# Elizabeth D. Humphries > Helping Marketers to Market Their Marketing to Create Value and Authority --- ## Pages - [The Invisible Marketer Assessment](https://ehumphries.com/the-invisible-marketer-assessment/): Free Assessment The IrreplaceableMarketer Assessment Are you impossible to overlook? 15 Questions · 5 Disciplines · 75 Points Answer based... - [About](https://ehumphries.com/about/): Where Marketers Come To Feel Valued. "I'm still not clear on what marketing's doing" I still remember where i was... - [Home](https://ehumphries.com/): Explore The Blog Read blog - [Blog](https://ehumphries.com/blog/) - [Resources](https://ehumphries.com/90-2/): Download free resources to help you Marketing Your Marketing. Impact Story Worksheet - [Contact](https://ehumphries.com/contact-2/) --- ## Posts - [Your Resume Is Not Your Personal Brand](https://ehumphries.com/your-resume-is-not-your-personal-brand/): Imagine being told you need to fit half your life’s work on one page. Because that’s what resumes are supposed... - [When the Data Isn't There](https://ehumphries.com/when-the-data-isnt-there/): The data you need is often unavailable, untrustworthy, or incomplete. And sometimes that problem isn’t one you have time to... - [Your Resolution Didn't Fail. You Just Ran the Wrong Experiment.](https://ehumphries.com/your-resolution-didnt-fail-you-just-ran-the-wrong-experiment/): The gym near my house was packed on January 2nd. I know because I drove past it on my way... - [From “That’s Not Me” to “That’s Exactly It!”](https://ehumphries.com/from-thats-not-me-to-thats-exactly-it/): My Spotify Wrapped labeled me a “Pink Pilates Princess. ” Reader, I am not. It wasn’t a reflection of who... - [Why You Keep Starting From Zero (and How Strategic Reciprocity Fixes It)](https://ehumphries.com/why-you-keep-starting-from-zero-and-how-strategic-reciprocity-fixes-it/): You sent Product those customer insights three weeks ago. They said “This is incredibly helpful, thank you. ” Now you... - [You're Not Behind. The System Is Broken.](https://ehumphries.com/youre-not-behind-the-system-is-broken/): You know your marketing. That’s not in question. You’ve sat through “strategic thinking” workshops that made you feel inadequate. You’ve... - [Is AI Really the Superpower Marketers Need? ](https://ehumphries.com/is-ai-really-the-superpower-marketers-need/): The Allure of AI AI is the big, career-making technological shift in view right now. I know many marketers who... - [If You Don’t Report It, Did It Really Happen?](https://ehumphries.com/if-you-dont-report-it-then-did-it-really-happen/): When marketers say “the work should speak for itself,” they’re often left wondering why no one’s listening. Of course the... - [Traffic, Crowds and Seizing Opportunities in Marketing](https://ehumphries.com/traffic-crowds-and-seizing-opportunities-in-marketing/): Marketers can’t predict when the spotlight will hit, but preparation turns chaos into opportunity. Learn how to build trust, tell... - [Don’t Just Defend Your Budget. Shape the Strategy](https://ehumphries.com/dont-just-defend-your-budget-shape-the-strategy/): When times get tough, marketing is usually first on the chopping block. If you’ve ever watched your work reduced to... - [The Respect Gap is Real - and It’s Killing Good Marketing ](https://ehumphries.com/the-respect-gap-is-real-and-its-killing-good-marketing/): The Respect Gap in Marketing: Why It Exists and How to Close It There’s a silent crisis in modern business:... - [Marketing Has a Marketing Problem](https://ehumphries.com/marketing-has-a-marketing-problem/): How One Leadership Comment Changed My Approach to Visibility You’re in a meeting. It’s a quarterly leadership review, and the... - [What Happens When You’re the Only Marketer on the Team?](https://ehumphries.com/what-happens-when-youre-the-only-marketer-on-the-team/): Earlier in my career, I came to a realization that stuck with me. Despite years of marketing experience and a... - [Saying “Yes” to everything doesn’t make you strategic, it makes you directionless.](https://ehumphries.com/saying-yes-to-everything-doesnt-make-you-strategic-it-makes-you-directionless/): Internal marketers often confuse activity with progress. Learn how to define strategic goals, link your work to business impact, and... - [Quiet Work Doesn’t Speak for Itself](https://ehumphries.com/quiet-work-doesnt-speak-for-itself/): My daughter knew exactly which toy she wanted. She’d seen it online. Talked about it for weeks. Saved her allowance.... - [The Cost of Being Low Maintenance](https://ehumphries.com/the-cost-of-being-low-maintenance/): Why Great Internal Marketers Stay Overlooked—and What to Do About It You’re the one who gets it done. The launch... - [What I'm Learning: How Custom GPTs Are Helping Me Work Smarter](https://ehumphries.com/what-im-learning-how-custom-gpts-are-helping-me-work-smarter/): How Custom GPTs Are Helping Me Work Smarter | Elizabeth Humphries Discover how AI tools like custom GPTs and Perplexity... - [Validation, Visibility, and the Quiet Power of Being in the Room](https://ehumphries.com/validation-visibility-and-the-quiet-power-of-being-in-the-room/): This spring I attended Mark Schaefer’s The Uprising retreat for marketing leaders. When I returned, I was immediately swept into... - [Turn Your Marketing Pitch Into a Conversation That Builds Trust](https://ehumphries.com/turn-your-marketing-pitch-into-a-conversation-that-builds-trust/): Picture this: You’re walking down the hall, coffee in hand, when an executive stops you and casually says. “So, with... - [Before You Pitch Your Strategy, Understand These 3 Decision Styles](https://ehumphries.com/before-you-pitch-your-strategy-understand-these-3-decision-styles/): Learn how understanding internal stakeholder decision styles can improve stakeholder management and secure buy-in from stakeholders. - [The Art of Saying No](https://ehumphries.com/the-art-of-saying-no/): Saying no is one of the most underrated leadership skills in marketing. We get requests every day: ideas, urgent one-pagers,... - [Marketing in the Middle](https://ehumphries.com/marketing-in-the-middle/): Bridging Misalignment Without Losing Strategy I’m sitting at my desk, deep in a strategic work session — and I’ll be... - [The One-Point Principle for Successful Marketing Presentations That Stick](https://ehumphries.com/the-one-point-principle-for-successful-marketing-presentations-that-stick/): The One-Point Principle for Successful Marketing Presentations That Stick We’ve all been there—sitting through a presentation that feels more like... - [There is No Failure in Marketing](https://ehumphries.com/there-is-no-failure-in-marketing/): There is no failure in marketing. You are testing a new strategy, and the initial results are, well... disappointing. Your... - [The Coffee Spill That Taught Me a Marketing Lesson](https://ehumphries.com/the-coffee-spill-that-taught-me-a-marketing-lesson/): You know the mornings? The ones where you feel ready to tackle the world or maybe just a few chores... - [Disruption of the Plan](https://ehumphries.com/disruption-of-the-plan/): There are few things I love more than a good plan. In fact, I typically create multiple plans with various... - [Speak Human, Not Marketer: Making Your Strategy Impossible to Ignore](https://ehumphries.com/speak-human-not-marketer-making-your-strategy-impossible-to-ignore/): I was three slides into my quarterly review when my leader interrupted me. “Elizabeth, I see these engagement numbers going... - [Setting Up a Marketing Dashboard (Without Losing Your Mind)](https://ehumphries.com/setting-up-a-marketing-dashboard-without-losing-your-mind/): As I stared at yet another spreadsheet full of marketing metrics, I had a realization: We’ve overcomplicated the whole “marketing... - [Being Irreplaceable in an AI World](https://ehumphries.com/being-irreplaceable-in-an-ai-world/): AI has emerged as both a powerful ally and a potential threat. A recent Adweek survey reported that in 2024,... - [The Art of Marketing Storytelling: Transforming Campaigns into Compelling Narratives](https://ehumphries.com/the-art-of-marketing-storytelling-transforming-campaigns-into-compelling-narratives/): As marketers, we face an ironic challenge: while we expertly craft compelling stories for our external audiences, we often struggle... - [Snow Day Strategy: A Marketer's Guide to Chaos Prevention](https://ehumphries.com/snow-day-strategy-a-marketers-guide-to-chaos-prevention/): As I prepared for another snow day working from home with my kids, I realized that it I’m pulling from... - [Forget the Resolutions; I’m creating my 2025 Highlight Reel](https://ehumphries.com/forget-the-resolutions-im-creating-my-2025-highlight-reel/): Forget the Resolutions; I’m creating my 2025 Highlight Reel Now. I’m making a highlight reel before 2025 even begins. Why?... - [Awareness, Authority, or Altering Perceptions?](https://ehumphries.com/awareness-authority-or-altering-perceptions/): When I consider how to best set up a system to effectively Market My Marketing to internal stakeholders, I first... - [Marketing Your Marketing is Your Most Important Campaign.](https://ehumphries.com/marketing-your-marketing-is-your-most-important-campaign/): As Marketers, we often focus on strategies to increase sales, leads or visibility. We look for effective ways to reach... - [When times are busy, it's easy to lose alignment with your strategic goals.](https://ehumphries.com/when-times-are-busy-its-easy-to-lose-alignment-with-your-strategic-goals/): Often, we look for results too soon, jump to a different activity to stay busy, or even let the priorities... --- # # Detailed Content ## Pages - Published: 2026-03-12 - Modified: 2026-03-14 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/the-invisible-marketer-assessment/ Free Assessment The IrreplaceableMarketer Assessment Are you impossible to overlook? 