especially when you're a marketing leader. Top tips coming your way:

  • Position it as experimental: Pitch your idea as a learning opportunity, not a guarantee. Experimentation is a must-have in modern-day marketing, and if that's not your company's vibe, your creativity might be going to waste (but here's how to get your creativity back).
  • Propose a phased rollout: Start small and scale up into your big, bad marketing campaign if you think that will work best for your CMO. This can show off smaller scale impacts and build reassurance in the idea as a whole.
  • Go hard on the data potential: Shout about how you'll measure the performance of the campaign, how you'll analyze its impact, and how much data you'll get that will feed future campaign ideas too. 
1

Take advantage of universal FOMO

You have it, I have it, we all have it. Yep, that's right—even your company leaders have it. So FOMO, we're truly going to take advantage of you here.

  • Highlight emerging trends: Show how your idea taps into current consumer behaviors, industry shifts, or emerging marketing trends to highlight that it's an opportunity not to be missed.
  • Share competitive intelligence: Put together details of some of the stuff your competitors are up to, and how your concept could leapfrog them.
  • Give 'em a sense of urgency: Use every marketer's favorite tactic to getting customers on board... against your own CMO. Convey the potential consequences of not acting fast in a dynamic market #squeakybumtime
2

Step 6: Show your commitment

Next stop: Dedication station 🚂 

  • Offer to lead the charge: Volunteer yourself to own the campaign's implementation, monitoring or tracking, and ongoing optimization.
  • Highlight your passion: Let your enthusiasm and belief in your idea shine through in all your communications around it. 
  • Propose a trial run: Offer a smaller-scale pilot idea at your own expense to prove how the concept will unravel.
3

Get your CMO more involved

This step is especially good if you've got yourself a more hands-on CMO or marketing leader, and also kinda takes into account that aforementioned universal fear of missing out, too.

  • Brainstorm together: Invite your CMO to collaborate on refining and evolving your initial concept; this way you'll understand how you can adapt it to make it 'more' worth their while.
  • Incorporate their feedback: Make sure you clearly show how you've taken their feedback and woven it into your campaign idea or proposal.
  • Give them partial ownership: Call them a co-creator to foster a sense of shared investment (and make them very happy and even more excited about it going live).
4

Follow up and stay persistent

No, this isn't cringe and no, you shouldn't compare this to triple-texting that person you met on a dating app once. It's called 'staying strong to your amazing marketing idea'—and don't you forget it.

  • Remember that persistence pays off: Don't be discouraged by an initial "no"—keep the conversation going because you never know when a change of mind, budget or priorities might be round the corner.
  • Provide progress updates: Share learnings and data points that reinforce the campaign's potential, whether that's once you've got it rolling or whether that's because the full thing hasn't got rolling yet.
  • Iterate, iterate, iterate: Be willing to modify your pitch based on your CMO and your company's changing priorities and concerns. You won't regret it.

How integrated marketing will make that CMO pitch a whole lot easier

Integrated marketing is all about getting the most out of your team. Yep, no need to scrap for more budget or more hires, you just need to rethink your marketing strategy (or how you work together) and become a more integrated marketing team. And by developing an integrated marketing strategy you will benefit from a bunch of things that can make that pitch to your CMO so much easier. This includes: 

Breaking down traditional team silos for better teamwork
Next-level operational efficiency meaning sh*t gets DONE, and done WELL
Improved and streamlined processes, helping with planning and collaboration
WAY better communication within your team and cross-functionally
More marketing visibility from the greater sense of unity and creativity

With these tips, you’ll have the tools to not just pitch but sell your wildest ideas. So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and make your campaign a reality.