Pinterest and Intuit CMOs on the Keys to Effective Platform Amplification

Andréa Mallard, CMO of Pinterest, and Lara Balazs, CMO of Intuit, came together for our second installment of People-powered Growth Fueled by Transformative Technology. This is a theme that Lara and I came up with to take us all one level deeper into four formative pillars to accomplish this mission. Today’s episode is on Platform Amplification, and what better expert to have joined us than Andréa Mallard. What Lara and I truly enjoyed about Andréa was not only her deep knowledge in the space but her plethora of pithy phrases (say that three times fast) that underscore so many of the major issues we all face as marketers. Here are just a few of my favorites: "Don’t sell to me, inspire me, teach me something new.” “Tell great stories that breakthrough, regardless of which of the senses happens to be observing.” “Marketers can forget and start to think the world happens online. It really doesn’t.” “The modern marketer is not a mythmaker; they're a truth-teller.” “The new generation of marketers are insisting that companies create a truly positive change in the world and products are just a vehicle to do that.” Join us as we dive deep into what’s working, what’s not and what's possible in the world of platform amplification, including what it means to be “intellectually generous” with consumers. Both Intuit and Pinterest share similar missions, so you’ll hear what it's like to leverage platforms to deliver on purpose, inspiring and “creating the urge to act." Also, one of the coolest parts of the whole discussion for me personally, was a fascinating look at how campaigns can turn into multiple, individual sensory triggers and, hence, segmented and applied across different channels in different ways. I love the story from Lara on how Intuit's TurboTax team created a Super Bowl spot that became a Spotify audio ad and a dance video on TikTok where it got 1.5 million views with consumers customizing with their own choreography. Lara shared: “It's pretty mind-boggling how complex this can be, but it's also incredibly exciting for marketers. It's interesting, sometimes you don't even plan into these things and often when it happens organically, it is the most powerful.” [soundcloud id='771139663' comments='false' height='false' color='#ff7700'] Below are five key takeaways for your day and be sure to catch up on the first episode with eBay CMO Suzy Deering where Lara and Suzy dove deep into Personalized Performance. The third and fourth pillars are coming soon so stay tuned! Heard on this Episode: Andréa and Lara's Tips for Success Inspire, Don’t Sell "People come to Pinterest explicitly raising their hands and saying, I want to be inspired, inspire me brands. … And I think what's exciting to me is I'm seeing this really interesting shift happening in marketing where we're tired of trying to sell people on things. We would rather inspire them or teach them or show them something new. Or have a different take so that people feel the benefit of our company immediately. Even if they don't take immediate action, they’re starting to feel like this is a place I come to get great advice or to learn." —Andréa Mallard Amplify Across Channels "We had a phenomenal Super Bowl spot [TurboTax: “All People Are Tax People”]. That song and then the dance can live on its own. The dance was actually pushed through on TikTok and has, at this point and still going, over 1.5 million views with people doing their own dances and choreography. Additionally, we were able just to take the audio and have it as a Spotify ad. It's interesting, sometimes you don't even plan into these things and often when it happens organically, it’s more powerful." —Lara Balazs Use Your Platform for Good "The modern marketer is not a mythmaker; they're a truth-teller. They want to get to the core truth and tell it in a beautiful way, but to truly do good. It's such a powerful tool and if we don't understand how to wield that tool, we're in trouble. So, I'm really heartened that we have this new generation of marketers who are insisting that companies create a truly positive change in the world. And products are just a vehicle to do that, but it is not the endgame in itself." —Andréa Mallard Personalize at Scale "We have an open platform and as an example of what that affords is if you are a consumer or self-employed or a small business owner, you have access. So you can have, if you need, a live accountant helping you. … That doesn't happen unless you have an open platform. We also have financial institutions that plug into the platform and it is incredibly empowering to our users because it's personalized. And so, I think this is the power of what a global platform affords you." —Lara Balazs Be Whole Brained "We've all fallen in love with data and been told all the answers are in data within the last 10 years. But the truth is, creativity and heart and soul still win every time. It really does. And you need to make sure you have both and that you are very whole-brained. You need to understand the data and be able to leverage it and use it to inform your intuition, but if you don't have a true creative’s heart and soul, I don't know that you'll ever be that successful as a marketer." —Andréa Mallard

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Pinterest and Intuit CMOs on the Keys to Effective Platform Amplification

Nadine Dietz

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Nadine Dietz