15 Questions · 5 Disciplines · 75 Points Answer based on where you are right now — not where you want to be. Honest answers give you the clearest picture of where to focus. Takes about 5 minutes. Start the Assessment → 0 of 15 answered 01 Personal Brand Is your reputation intentional or accidental? Q1. If someone described you in a leadership meeting today, what would they most likely say you’re known for? 1 I’m not sure — probably just “the marketing person” 2 Tactical execution or specific tasks 3 Being reliable and getting things done 4 Strategic thinking in a specific area 5 Being a strategic partner and business thinker Q2. How intentionally have you shaped your internal reputation? 1 Not at all — I let my work speak for itself 2 Minimally — I focus on doing good work 3 Somewhat — I share wins when asked 4 Deliberately — I position myself strategically 5 Very intentionally — I manage my narrative proactively Q3. When you make a mistake or a campaign underperforms, how do you handle it? 1 I minimize it or hope no one notices 2 I defend it or shift blame to circumstances 3 I acknowledge it privately but don’t share learnings 4 I own it and share what I learned 5 I reframe it as iteration and use it to build credibility 02 Visibility Is your work seen and valued? Q4. When leadership... --- - Published: 2026-02-24 - Modified: 2026-03-15 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/about/ Where Marketers Come To Feel Valued. "I'm still not clear on what marketing's doing" I still remember where i was sitting when the head of sales said that. The team had been delivering: program launches on time, operations streamlined, a major campaign wrapped ahead of schedule. And non of it was visibility to the people who needed to see it most. What i saw was a pattern. Marketing had a marketing problem. That moment wasn't unique to me. I've watched it happen to good marketers time and again, in multiple industries and in businesses of every size. The work is real. The results are real. The strategy behind the campaign, the conflict resolved to get it live, the rist averted by following the data. All of it is real. It just doesn't show up anywhere that leadership looks. So the work gets done. And the marketer stays invisible. That shift is what Market Your Marketing is built on. A framework for making good work legible to the people inside your organization that matter. Built from 25 years working across marketing functions, manageing teams and programs and sitting in enough leadership rooms to know: the marketers who have the most influence are the once that are most visibile. Market Your Marketingis built aroundfive disciplines: Personal Brand - Is your professional reputation intentional or accidental? Value Framing - Are you speaking the language of business outcomes? Visibility - Is your work being seen by tyhe people who need to see it? Influence... --- - Published: 2025-02-16 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/ Explore The Blog Read blog --- - Published: 2025-01-29 - Modified: 2025-02-16 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/90-2/ Download free resources to help you Marketing Your Marketing. Impact Story Worksheet Marketing Your Marketing Impact Story WorksheetDownload --- --- ## Posts - Published: 2026-03-02 - Modified: 2026-03-04 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/your-resume-is-not-your-personal-brand/ - Categories: Personal Brand - Tags: Career Growth, Personal Brand, Resume, visibility at work Imagine being told you need to fit half your life's work on one page.   Because that's what resumes are supposed to look like now.   So you compress 25 years into bullet points. Titles. Numbers. Metrics you're proud of. You submit it for roles you know you could do well. You interview well. And then you get the email.   "We went with someone who had more industry experience. " Again.   I know this because it's my story. After more than two decades of doing work I was proud of, I found myself applying for roles from a standing start. I had experience and a track record, but no one outside my organization knew my name. The Resume Wasn't the Problem  The problem was that nothing about me existed outside the company I'd been loyal to for years. I didn't work in an industry where campaigns were publicly viewable or where teams gained notoriety for innovation. No external presence. Just a document trying to carry the weight of everything a document can't hold: the resourcefulness, the problem-solving under pressure, the ability to hit goals when the conditions weren't cooperating.   The resume did exactly what a resume can do. It just can't be your whole representation. Personal Brand Has a Day Job Too Most conversations about personal branding get framed around the job hunt, as if it's something you dust off when you need it and put away when things are stable. I used to think the same... --- - Published: 2026-02-09 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/when-the-data-isnt-there/ - Categories: Visibility - Tags: Resilience, Strategic Thinking The data you need is often unavailable, untrustworthy, or incomplete. And sometimes that problem isn't one you have time to fix. "Our email campaigns aren't working. What do we need to do? " I love problem-solving, except I had no access to their email metrics since they just sent everything from Outlook. Aside from the many issues with sending business emails from Outlook, this wasn't rare. It taught me that often when you need to diagnose what's wrong, the infrastructure just isn't there. Most marketing advice doesn't account for this. It assumes you have access to the metrics that matter. But what happens when you don't? When IT has a 6-month backlog, when the previous marketer failed to set up tracking, when you're working with legacy systems that don't talk to each other? Whether you're working with a small business, a siloed organization, or resource constraints, waiting for those problems to resolve themselves often isn't an option. Solving Your Own Problem First get clear on what you're actually trying to prove or fix. Before you worry about what data you don't have, get specific about what you need to know. Are you trying to prove a campaign drove results? You need attribution data. Trying to fix low conversion? You need user behavior data. Trying to show email is worth the investment? You need engagement plus downstream metrics. Write down the ideal metric. My client wanted to know why their emails weren't working. Ideally, I'd see open rates, click-through rates, unsubscribe... --- - Published: 2026-01-13 - Modified: 2026-03-04 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/your-resolution-didnt-fail-you-just-ran-the-wrong-experiment/ - Categories: Personal Brand - Tags: Career Growth, Strategic Thinking The gym near my house was packed on January 2nd. I know because I drove past it on my way to get coffee. (I wasn't going to the gym. I was getting coffee. Let's be honest about where we all were on January 2nd. ) The parking lot was full. People were streaming in wearing brand-new workout gear, the tags probably still itching their necks. I drove past again yesterday. Half empty. It happens every year. We roll into January with the energy of a golden retriever hearing the leash jingle. Two weeks later, the shine wears off. Here we go again. But here's what I keep thinking about: I don't think we're doomed to repeat this pattern. I think we're just using the wrong playbook. The Willpower Trap Most resolutions are built on a quiet assumption that willpower is the system. That this time will be different because we want it more. We'll be more disciplined. We'll push through resistance. Meanwhile, at work? We do the exact same thing. We run a campaign. It underperforms. We change the creative and run it again with the same underlying problem. We stay busy. We stay hopeful. We learn nothing. That's not marketing. That's wishful thinking. And we know better. Marketers Should Be Scientists Marketers are supposed to be scientists. Not in lab coats—in the way we treat outcomes. A real experiment starts with a hypothesis. You name what you expect to happen before you do the work. You identify the variables.... --- - Published: 2025-12-31 - Modified: 2026-03-04 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/from-thats-not-me-to-thats-exactly-it/ - Categories: Personal Brand My Spotify Wrapped labeled me a “Pink Pilates Princess. ” Reader, I am not. It wasn’t a reflection of who I am. It was a reflection of what got captured. A few signals turned/ into a whole story. That’s how internal stakeholders experience marketing. They don’t recap your year from your strategy deck. They recap it from what they noticed, what they heard, and what they can recall under pressure. Which means your work can be strong, and still get summarized wrong. So