Some of us marketers are lucky enough to have CEOs that are from Mars, but they originally came from Venus (referencing your 5-28 issue opinion that "Marketers are from Venus, CEOs are from Mars"). We have the privilege of having a CEO that loves marketing, possibly was promoted from a marketing position to CEO, or certainly was responsible for marketing in his or her past.
These leaders know that when times are hard, that's when you increase the marketing budget. They understand that marketing is an investment, not an expense. Yes, they are experts at seeing the "big picture," too, but they can always relate any conversation back to marketers in language that creative, pro-member marketers can understand. They "speak marketing."
I'm one of the lucky ones.
Patricia K. Ransom, VP-marketing
Landmark CU, New Berlin, Wis.
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