Carlota Pico recently sat down to speak with Nigel Hawthorn, EMEA marketing director at McAfee, which is one of the biggest computer security software companies in the world. Nigel tapped into his experience at startups to offer insights into marketing on a budget and getting stubborn management teams to loosen the purse strings. He also shared his unique approach to measuring success—a challenge that every marketing professional knows all too well.

You can watch the full conversation in the video above or on YouTube, listen to the podcast on Apple and Spotify, and read our recap below.

Key takeaways

• When working with a management team that’s reluctant to spend money or takes risks on content, the best way to convince them of your idea is to present a nearly completed version of it so that they can see what the finished product will look like. 

• Marketers should constantly be looking for ways to recycle content into different formats for different audiences, to save both costs and time. If you write an article on your blog, you can also create a short video explaining the article for Twitter. 

• The perfect piece of content doesn’t exist, because your audience is never entirely homogeneous. Every piece of content should be delivered in as many ways as possible to reach each member of your audience in the way they’d like to be reached.

• Having interests outside your industry demonstrates your humanity and elevates your brand. For example, if you address controversial current events in an honest and responsible way, you can strengthen both your brand and important social movements.

• Marketers should not be hyper-focused on engagement, viewership or lead generation metrics. Content should have a wider purpose; namely, building your brand, educating your audience and gaining authority within your industry.

Each one of us brings our own previous experience—be it acting, writing or anything else—to our role as a marketer. That’s what makes us unique. 

Rapid-fire recs

An influencer or role model you admire?

Steve Jobs still has a big influence on my life. He was able to take really complex technologies and produce very simple communication methods to get his ideas across. 

A useful publication or book?

Speaking of Steve Jobs, I really recommend “The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs.” Another really interesting and valuable book on marketing is “Crossing the Chasm.” 

Your favorite app at the moment?

Life is all about communication, so my favorite apps have to be WhatsApp, to get in touch with friends and family, and Twitter, to stay up to date on the latest news and happenings.

Connect with Nigel and Carlota on LinkedIn.

This post was edited by Rishabh Agrawal, a freelance content creator based in Madrid.

For more insights into the life of a marketing director:

• Really get to know your customer – Teodora Takacs, EMEA marketing director
• The art of demand generation – Ertan Benzes, EMEA and India digital marketing director
• Do what you love, love what you do – Chris Willman, marketing director and author

To see the full transcript, click on page number 2 below.