how do you make sure the recap matches reality? You build visibility and measurement into the work while it’s happening. How to Make Your “Year-End Wrap” Accurate If you want perception to align with intent, you have to build measurement and visibility into the work while it’s happening. Decide what you want the recap to say. Not tasks. Outcomes. examples: improved pipeline quality, shortened sales cycles, clarified positioning. Make it measurable in the language leadership already uses. Translate marketing activity into business impact. examples: revenue influenced, cost avoided, time saved, risk reduced, decision speed increased, sales confidence improved. Leave artifacts that represent the strategy. People remember what they can point to. If all you leave behind are launch emails and slide decks, that becomes the story. add: a one-page brief, a decision doc, an insight summary, a “what changed because of this” note. Build a simple cadence that connects the dots. A short monthly update beats a perfect dashboard nobody opens. Don't leave it up to your... --- - Published: 2025-11-26 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/why-you-keep-starting-from-zero-and-how-strategic-reciprocity-fixes-it/ - Categories: Internal Influence - Tags: Internal Influence, Perception & Leadership, stakeholder buy-in, Stakeholder Engagement, visibility strategy You sent Product those customer insights three weeks ago. They said "This is incredibly helpful, thank you. " Now you need their input on messaging for the new product launch. Your Teams message sits, unanswered. Or worse: "Let me get back to you. " They never do. Your deposits disappeared. You're starting from zero in building a respecful relationship again. Why does this keep happening? The answer starts with a behavioral anomoly that you probably use regularly in your marketing strategy. The Behavioral Anomoly Researchers examined the prescribing behavior of 279,669 physicians and found that even a less than $20 meal were correlated with more brand-name prescriptions. Even a single chee" Critical: No ask attached. Just value. And make it clear you tailored this to them. Step 4: When they say thank you, use the partnership label "Of course, it's what partners do for each other. " Step 5: Document everything What did you give? How did they respond? Did you notice ANY shift in how they interact with you? You're a scientist running an experiment. Track results and adjust based on data. The Ethical Boundary "First Rule of Fight Club, We don't talk about Fight Club" Same applies here. Reciprocity creates natural obligation. You can't demand it. You can't say "I helped you, so you have to help me. " That destroys the mechanism. Deep down this is about creating a mutually beneficial relationship. If the relationship doesn't shift after multiple deposits, that's data. They are telling you this... --- - Published: 2025-11-14 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/youre-not-behind-the-system-is-broken/ - Categories: Visibility You know your marketing. That's not in question. You've sat through "strategic thinking" workshops that made you feel inadequate. You've tried "executive presence" training that felt like gaslighting. You work harder, refine your campaigns and perfect your data. And yet: Your budget gets cut, your input is optional, and Sales goes around you to the CEO. The problem isn't your competence; it's the system. The Real Problem: You're Starting From Zero Here is the pattern you are living: You help Product with customer insights. They say thank you. Two weeks later, you need their roadmap input. Silence. You send Sales competitive intel. They appreciate it. Next month, you need their support for a campaign and everyone is too busy. You make deposits constantly. But when you need something, you're starting from zero every single time. This happens because you think if you prove your value, stakeholders will recognize it and include you. But recognition isn't the same as influence. And value isn't the same as authority. You're making tactical deposits by helping with their projects, but you aren't building strategic currency. You aren't becoming someone they can't decide without. That's not a you problem. That's a Market Your Marketing problem. The Advice That Doesn't Work You've received all the advice: "Be more assertive in meetings" - this assumes you are a pushover "Think more strategically" - this assumes you don't understand strategy "Build better relationships" - this assumes you aren't trying All of this advice assumes you are the problem.... --- - Published: 2025-10-22 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/is-ai-really-the-superpower-marketers-need/ - Categories: Strategic Adaptability The Allure of AI AI is the big, career-making technological shift in view right now. I know many marketers who have dedicated significant time to diving deep into AI, learning tools, testing prompts, and signing up for courses. Some of these resources are inspiring; others, a bit basic. After all of the experimenting, I’ve started to wonder if the real differentiator is a marketer’s technical fluency or their flexibility. According to Business Insider’s 2025 analysis of BCG research, only around 5 percent of companies are realizing measurable value from AI initiatives (Business Insider, 2025). Yet McKinsey estimates that AI could add $0. 8–$1. 2 trillion in annual value to marketing and sales (McKinsey, 2023). That gap represents a huge opportunity, and marketing is one of the areas most likely to see meaningful impact once organizations learn how to use AI well. Taking that to heart, I’ve been experimenting with how AI can facilitate the work I do. One area is research. As of October 2025, nearly every major LLM includes a research or browsing function. It’s excellent at pulling credible sources into a concise, digestible summary, saving me hours of time navigating the vast internet. But there’s a caveat. If I took the information at face value, without validating sources or checking for hallucinations, I’d end up with a lot of inaccuracies. So I still review citations, confirm context, and ensure that data is real. The hours saved are fewer, but the quality and confidence are higher because a human... --- - Published: 2025-10-07 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/if-you-dont-report-it-then-did-it-really-happen/ - Categories: Visibility - Tags: Internal Influence, Marketing Impact, Strategic Thinking, visibility strategy When marketers say “the work should speak for itself,” they’re often left wondering why no one’s listening. Of course the work happened. But if no one sees the value that marketing creates, how do they know it exists? That’s why we must Market our Marketing—to add visibility to the value we create. Turning Data Into Visibility A few months ago, I started building a Perplexity Space to pull fast, meaningful data around the webinars I produce twice a month. I wanted something that gave me, and others, a quick read on performance without hours of manual digging. It worked. Then I did something I almost didn’t do. I shared it. I shared the Space with my colleagues so they could benefit from the tool. Now, this has little direct impact on my business goals. We all support different divisions, I’m not their leader, and I definitely opened myself up to critique. So why would I share it? I had to think about that. I’m not in a leadership position with this group, so helping them hit their KPIs isn’t in my scope. I’m not getting a banner in the next corporate newsletter, and I wasn’t asked to do this for the team. But I shared it anyway. Because the work was too useful to keep to myself. When one marketer shares a win, the whole team gets smarter. The 5 Moves to Market Your Marketing Sometimes Marketing Your Marketing doesn’t happen at a personal level. It happens at the team... --- - Published: 2025-09-09 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/traffic-crowds-and-seizing-opportunities-in-marketing/ - Categories: Internal Influence - Tags: agility, Internal Influence, Market Your Marketing, Marketing Strategy, stakeholder buy-in, visibility Marketers can’t predict when the spotlight will hit, but preparation turns chaos into opportunity. Learn how to build trust, tell your story, and practice agility to be ready when it counts. Most of the year, my little neighborhood in Atlanta is invisible. We’re not on most lists. People assume we belong somewhere else. But once a year a major golf tournament rolls in and suddenly our quiet streets are packed with traffic, rideshares, and visitors trying to find their way. The residents fall into three groups: The complainers, venting online about all the chaos The avoiders, just doing what they can to wait it out The opportunists, renting driveways, selling lemonade, and leaning into the moment That last group doesn’t have a magic wand to control the weather, the date, or the crowd. They just decide to seize the opportunity. That’s exactly what prepared marketers do when the spotlight suddenly lands on them. Lessons from Oreo and CPK Marketers love to talk about Oreo’s “Dunk in the Dark” tweet from the Super Bowl blackout. It wasn’t the clever line that mattered. It was the fact that Oreo’s team was ready. They had people, the process, and the confidence to move fast when the lights went out. Oreo