What people, or character traits, do you need in your marketing team to navigate tomorrow's world? Bart Michels, chief executive of Added Value, and an ex-Coca-Cola and Virgin Media marketer, identifies the five people you need now
They don't make them like they used to... marketers, that is.
Marketing itself hasn't changed, but the world around it has. Great marketing will always be great marketing because it is born of an insight, has a strong idea inside it, a clear sense of who it's for and a pathway to creating demand and commercialising it effectively.
The marketing talent of the future will no doubt be true polymaths
Yet terms like "blue chip" and "classically trained" are meaningless and consigned to the talent bin. No longer, it seems, are good communication skills, charisma and being an effective public speaker enough.
Marketing teams, in the next five years and beyond, will be exponentially different in composition, activities and their operating principles.
The marketing talent of the future will no doubt be true polymaths, combining their skills seamlessly to drive innovation that is culturally relevant.
These five key characteristics and skills will come together to make up the successful marketing teams of the future.
If you don't already have them on board, then it's crucial that employers look out for this talent now.
Hire for attitude and train for skills
Be bold, be brave and try something different when it comes to recruiting your business' superstars of the future.
Do what it takes to be present and visible at every opportunity.
Of course, we can't know what the future will look like, but going after talent that thrives on change, and delivering it, is a good start to ensuring you always stay ahead of the competition.
Structuring your recruitment process around an individual's aptitude, attitude and values is key. Entrepreneurship, passion, creativity, experimentation, having a deep fascination for culture and brands - these are all-important building blocks for any marketing team of the future.
Connections are powerful. Your strongest employees will be aware of the best talent out there, which provides a great opportunity to help broadcast your fame as a business. Use their connections and recommendations to help go after the best talent. What networks do they belong to, what publications do they read and which industry events do they attend? Do what it takes to be present and visible at every opportunity.
Finding and then harnessing the power of the five key skill sets of the future marketing team will not only reveal your business growth agenda, but also fuel the virtuous circle of buzz, generating success sooner than you think.