Rise Above

WE GENERATE RESULTS THAT BREAK THROUGH

WE FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS

While our operational experience sets us apart, much of the value we provide can be found in our successful track-record of driving profitable growth, building great brands and transforming organizations.

Our team of professionals will apply real-world, battle-tested solutions and use proven tools to focus on strategies and actions directly geared to deliver results in the marketplace.

We exist to help you build organizational capabilities and develop and execute marketing strategies that create competitive advantage, driving superior financial performance.

OUR COLLECTIVE IMPACT

223 Thriving Brands

Put our expertise to work for you

16 Industry Leaders

Committed to your success

21+ Years Experience

Partner average operating experience

WHAT CLIENTS SAY ABOUT US

“I’ve had the opportunity to work with a number of individuals within this consultancy, both on the agency and the client side. You won’t come across a group of brighter thinkers who will not stop until they find the answers. If you need to build a powerful brand expression that feeds the bottom line – basically this is your marketing Dream Team.”

Bob MooreChief Creative Officer, Publicis USA

CMO Consulting Group partners have demonstrated expertize in the areas of innovation, brand development and new product performance – for both domestic and global brands. Their combined operating experience and track record of launching successful new brands, enables them to bring enlightened real-world experience to major new product development efforts.

Jon Wilson VP Corporate Innovation, Kimberly Clark Corporation

“When it comes to driving hard-core marketing results Mike Butler and his team are in the top 2% of the best marketing talent I have ever worked alongside. I’ve seen Mike’s personal magic on strategic brand positioning, relentless retail marketing execution and ability to get the very best out of agency partners. If you need a true ‘foxhole’ marketing partner to put your business on top you just found one!”

Robert DotsonCEO, T-Mobile USA

“Mike Butler has the best marketing mind I have had the privilege to work with. From brand strategy, to breakthrough innovation – Mike and his team bring world-class capabilities to help tackle the toughest marketing challenges.”

Sue Nokes Senior Vice President Customer Solutions, Asurion

Case Studies

The true value of what we provide is determined by the results we achieve.

Drive Marketing Effectiveness Develop Marketing Insights Identify Growth Opportunities Differentiate Brands Leverage Marketing Technologies Improve Organizational Performance

DRIVE MARKETING EFFECTIVENESS

DRIVING MARKETING EFFICIENCY

The CMO of a leading Financial Services company asked CMO Consulting Group to develop a strategy and plans to increase customer acquisition efficiencies to help combat new competitors

Business Challenge

The leader in their lending segment, the company was under pressure from new competitors with aggressive pricing and online marketing
Indirect channels accounted for the majority of sales, while direct channels generated greater efficiencies
A lack of recent product innovation compounded the impact of competitive pressure

Applied Solution

Launched a learning agenda encompassing segmentation and decision path analyses – to generate insights for product development and marketing planning
Created a direct marketing playbook, guided acquisition of new marketing tech tools, and stood up a new direct marketing function including full suite of digital tactics
Created new marketing plans for largest channel – third-party agents

Results Delivered

Learning agenda segmentation study led to creation of two new products in year one
Grew direct-to-customer business from 35% to 50% of total revenues
Secured new indirect partners, reducing distribution concentration and improving marketing efficiencies

DEVELOP MARKETING INSIGHTS

RESEARCH DRIVEN MARKETING MIX OPTIMIZATION

CMO Consulting Group was asked by the CEO of a $500M company to evaluate the efficiency of their existing marketing efforts and recommend changes.

Business Challenge

Company faced four major, well-entrenched high-spending competitors
Historically, marketing plans had emulated major players, but with a fraction of the budget
The majority of marketing dollars flowed into mass media and sponsorships

Applied Solution

Gathered in-depth understanding of consumer decision processes through qualitative research
Completed customer decision journey, highlighting moments of active evaluation and insights around purchase choice drivers
Reallocated marketing mix based on research findings
Reduced the amount of budget applied to sponsorships and shifted mix toward working digital and direct channels

Results Delivered

In-market testing validated benefit of a shift in spending to digital, with a 5% overall gain in new activations
As a result, Cost per Account (CPA) efficiencies improved by 4%

IDENTIFY GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES

STRATEGY FOUNDATION FOR GROWTH COMPANY

In 2014, CMO Consulting Group was asked by the CEO of a financial technology firm, to develop a company vision, long-term competitive market position, and growth strategy.