wasn’t lucky, they were ready. Read the case study. California Pizza Kitchen took a negative customer experience and turned it into a moment of humor and transparency, building a campaign around their “complete” mac and cheese. See the example. You might be thinking, that’s great for Oreo or California Pizza Kitchen. But what about me? I don’t have a war room or a social media command center. The truth is that being ready for... --- - Published: 2025-08-24 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/dont-just-defend-your-budget-shape-the-strategy/ - Categories: Value Framing When times get tough, marketing is usually first on the chopping block. If you’ve ever watched your work reduced to a deleted row in a spreadsheet, you know how powerless that can feel. For years, marketers have carried that quiet anxiety: the fear that no matter how hard they work, their budget will disappear when pressure comes. But something different is happening. Major business leaders are making it clear they are not cutting marketing. They’re doubling down. That shift is more than a financial decision. It’s validation of influence — and a chance for marketers everywhere to rethink how they show their value. The Shift at the Top As Adweek reported, executives at Molson Coors, Ralph Lauren, Church & Dwight, Kenvue, and McDonald’s are publicly defending their marketing budgets instead of trimming them. Molson Coors said they will continue to put the right commercial pressure behind their core brands and innovations. Ralph Lauren increased marketing investment to 7. 5% of sales, up from 6. 7% the year before. Church & Dwight committed to protecting marketing spend even if it meant a short-term hit on earnings. McDonald’s described its recipe for success as three ingredients: value, menu innovation, and marketing. These are not small bets. They reflect a broader shift, with household-name brands choosing to defend visibility and connection even while margins are tight. Why This Matters for Internal Marketers It’s tempting to think, “That’s Fortune 500 logic. My company is not Ralph Lauren. ” Fair — but the principle applies... --- - Published: 2025-08-16 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/the-respect-gap-is-real-and-its-killing-good-marketing/ - Categories: Value Framing - Tags: cross-functional communication, internal credibility, Internal Influence The Respect Gap in Marketing: Why It Exists and How to Close It There’s a silent crisis in modern business: the marketing respect gap. Too often, marketers are seen as decorators, not drivers - handed tasks, not trusted with insight. It’s not a talent or effort gap.   It’s a perception issue.   The Empowered Marketer In my current role, it’s different.   Marketing has a seat at the table.   Yes, we support multiple divisions, but we’re not order-takers.   We’re collaborators. Advisors. Drivers of strategy.   We’re invited early and often, not just to promote the story, but to shape it.   The difference is cultural.   The Disrespected Marketer  I have a confession. When a non-marketer tells me how to market, I get a little offended. It was worse when I was a social media manager many years ago and people would come up and tell me that we’d hit our sales numbers if I’d just post our product on social media. Just. The most underestimating word in the English language.   Just perform brain surgery. Just.   I’m not saying that marketing is medicine, but there is strategy and skill that goes into it. And while we can “just” do the marketing, and maybe we’ll luck out and it will be effective, it’s not strategic, not scalable and certainly not likely to drive results that only an expertly laid-out marketing strategy can deliver. It’s Not a Skills Gap. It’s a Respect Gap.   That chasm between... --- - Published: 2025-08-05 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/marketing-has-a-marketing-problem/ - Categories: Visibility - Tags: behind-the-scenes work, cross-functional communication, Internal Influence, internal marketing strategy, making impact visible, marketing leadership visibility, marketing value, marketing your marketing, misunderstood marketers, stakeholder buy-in, visibility at work How One Leadership Comment Changed My Approach to Visibility You’re in a meeting. It’s a quarterly leadership review, and the head of sales says something offhand, something that lands a bit like a ton of bricks. "I'm still not clear on what marketing’s actually doing. ” Wait, was that a dig? Or a genuine blind spot? Your stomach tightens. You know the truth. The team’s been sprinting. They’ve supported product launches, streamlined content operations, and brought in that big campaign ahead of schedule. But in that moment, none of it matters. What’s visible is what’s valued. And right now, all of that work is invisible. You don’t get defensive. You don’t rush to justify. You take note. Because that one sentence? It revealed the real problem: marketing had a marketing problem. That moment changed how I saw my role as a marketing leader forever. Misunderstanding Isn’t the Problem When marketers are misunderstood inside an organization, it’s rarely malicious. It’s a visibility gap. The work we do is layered, complex, and often behind the scenes. And when we assume its value is self-evident, we create a vacuum. If you don’t control what fills the vacuum, it will get filled with assumptions, guesses, or worst of all, indifference. I’ve seen entire teams lose influence, not because they weren’t delivering, but because they weren’t communicating the right things to the right people at the right time. Their brilliance was buried. In that meeting, I realized something I wish I’d understood earlier: internal marketing... --- - Published: 2025-07-25 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/what-happens-when-youre-the-only-marketer-on-the-team/ - Categories: Visibility - Tags: Cross-Functional Marketing, Marketing Communication, Marketing Strategy, Workplace Influence Earlier in my career, I came to a realization that stuck with me. Despite years of marketing experience and a solid track record, I realized I hadn’t spoken with another marketer in months. I was starting to sound more like my colleagues on the pricing team than a marketer. It reminded me of a recent kayak trip: peaceful, yes—but also disorienting when the channel narrows and you’re not quite sure what’s around the bend. That’s the hidden cost of isolation as a marketer. Without regular exposure to marketing peers, fluency fades. And when fluency fades, so does perceived value. The Problem Isn’t Your Performance You’re doing the work. Supporting cross-functional teams. Hitting goals. But something starts to shift. You stop hearing fresh ideas. You stop using marketing language in meetings. Eventually, you’re doing strategic work with no outside perspective or vocabulary to talk about it. That’s a problem—especially for internal marketers, where being innovative and visible often matters most. Why Stakeholder Input Isn’t Enough Sales, ops, and product teams all offer useful insight. But when they’re your only input, your frame of reference starts to skew. Stakeholders help you stay relevant to the business. But it’s other marketers who keep your ideas sharp. When I started to feel behind, I looked for ways to keep up. Podcasts during housework. Webinars over lunch. LinkedIn late at night. It helped. A little. But it was all one-way. I couldn’t ask questions. I couldn’t talk through what I was hearing. And I couldn’t... --- - Published: 2025-07-17 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/saying-yes-to-everything-doesnt-make-you-strategic-it-makes-you-directionless/ - Categories: Internal Influence - Tags: Business Alignment, Internal Influence, Marketing Leadership, Marketing Strategy, Stakeholder Communication, Strategic Execution, Strategic Thinking, Visibility in Marketing Internal marketers often confuse activity with progress. Learn how to define strategic goals, link your work to business impact, and lead from the front seat. It’s a beautiful summer day. You hop in the car with friends. The front seat passenger is playing DJ. The windows are down. There’s laughter, snacks, and an open road. About an hour in, someone from the backseat asks: “So... where are we going? ” Silence. No one discussed the destination. Everyone just wanted to go somewhere. And technically, you did. You’re in motion. But now you’re off-course, low on gas, and realizing that vibes alone won’t get you where you actually want to be. This is what happens in marketing all the time. We confuse activity with progress. We launch content. We join every meeting. We take on stray projects because “someone has to. ” And we convince ourselves that being helpful is being strategic. But it’s not. Saying yes to everything doesn’t make you strategic. It makes you directionless. And marketers who prioritize being helpful over being directional end up overworked, under-credited, and easily replaced. You might be the person who gets things done because “someone had to do it” Say. But if no one can connect your work to business results, you’re just in the passenger seat. The Problem with “Just Driving” When marketing lacks direction, it doesn’t matter how hard you’re working. Without a destination, your efforts get diluted. Here’s how that shows up: Subpar Results B2B marketing