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Welcome to CultivatED Marketer …
In this 15th episode of CultivatED Marketer, hosts Brent Bowen and Matt Tidwell, PhD, chat with Danielle Bond. Danielle is the Chair of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). Danielle lives in Melbourne, Australia, where she is the CMO for Aurecon in addition to her role in the IABC. We discuss the IABC, professional development organizations, and assembling the right team.
CultivatED Marketer Ep. 15 — Danielle Bond Show Notes
Brent and Matt talk with Danielle Bond, chair of the International Association of Business Communicators.
- Brent and Matt discuss the IABC their connections to the professional development organization for marketers. Brent is speaking on podcasting at an upcoming IABC conference, and Matt spent three years on the international executive board.
- Matt asks Danielle to share the story of her career path that lead to where she is now. Danielle says she originally planned to become a lawyer, but she then realized that wasn’t for her. Then, she began working in theatre and radio before she found her way into professional services marketing for a law firm. Since then, she’s spent decades in marketing. She is currently the CMO of Aurecon.
- One of the things that makes IABC unique is the focus on the “I” — international. What role does it have to play globally, and what role does it play for the marketers who belong to the organization? Danielle says that we should start with the reason people join these types of organizations in the first place. She joined IABC when she moved to Melbourne from Sydney. It was a new job and a new city where she didn’t have a strong network. IABC became her network.
- Danielle points to the international aspect of the IABC as an advantage because it gives her access to best practices from around the world. She gives an example: in her day job, if she’s looking for guidance on discussing climate change, she will look to her network in Europe; if she’s doing crisis communication, she might look to the United States.
- Brent asks Danielle: How is IABC adapting to the future and more effectively marketing its value proposition? Danielle says that the IABC needs to be flexible and meet members where they are. People will need different things depending on where they are in their career and the type of work they do. She also says that, as a marketer, she can see that IABC needs to be better at marketing because right now it is a “well-kept secret” — they should take their own marketing advice.
- Danielle talks about the concept of shared interest groups that the IABC is moving toward. They are going to set up five groups to pilot the program — whether they are industry-specific, like engineering marketing professionals, or based on a topic such as change management.
- Matt asks Danielle: Why should people want to be involved in organizations like IABC? Danielle says that there are 1,000 IABC volunteers across the globe that are the backbone of the organization, and they get involved for a variety of reasons. She says that one reasons is a shared commitment to the group’s goals and beliefs that strategic communication can be a force for good in the world. There’s also the relationship aspect. She says it’s not a transactional organization but a relational one.
- Switching gears, Brent asks Danielle what the skills and attributes are that she looks for assembling a team. Danielle says she looks for technical ability. But while she looks for skill, she hires more for attitude, propensity to learn, curiosity, and whether they are good at working in a team. She says it’s also good to find people with a competitive spirit — they want to do well and win, but they want to do it as a team.
- Matt asks Danielle how she feels now that she’s a few months into her role as the Chair of the IABC, especially after a tough couple of years with the pandemic. Danielle says she’s feeling good. While some days it’s tough, it’s a privilege because not all organizations are there to help back you up as you learn through it like IABC is. She tries to focus on the things she can control and taps into the rest of the leadership time for support. Listen to Danielle on PodCatalyst with Peter Finn, IABC Executive Director, as they discuss IABC’s Strategic Plan.
- As the show wraps up, Danielle mentions that she was reflecting on the name of the podcast — Cultivated Marketer — and she says that she thinks it’s great because continuing to learn is what makes marketing so much fun. The integration of marketing and communication makes art. And she also shares that she’s very passionate about brand and brand-building; she hopes that one result of the pandemic is more respect and investment in branding.
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