Business Challenge

Important to define a growth strategy for a well-funded entrepreneurial company in the emerging online lending category
In 2014, 80% of consumer loans were for the purpose of credit card debt consolidation. Imperative to diversify into new loan areas to accelerate growth and reduce risk
The client had very low awareness, but an ambition to build a strong brand

Applied Solution

Worked with ”C-team” to create strong clear overall mission, vision and values for the company
Developed strategic brand position for lenders and borrowers, based on extensive market and customer research
Completed detailed analysis of $3 Trillion US consumer credit market, and worked with CFO and CRO to prioritize growth segments: medical, education and home improvement

Results Delivered

Tripled loans to $3B in two years, and improved marketing efficiencies to achieve first profitable year in 2015
Successfully diversified into target segments in 2015 through acquisition of a medical lending company and partnership with home improvement company
Activated brand position through customer experience to deliver 68 NPS score among borrowers

DIFFERENTIATE BRANDS

NEW BRAND DEVELOPMENT

In 2013, a Fortune 500 client needed to defend against price-driven brands, and asked CMO Consulting Group to help develop and launch a fighter brand.

Business Challenge

Develop disruptive new brand proposition to compete with the growing pre-paid monthly price-driven segment, particularly MetroPCS
Deliver new product idea capable of success with minimal marketing support, to be sold through third-party distribution

Applied Solution

Developed entirely new brand proposition, inclusive of name, pricing and product strategy
Hired agency and oversaw development of marketing and advertising campaign development
Launched new brand – GoSmart Mobile in 2013

Results Delivered

Achieved successful launch and goal of sustained distribution
Delivered $100M+ annual revenue, disrupting MetroPCS in key markets

LEVERAGE MARKETING TECHNOLOGIES

CUSTOM MARKETING TECHNOLGY IMPLEMENTATION

Assisted a major technology company in implementing a custom marketing database solution, including the use of analytics, predictive modeling and campaign management tools for B2B and B2C.

Business Challenge

All direct marketing technology had been handled in a black box by an external agency; there were few company employees who understood the underlying technologies necessary for a 21st century approach
A supplier had been selected, but no marketing leadership was involved, nor able to give direction
Budgets were decentralized and project management had no governance process
The first campaign from the DB had significant errors

Applied Solution

Created a governance process which pulled the supplier, project management and end-users into one decision-making body responsible for flawless implementation
Implemented new teams to oversee areas such as analytic tools, data acquisition, digital usage, PII management and addressable channels
Upgraded supplier account management

Results Delivered

Completely retrofitted data originally built into the design to enhance deliverability and accuracy
Commissioned series of predictive models to drive response rates
On a total budget of $15M, successfully avoided several million dollars of additional costs
Database is now the system of record for driving people-first marketing initiatives across all targetable media

IMPROVE ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

STRENGHTENING MARKETING ECOSYSTEMS

CMO Consulting Group was asked by the CEO and CMO at a Fortune 500 client to help assess, update and strengthen the roster of agencies supporting the company’s marketing efforts.

Business Challenge

Our client’s roster had grown to 103 agencies and marketing partners, with some redundancies and several capability gaps
The relationship with the primary AOR had deteriorated and performance and results were suffering
In part as a result, the over $500M annual marketing budget was no longer delivering an acceptable ROI

Applied Solution

Completed a thorough analysis of the roles, capabilities, investments in and performance of 103 agency partners – scaled back and/or terminated several agency relationships
Identified 12 core agencies across marketing disciplines, clarified roles, and updated performance goals and SOW’s for each
Conducted an in-depth review of the AOR and developed a shortlist of recommendations for both the agency and client to improve the relationship and performance outcomes

Results Delivered

Primary AOR went from under performance to exceeding expectations within 12 months
Identified need for, ran selection process and hired specialist social media agency
Refocused and improved the efficiency and effectiveness of 12 key agency partners