has lost effectiveness over the past decade. Campaigns have become shorter, budgets smaller, and media channels more fragmented. But the real issue isn’t tools or timing. It’s that... --- - Published: 2025-06-26 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/quiet-work-doesnt-speak-for-itself/ - Categories: Visibility My daughter knew exactly which toy she wanted. She’d seen it online. Talked about it for weeks. Saved her allowance. She was ready. But when we got to the store and stood in front of the toy aisle—the moment of truth—she froze. I asked, “Okay, which one is it? ” She scanned the shelves. Her eyes widened. Then came the response I didn’t expect: “I don’t remember. ” What? This was the toy she’d longed for. How could she not know now, at the most important time? Too many choices. Too much stimulation. Her mind just went blank. And I get it. Because I’ve had that same moment at work. A leader asks, “What have you been working on lately? ” I know I’ve done good work. I’ve delivered. I’ve moved the needle. But in that moment? Blank. Why Visibility Starts With You Before you can think about improving your visibility to others, you have to improve your visibility to yourself. That blank feeling doesn’t mean you haven’t made an impact. It means you haven’t been tracking it in a way that sticks. And that tracking matters more than you think. “Recognizing small successes activates the brain’s reward system, releasing dopamine and reinforcing positive behavior... creating a positive feedback loop of success and satisfaction. ”— Wang et al. , 2017, via Psychology Today This is how you sharpen self-awareness, build momentum, and stay ready for high-stakes conversations without having to spin or sell anything. The Weekly Win Practice Each week,... --- - Published: 2025-06-19 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/the-cost-of-being-low-maintenance/ - Categories: Visibility - Tags: Career Growth, Internal Influence, introverted marketer, Market Your Marketing, perception and leadership, stakeholder buy-in, Visibility in Marketing, visibility strategy Why Great Internal Marketers Stay Overlooked—and What to Do About It You’re the one who gets it done. The launch deck? Finished. The stakeholder feedback? Already addressed. The cross-functional handoff? Seamless. No drama. No noise. Just results. But when it’s time for recognition, big projects, or promotions, your name doesn’t come up. Reliability becomes invisibility. The Problem with Being Low Maintenance In many organizations, attention flows to the squeaky wheels. Leaders juggling tight resources focus on problems, not the people quietly getting things done. You’re like a duck, furiously paddling beneath the surface. Your webbed feet work overtime to bridge priorities and execution, align cross-functional teams, and develop long-term strategies. Point you in a direction, and you’ll get there. But from above, everything looks smooth. You blend into the background. And for internal marketers supporting sales, product, or operations teams, that can be a huge pitfall. Here’s what often happens: You make others look good, but your own contributions stay buried. Your work drives outcomes, but those wins aren’t tied back to you. You’re seen as support, not strategy. While you’re working with your head down, someone else gets tapped for the big opportunity. Perception shapes recognition. Recognition requires narration. This is about strategic visibility. Not ego trips. Not "look at me" moments. And if you’re like me, more focused on outcomes than optics, you might be missing those visibility moments without realizing it. Visibility Without Vanity Increasing your visibility isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. It’s a muscle... --- - Published: 2025-06-08 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/what-im-learning-how-custom-gpts-are-helping-me-work-smarter/ - Categories: Strategic Adaptability - Tags: AI in Marketing, Custom GPTs, Internal Influence, Perplexity AI, Strategic Tools, What I’m Learning, Work Smarter How Custom GPTs Are Helping Me Work Smarter | Elizabeth Humphries Discover how AI tools like custom GPTs and Perplexity AI are changing the way marketers work — and why staying silent might be your biggest risk. If You're Avoiding AI, You're Choosing Irrelevance New tools drop weekly. Expectations shift. And with AI accelerating, the pressure to "do more with less" has never been louder. Marketers can't afford to wait and see where this goes. That's why I'm starting something new. "What I'm Learning" is a running series where I'll share what I'm testing, reading, and reflecting on to stay sharp as a marketer and strategic contributor. This first post is about something I've been deep in lately: custom GPTs and Perplexity AI. These tools are teaching me how to work smarter without losing my human edge. The Risk Isn't AI - It's Inaction Let's be honest, the hardest part about keeping up in marketing isn't willpower. It's time. Between meetings, deadlines and everything else, learning can quietly fall of your calendar. But here is what I've come to believe: You can't market your value if you don't understand what is changing around you. And a lot is changing very quickly. I'm seeing more non-marketers get excited about AI tools that "appear" to do our work, keyword plans, email copy, even content calendars. But most of those outputs miss what actually makes our work effective. They lack context, positioning, and the ability to navigate sensitive topics. We lose our voice in critical conversations if we don't understand how these tools work and where they fall short. We risk becoming replaceable in rooms we should be leading. How I'm Actually Using AI I want to dig into AI... --- - Published: 2025-05-27 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/validation-visibility-and-the-quiet-power-of-being-in-the-room/ - Categories: Visibility - Tags: Authority Building, Internal Influence, visibility strategy This spring I attended Mark Schaefer’s The Uprising retreat for marketing leaders.   When I returned, I was immediately swept into a storm of business travel, an out-of-town wedding, and end of year celebrations for my kids. It delayed my reflection, but not its impact.   After a few days of stillness, conversation, and reflection, something clicked: There’s a hidden thread that connects all marketers, whether we’re shaping strategy, writing copy, or navigating cross-functional chaos in-house.   That thread is validation and it’s a lot like striking a match. You can have all the tools, prep the kindling, even stack the logs just right. But until the spark is there, nothing ignites. Marketing works the same way. Strategy, creativity, and execution are essential, but it’s validation that lights the flame. It’s the spark that makes our work visible, meaningful and impossible to ignore.   The Moment That Shifted My Thinking At The Uprising, what stood out most wasn’t a framework or funnel, it was the generosity in the room.   Every person had something they were deeply passionate about. And no one held it back. They shared. They coached. They encouraged.   It was only later I realized that many of my fellow attendees were also presenters, leading breakout sessions, giving talks, and offering stories that stuck with me long after they finished.   They weren't posturing. They were participating, and that authenticity made their insights even more powerful.   The Quiet Undercurrent: Validation Despite the inspiration, it was hard... --- - Published: 2025-05-06 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/turn-your-marketing-pitch-into-a-conversation-that-builds-trust/ - Categories: Internal Influence - Tags: Cross-Functional Collaboration, Internal Influence, Marketing Impact, Stakeholder Engagement, visibility strategy Picture this: You're walking down the hall, coffee in hand, when an executive stops you and casually says. "So, with all these AI tools, can we just have it create more content for us? " You freeze, paralyzed both by the thought of AI-created mediocrity and the power you’ve just been handed to effect the robot uprising within your company. You have 30 seconds before he jets off, visions of robot writers dancing in his head. No slides. No prep. Just you, your brain, and your ability to think on the fly. Sound familiar? If you work in marketing, you've probably faced moments like this. Internal stakeholders - whether executives, product managers, or finance leaders - often underestimate the value in marketing strategy, especially now that AI tools make marketing look so simple a robot can do it. The classic elevator pitch won't help you here. It's too shallow, to rehearsed. What you need isn'ta pitch - it's a conversation. One that builds understanding, trust, and eventually, advocacy. Why Traditional Elevator Pitches Fall Short Elevator pitches aim for quick agreement. They compress complex ideas into oversimplified soundbites. But marketing isn't a quick transaction -- It's a long-term strategic play. Stakeholders need to see your marketing value clearly, and that rarely fits into a 60-second script. The executive in the hallway wasn't being difficult. He genuinely believed that AI might deliver fast, measurable ROI. Your instinct might be to launch into a defense of your team or your budget. But that's... --- - Published: 