A common problem faced by new organisations is how to fill new roles as the need for them presents itself. For example a company is at the point of needing to expand into new markets or regions and the need for a head of marketing [or marketing director] is highlighted, and the solution [it seems] is quite simple; Recruit a marketing person to handle all the stuff that needs to take happen. Simple? Not quite.

The problem is that we now live in a predominantly digital world, and many of the roles and job descriptions that we still make use of today are relics from the past.For example; the traditional role of the marketing director is to own the brand and its associated content. Likewise the creation, implementation and distribution of marketing material across multiple formats and channels with a view to enhancing the overall proposition of the parent company.

All sounds great, the problem today though is that the knowledge to do this has largely been democratised, so rather than specialist skills being concentrated in specific individuals, most digital companies will have resources that can do most of what is needed. So what is actually required, is a facilitator and not a marketing director in the traditional sense.

This does not mean however that ownership of the marketing activity simply stops, just that the process is redefined. For example; run collaborative sessions to identify:

1.Who the customer base is

2.What the product solves

3.How the brand speaks

4.What the brand represents

5.Publish the findings where everyone can view and interpret then [ideally on a wall]

Once this has been done the message is not only much clearer but also 100% accessible to the whole company, the role of the marketing director then becomes much more about guiding and fielding ideas from across the company rather than just creating in isolation.The point being that everyone within a company regardless of size will have valid and relevant ideas and skills, they just need to be brought to the table and used properly.