Interview with Scott Severson, President – Brandpoint

On Marketing Technology

MTS: Tell us a little bit about your role and how you got here.

I’m the president of Brandpoint, a content marketing services and software company based in the Twin Cities. I came from sales but always had a passion and knack for marketing. We were inspired to start a MarTech arm (our content marketing platform, BrandpointHUB) because we realized that our unmatched content marketing expertise (over 20 years creating and managing content) put us in a unique position to help solve what we know can be a cumbersome and scattered process.

MTS: Given the massive proliferation of marketing technology, how do you see the martech market evolving over the next few years?

According to VC, Tomasz Tunguz, a software company that grows at 20% annually has a 92% chance of not existing in a few years. Talk about volatile. I think the SaaS market will begin to mature and be a more expensive, but stable endeavor tied to a concrete service or product as opposed to the market playing SaaS whack-a-mole.

MTS: What do you see as the single most important technology trend or development that’s going to impact us?

We’re now reaching a point where simple marketing automation — based on recurring or trigger-based messages — no longer gives companies an edge. Today’s most advanced marketing software is predictive: It can anticipate exactly what will influence someone and deliver it at exactly the right time.

MTS: What’s the biggest challenge that CMOs need to tackle to make marketing technology work?

Vendor management. The average non-Fortune 500 company uses 16+ different software vendors to manage their data and marketing programs, and the biggest challenge for CMOs today is figuring out how to integrate their veritable technology fleet efficiently.

MTS: What startups are you watching/keen on right now?

LeadPages and When I Work are a couple of our favorites. LeadPages because they have a beautiful website and utilize automation very well. When I Work because of their tremendous content marketing success.

MTS: What tools does your marketing stack consist of in 2017?

– BrandpointHUB
– Salesforce and Pardot
– WordPress
– Asana
– Insight
– Squared
– Intercom

MTS: Could you tell us about a standout digital campaign? (Who was your target audience and how did you measure success)

We’re currently in the midst of a multi-channel marketing campaign, where I repackaged a well-received presentation to a group of PR professional into an article on the Brandpoint Blog. We looked at the obvious success metrics for this blog (pageviews, time on page, social engagements, etc.) to realize that this was a topic people wanted to learn more about.

So, we took that presentation and blog and hosted a webinar with RSVPs 130% over goal. The ultimate indication of success will be if we can turn those RSVPs into customers, but based on the number of new and re-engaged prospects, this multi-channel campaign was a resounding success.

MTS: How do you prepare for an AI-centric world as a marketing leader?

I need to make sure I’m aware of technology that’s within my reach. If my competitors have access to sophisticated market research, complicated customer segmentation, and sound media models, I need to, too. Technologies like Lucy from Equals 3 are doing some really cool things in the marketing AI space right now.

This Is How I Work

MTS: One word that best describes how you work.

Efficient.

MTS: What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?

BrandpointHUB. As content marketers, we’re in it every day.

MTS: What’s your smartest work related shortcut or productivity hack?

I use Asana for both task management, planning and prioritization.

MTS: What are you currently reading? (What do you read, and how do you consume information?)

Right now I’m reading Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology and James Altucher’s Choose Yourself for Wealth.

MTS: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

If you want more responsibility, don’t ask permission. Take it.

MTS: Something you do better than others – the secret of your success?

I think my super power is resilience. There’s a lot of ups and downs running a company. I can weather storms well.

MTS: Tag the one person whose answers to these questions you would love to read:

Scott Litman, Managing Partner at Equals 3.

MTS: Thank you Scott! That was fun and hope to see you back on MarTech Series soon.