2025-04-29 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/before-you-pitch-your-strategy-understand-these-3-decision-styles/ - Categories: Internal Influence - Tags: Decision Styles, Marketing Strategy, Stakeholder Engagement Learn how understanding internal stakeholder decision styles can improve stakeholder management and secure buy-in from stakeholders. Have you ever gone into a stakeholder meeting, excited to share your strategy, only to come out having been met with loads of questions and a lack of support? Before you pitch your next big idea, it's important to understand how your stakeholders make decisions. Every internal partner processes information a little differently, and recognizing these decision styles can make the difference between gaining enthusiastic support or facing another "no. " Previously I discussed the importance of speaking the language of your audience, avoiding jargon, and using storytelling to get your point across. But even strong communication techniques fall flat if you don't tune them into internal decision styles diving buy-in. The Decision-Making Style Mismatch The challenge many marketers face isn't just what we communicate—it's how we communicate. We naturally present information in ways that make sense to us, but these approaches often miss the mark with stakeholders who process information differently. Understanding your own strengths is the first step in bridging this gap. I've taken several personality assessments over the years, and was struck by how valuable they can be in understanding not just how I work, but how to adapt my communication for others. According to Noelle Federico in Forbes, "The best assessments allow individuals to not only see and interpret their own results but to learn how to adapt to other personalities in real time. " As someone with Analytical, Strategic, Deliberative, Learner, Restorative, Arranger and Achiever strengths (based on Gallup's StrengthsFinder), I've discovered that my natural... --- - Published: 2025-04-14 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/the-art-of-saying-no/ - Categories: Internal Influence - Tags: Internal Influence, Self-Advocacy Saying no is one of the most underrated leadership skills in marketing. We get requests every day: ideas, urgent one-pagers, shifts in messaging to chase a new competitor. Sometimes these requests make sense. Other times they unravel weeks of thoughtful work. Saying no is about discernment not being difficuly. And how we do it matters as much as what we say. Anchor to business goals first. When a new request comes in, I ask: How does this align with our objectives? What's the expected ROI? Is it worth the resources we'd have to redirect? Often, the answers are vague, which is the point. These questions reframe the conversation. They slow the reactive momentum and create space for strategic reflection. You're not just saying no. You're asking the team to think critically about what they're requesting and why. Skip the bad news sandwich. You don't need fluff to soften the blow. But you do need to be human. Start by acknowledging the intent: "I hear where you're coming from. You want to make sure we're staying competitive. " Then pivot to the why: "Here's what we've built so far and why it aligns with our strategy. If we change direction now, we risk losing the momentum we've built. " Respect the person. Protect the strategy. Offer better alternatives when you can. Sometimes the best no is actually a thoughtful "what if instead. " If you understand the core goal (more engagement, faster results, a specific stakeholder need), you can propose a... --- - Published: 2025-04-09 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/marketing-in-the-middle/ - Categories: Internal Influence - Tags: Cross-Functional Collaboration, Internal Influence, Marketing Strategy, visibility strategy Bridging Misalignment Without Losing Strategy I’m sitting at my desk, deep in a strategic work session — and I’ll be honest, I’m killing it. Okay, maybe it’s the coffee, but I’m in the zone. Next quarter’s campaign is coming together beautifully. It’s smart, targeted, and anchored in the research my team has been nurturing for weeks. Fast forward to the first day of the new quarter, and I get a call from a sales leader: “Let’s change the campaign to mirror what our biggest competitor is doing. ” Cue the fire drill. Pivoting now means scrapping the thoughtful campaign we’ve been building. New messaging, new assets, rushed execution — and a high chance of diluted results. This isn’t just inconvenient. It undermines the long-game thinking that marketing requires to build momentum. Here’s the kicker: the competitor campaign that sparked this whole detour? Flashy, but flawed. It might stir some buzz, but real ROI? Unlikely. So why do these misaligned requests keep happening? Misalignment Has Roots — Not Villains These kinds of pivots usually come from a good place. A desire to stay competitive, to respond to a shifting market, to make an impact. But they often reveal something deeper: a disconnect in how different teams think about time and value. Sales lives in the now: Who’s ready to buy today? What’s closing this quarter? Marketing, on the other hand, is building trust over time. We're planting seeds — of recognition, of preference, of emotional resonance. That kind of work doesn’t... --- - Published: 2025-03-28 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/the-one-point-principle-for-successful-marketing-presentations-that-stick/ - Categories: Value Framing - Tags: Marketing Presentations, Strategic Thinking The One-Point Principle for Successful Marketing Presentations That Stick We’ve all been there—sitting through a presentation that feels more like a form of torture than an opportunity to learn. You’re staring at slides overloaded with text, trying to read while the speaker drones on, and before you’ve made sense of it, they’ve already moved to the next one. Now, as I look around the room, I see the signs:-Someone typing word-for-word notes, likely missing the speaker’s key points. -Someone else scrolling on their phone. -And—wait—is that person asleep? Surely not. But... maybe. It’s not that we aren’t interested. We just aren’t engaged. And that’s the real problem. This is where the One-Point Principle comes in to create marketing presentations that actually stick with your audience long after you've finished speaking. At its core, this principle is simple: focus each presentation, and each slide, on communicating one clear, compelling message. Why Bad Presentations Fail—Every Time When discussing how to market your marketing, I often talk about the importance of considering your audience—understanding their goals and showing how the work supports them. But even if your content is solid, how you deliver it matters just as much. If your audience has to struggle to follow your point, you may as well skip the presentation altogether. And here’s the hard truth: “If you leave your audience confused about what your point is, they will wonder if you even have a point at all. ” (Lisa Cron, Story or Die) Let’s break down the... --- - Published: 2025-03-28 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/there-is-no-failure-in-marketing/ - Categories: Personal Brand - Tags: Marketing Impact, Marketing Strategy, Strategic Thinking, visibility strategy There is no failure in marketing. You are testing a new strategy, and the initial results are, well... disappointing. Your team wants to abandon it; your stakeholders want an update. Sound familiar? Before you head into that meeting with your head hung low and report a failure, I challenge you to reframe the situation. As marketers, we should eliminate loss or failure from our professional vocabularies. "I never lose, I either win or learn" — Nelson Mandela There are only two possible outcomes: winning or learning. And both are incredibly valuable when defining the value of your marketing strategy to your stakeholders. Marketers as Scientists We're scientists. It's one of the things that I love most about this profession. We don't just find the solution the first time we try something; there is researching, testing, measuring, and adjusting our variables to get closer and closer to our desired outcome. When we eliminate our fear of experimenting with bold strategies, we open the possibilities of moving from a good marketer to an exceptional one. "Success comes from being brave enough to unleash a little crazy, break taboos, and take risks, even in corporate cultures that don't like risks" — Mark Schaefer, Audacious: How Human Wins in an AI Marketing World. What Experimentation Really Looks Like It's not about being right. It's about getting closer to right with each attempt. If we apply the scientific process to our marketing efforts, we: Observe: How can we communicate the value of our product and... --- - Published: 2025-03-18 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/the-coffee-spill-that-taught-me-a-marketing-lesson/ - Categories: Personal Brand - Tags: Marketing Impact, Marketing Storytelling You know the mornings? The ones where you feel ready to tackle the world or maybe just a few chores on the way to your office? This was me, “commuting” upstairs with my laptop, that laundry I folded this morning, a pair of shoes that I could drop off in my daughter’s room, and my cup of coffee. Predictably, this ended with a dramatic, slow motion fall up the stairs. Coffee everywhere, not only negating the laundry but giving me a good 15 minutes of cleaning up my mess before starting the rest of my day.   As I cleaned a thought struck me: isn’t this what marketing can sometimes feel like? We juggle so much - content creation, strategy, analytics, new technologies, requests from colleagues, expectations from other departments... the list goes on. And just like my ill-fated morning climb up the stairs, trying to carry everything at once can lead to spills, delays and ultimately a lot of wasted effort.   The Expanding Role of the Marketer The landscape for CMOs and marketing leaders like many of us is becoming increasingly complex. As Namita Tiwari highlighted in her Forbes article, “The Top Five Challenges For CMOs”, “the expectations from CMOs are skyrocketing further with the advent of GenAI. ” We’re not just marketers anymore; we're strategists, growth catalysts, and even tech adopters. PwC echoes this, noting that “today's CMOs face a complex landscape” with “rapid tech advancements, rising customer expectations and stretched marketing budgets”.   The Pitfalls of... --- - Published: 2025-03-06 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/disruption-of-the-plan/ - Categories: Strategic Adaptability - Tags: Resilience, Strategic Thinking There are few things I love more than a good plan. In fact, I typically create multiple plans with various contingencies. (Just ask my husband who patiently listens to my running list of "what-ifs" before any major decision. ) There's undeniable comfort in planning — you have time to be strategic, align your resources, and act instead of react. But what happens when that carefully crafted plan gets disrupted? Do you get mad? Frustrated? Do you metaphorically (or literally) knock over the table and storm out of the room? (Yikes! ) Here's what works: Planning is most valuable when it includes space for the inevitable unexpected disruptions. Don't get me wrong, I would like — no, I prefer — that everything go according to plan, but I've yet to find that to be the case in life. Work? Never according to plan. Parenting? HA! Not even close. What if instead of hoping disruptions don't happen, we actually planned for them? This is where we shift our energy from being surprised, angry, and frustrated to approaching that bump in the road as the puzzle we were actually waiting to solve all along. Instead of seeing disruptions as setbacks, let's try viewing them as opportunities to showcase our strategic agility — turning problems into chances to shine. Remember: The most successful marketers aren't the ones with perfect plans; they're the ones who anticipate disruption and transform it into competitive advantage. What's your approach to handling disrupted plans? Have you found ways to... --- - Published: 2025-03-05 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/speak-human-not-marketer-making-your-strategy-impossible-to-ignore/ - Categories: Value Framing - Tags: Marketing Strategy, Perception & Leadership I was three slides into my quarterly review when my leader interrupted me. "Elizabeth, I see these engagement numbers going up. What I don't see is how that helps us hit our revenue target. " I had 47 slides. Slide 14 showed email engagement up 34%. Slide 22 proved our social reach had tripled. Slide 31 demonstrated our content resonating with target personas. I didn't have an answer to his actual question. I'd spent three months building a presentation in marketing language while he was asking a business question. That's when I learned: translation isn't a nice-to-have skill. It's the difference between being heard and being ignored. The Translation Gap We speak in acronyms and jargon that mean nothing outside our department. CTRs, attribution models, engagement metrics, omnichannel strategies. It's our language. It's not theirs. Mark Ritson and Helen Edwards argue that speaking a shared language within a business is key for marketers to progress. They're not suggesting we dumb down our expertise. They're saying: if your colleagues don't understand what you do, that's on you to fix. Would you present quarterly results to your board in a foreign language? No. Yet that's exactly what we do when we bury our achievements in marketing-speak. Four Translations That Work 1. Ditch the Jargon Instead of: "Our social engagement metrics show significant uplift after implementing our new content cadence. " Say this: "We changed when we post on social media, and now 40% more people are sharing our content with colleagues. That's... --- - Published: 2025-02-20 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/setting-up-a-marketing-dashboard-without-losing-your-mind/ - Categories: Value Framing - Tags: Marketing Strategy, Strategic Tools, visibility strategy As I stared at yet another spreadsheet full of marketing metrics, I had a realization: We've overcomplicated the whole "marketing dashboard" thing. The truth is, we don't need another beautiful report that nobody reads – we need a strategic tool that helps us Market Your Marketing effectively. Start with the Story, Not the Stats Remember that feeling when someone dumps their entire camera roll on you instead of showing you their vacation highlights? That's what most marketing dashboards feel like to stakeholders. Here's how to avoid that data dump trap: First, think about who's going to use this dashboard. In my experience, stakeholders typically fall into two camps: The Quarterly Reviewers: These are often your senior stakeholders who need the "So what? " version. They want the headline, not the full article. Give them trends, goals, and business impact. The Weekly Deep-Divers: These team members need the details to make tactical decisions. They need enough information to course-correct in real-time. Making Your Data Work Smarter, Not Harder When I first started creating dashboards, I tried to include everything – every metric, every campaign, every single social media post. It was like trying to fit everything I own into a carry-on suitcase. Here's what I learned works instead: Start with an audit of your data sources. List them all out, but be ruthless about what actually makes the cut. Just because you can track something doesn't mean it contributes to the story in a meaningful way. Automate everything possible. I recently... --- - Published: 2025-02-06 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/being-irreplaceable-in-an-ai-world/ - Categories: Strategic Adaptability - Tags: AI in Marketing, Being Irreplaceable, Career Growth, Strategic Thinking AI has emerged as both a powerful ally and a potential threat. A recent Adweek survey reported that in 2024, most marketers believe AI will eliminate more jobs than it creates, and many feel that advertising has lost its creative edge compared to previous years. As we navigate the changes that come with this AI-driven era, it’s important to understand how we can leverage this tool. Wielding its strengths as a compliment to our own and showcasing the irreplaceable value of humans in marketing.   What AI Can't Replace: What Gives Us Our Edge Strategic Foresight: AI can analyze trends, but it can't put that data in perspective with broader business goals or identify nuanced market opportunities. Marketers can overlay that data with experience, intuition and foresight. Cross-functional Leadership: Building consensus, navigating office politics and aligning diverse teams are uniquely human skills. AI can't replicate the emotional intelligence required for effective collaboration. Creative Storytelling: While AI can generate content, it cannot craft compelling stories that resonate on a human level. Our creativity and empathy allow us to connect with our audiences in a genuine way that AI simply can't. Consider the difference between the taste of a locally grown strawberry and "red" candy. You expect both to taste like strawberries, but they deliver entirely different experiences. Practical Ways to Leverage AI in Your Marketing Here are some actionable ways I use AI to enhance my marketing strategies:  Proofreading and Grammar: AI can be a great "second set of eyes" to... --- - Published: 2025-01-29 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/the-art-of-marketing-storytelling-transforming-campaigns-into-compelling-narratives/ - Categories: Value Framing - Tags: Marketing Impact, Marketing Storytelling, Strategic Thinking As marketers, we face an ironic challenge: while we expertly craft compelling stories for our external audiences, we often struggle to effectively market ourselves within our own organizations. Despite driving business growth and customer engagement, many marketing teams find themselves constantly justifying their value to internal stakeholders. It's like being a world-class chef who can't make a decent sandwich for themselves. The truth is, showcasing your marketing team's strategic value isn't about creating another PowerPoint deck of metrics—it's about weaving those achievements into a narrative that resonates with decision-makers and builds lasting organizational influence. Let’s transform your marketing wins into powerful internal stories that demonstrate impact and establish your team as a critical driver of business success. The Costly Trap of Data Dumping We've all been there—presenting slide after slide of campaign metrics, social media stats, and website analytics only to see glazed eyes and polite nods around the conference room. While these metrics are crucial, presenting them without context is like handing someone a pile of puzzle pieces without showing them the picture on the box. When we data dump, three things happen: We lose our audience's attention before reaching our most important points We miss opportunities to demonstrate strategic thinking We allow others to interpret our results without our guidance—often incorrectly The Power of Strategic Storytelling What happens when we shift from data dumping to strategic storytelling? Everything changes. Instead of just reporting numbers, we're: Connecting marketing initiatives directly to business outcomes Demonstrating the strategic thinking behind our... --- - Published: 2025-01-11 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/snow-day-strategy-a-marketers-guide-to-chaos-prevention/ - Categories: Personal Brand - Tags: Resilience, Strategic Thinking As I prepared for another snow day working from home with my kids, I realized that it I'm pulling from my marketing playbook. The same strategies that create successful cross-functional marketing alignment are keeping my household from descending into chaos. Here's what I've learned. Set Expectations Early The night before a snow day, I gather my kids for what marketers would call a "kickoff meeting. " We review everyone's responsibilities: Child 1 handles the dishwasher, Child 2 tackles laundry. Even seemingly obvious tasks get spelled out - "Yes, getting dressed includes brushing your teeth. " All these tasks work together toward our shared afternoon goal: playing in the snow and roasting marshmallows. This mirrors how I handle marketing initiatives. When working it’s best never to leave expectations to chance. Just as I clarify "getting dressed" with my kids, we clarify handoffs and responsibilities with colleagues. This prevents assumptions (like thinking everyone knows what "qualified lead" means) and gives stakeholders a chance to raise concerns or suggest improvements before we're knee-deep in execution. Make Success Visible and Accessible Snow days with kids teach you about strategic positioning. Without guidance, hungry kids raid the kitchen for cookies and chips, depleting snack supplies and ruining dinner plans. My solution? I place parent-approved snacks in visible, easy-to-reach spots and communicate what's available. This way, they can make independent choices that align with our overall plan for the day. Marketing faces the same visibility challenge. When cross-functional colleagues lack insight into our marketing efforts, they... --- - Published: 2025-01-05 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/forget-the-resolutions-im-creating-my-2025-highlight-reel/ - Categories: Personal Brand - Tags: Career Growth, Resilience Forget the Resolutions; I’m creating my 2025 Highlight Reel Now.   I'm making a highlight reel before 2025 even begins. Why? Because visualizing success changes everything. Instead of getting lost in daily to-dos, I'm zooming out to see the complete picture of what I want to achieve. Plus, as someone committed to 'Marketing My Marketing' to build awareness and authority, this approach helps me ensure every highlight strengthens my brand. Here's the accountability twist: if I don't take the actions needed to create these highlights, they get deleted from the reel. As someone who hates losing more than I love winning, this negative reinforcement works perfectly for me. Step1: Choose Your Format While you could use a simple list in your planner or phone, I'm opting for a digital presentation that mirrors my Spotify Wrapped experience. Why? Because creating something visually appealing now, when motivation is high, makes the year-long journey more enjoyable and sustainable. Step 2: Define Your Professional Wins Next, I'll create a list of the professional achievements that my future self will be proud of achieving in 2025. Keeping in mind my mission of Marketing My Marketing, here are some highlights I'll consider: Strategic implementation of 5 AI tools across my marketing initiatives Consistent delivery of monthly 'Marketing My Marketing' impact reports to key stakeholders Publication of 52 value-driven blog posts Step 3: Create Detailed Plans Psychologist Hal Hershfield's research on time perception reveals that surface-level future thinking often leads to unintended outcomes. To avoid this trap,... --- - Published: 2024-12-23 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/awareness-authority-or-altering-perceptions/ - Categories: Value Framing - Tags: Perception & Leadership, Stakeholder Engagement, visibility strategy When I consider how to best set up a system to effectively Market My Marketing to internal stakeholders, I first consider my goal. This generally takes one of 3 directions: am I Marketing for Awareness, Authority, or to Alter Perceptions? Are You Marketing for Awareness? When marketing for awareness, your goal is to shine a light on your marketing efforts and their potential impact across the organization. As psychologist Nathaniel Branden said, "The first step toward change is awareness... " In this context, the change we're seeking is an increase in collaboration and support for our marketing initiatives. This awareness can manifest in various ways across different departments: The pricing team becomes aware of how their insights can enhance promotion timing and pricing.   The inside sales team recognizes the value of sharing your content with their contacts.   A casual mention of your campaign resource by one colleague to another spreads awareness of your marketing efforts. By fostering this awareness, you're laying the groundwork for a broader understanding and support of your marketing strategies throughout the organization. Are You Marketing for Authority?   Much of the work that we do as marketers is not visible to the rest of the organization. In this void, they are left to create their own narrative for what effective marketing should look like or form opinions on what effective means.   Admittedly, this can be a sensitive area, but we can approach it as an opportunity to gain support and exhibit marketing prowess.... --- - Published: 2024-12-13 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/marketing-your-marketing-is-your-most-important-campaign/ - Categories: Visibility - Tags: Internal Influence, Marketing Impact, Marketing Strategy, Stakeholder Engagement, Strategic Thinking As Marketers, we often focus on strategies to increase sales, leads or visibility. We look for effective ways to reach prospective customers and align our solution with their needs. While this is the bulk of our work, I'd argue that marketing your marketing internally is most important. That's right. The. Most. Important. It's essential for organizational success and your career growth. Here's why: Visibility creates value. Internal stakeholders can undervalue marketing's impact. It's just a blog post, or an ad. And it is unless you show how it plays into the larger strategy or the results of that strategy. Cross-funtional alignment. I like to think of Sales and Marketing like siblings. There might be some internal competition and maybe they irritate each other, but when forces align, they can be pretty powerful. When other departments know how your marketing contributes to the achievement of their goals, you'll have support that helps achieve the highest business outcomes. Resource allocation. When you've created value through visibility and show how your marketing efforts align with better business outcomes, it's much easier to make a business case for increased budgets and resources. Organizational influence. You've shown that you know your stuff. You've shown strategically why you do something or don't do something (I'm looking at you TikTok videos). Through this you've created value as a strategic thinker that adds impact and innovation that others in your organization seek to include in their efforts. Innovation catalyst. Different perspectives are vital in cultivating the best solutions.... --- - Published: 2024-07-31 - Modified: 2026-02-24 - URL: https://ehumphries.com/when-times-are-busy-its-easy-to-lose-alignment-with-your-strategic-goals/ - Categories: Value Framing Often, we look for results too soon, jump to a different activity to stay busy, or even let the priorities of others dominate our time. Here are three things I do to maintain alignment at the busiest of times:1 Write it all down. I create an informal strategy with notes, random thoughts, and prioritization. It's for my eyes only and serves as a reference when I'm juggling too many different things and need to get back to my strategic self quickly. 2 Schedule time weekly to review my progress toward goals. Regular reminders of my goals and strategies and tracking help me avoid veering too far off course and ensure I'm prepared to update others. 3 Daily retrospect. How did I spend my day? How did my activity move my team toward our goals? Looking back on the prior day helps me prioritize work going forward and create accountability for aligning resources (my time) with the output I'm responsible for. Do you have a trick or tip to help you stay aligned with your goals? --- ---