Ep. 41 Amrita Mathur - Giving Creative a Seat at the Strategy Table

The Master Marketer Show

The value of creativity only gets stronger as the industry adapts to consumer needs. However, do advances in technology necessarily require more and more complexity? In many cases, it doesn’t! Even commercials on TV and streaming services are utilizing more and more vertical-style videos from the consumer’s POV. As marketers adapt to trends, so must their creative content. What are marketing teams doing? In this episode, we speak with Amrita Mathur, the VP of Marketing at Superside, on her team’s approach to creativity, and what it means for their partners.

Her mindset on creative marketing didn’t come quickly; in fact, it wasn’t something she considered strongly before joining the Superside team. Still, her shift in mindset and her approach to marketing with Superside has landed them tremendous partnerships with big tech companies, including Meta. How does creative get a proper seat at the table?

Let’s get started!

MINDSETS:

• Zooming Out on Buyer Journeys - Despite recognizing the power of creative content, there still appears to be mental blocks between creative ideas and executions in marketing sectors. Taking a step beyond “safe” measures and realizing that creative marketing isn’t a lever for specific actions, but rather for the larger scope of a brand, is important for overall growth that ensures users will advocate for your brand.
• Leave Room for Delight- It’s okay to have a formula if it works for your register stream, but how much of your marketing efforts are dedicated to a genuine attempt to surprise your customers? Be it merchandise, swag, or surprising Easter Eggs for your brand, a level of whimsy relevant to your brand should be considered in the marketing process.
• Memory and Resonance - You LOVE those Big Game commercials, but do you remember what the products are for? Think about it — there are PLENTY of commercials that don’t feel relevant to the product. They may be aware of your brand name after the commercial ends, but no affinity was built, and let’s be real, you can’t buy affinity.

SKILLSETS:

• Evaluating Good Creative - The idea of ‘good’ creative checks all the boxes of speed, quality, and price — but beyond that, what is truly ‘good?’ Can it be replicated? Most importantly, can it be done at scale? In many cases… it depends on your company’s needs. If you’re seeking cheaper creative, it could come at a sacrifice of time and effort.
• Framing the Problem Correctly - Problems require proper solutions — thus, they should have guardrails when it comes to approaching the solution. However, you also want workflows to be open-ended to allow for innovation. Balancing the two allows creative teams to fill in the blanks to solve problem-solving while providing parameters for them to stay on-task.
• Communicating Needs - Are requests to clients or team members structured in a way that leaves them open to interpretation? If addressed too exactly, it could squander creative or innovative thought. Consider how you ask for content, and what that might be doing to the creative process – creatives very much appreciate open lines of communication.
• Incorporating AI - It is very possible that how creative is made won’t matter in 5 years — as long as the creative is being made. So, understanding, learning, and embracing AI when you can is an excellent timesaver for companies. Over time, marketers and brands will have to try harder to get attention, and AI can’t be discounted.

TOOLSETS:

• Blogging
• Webinars
• Artificial Intelligence
• Design-Ops
• Company Rituals
• Slack
• YouTube

RESULTS:

At Superside, Amrita has been pleased to offer positive results to clients, including a reduced cost of customer acquisition, virality, product launches, and reduced cost of assets. For Amrita’s team, costs due to efficiency have been reduced dramatically, allowing room for more opportunities and innovation. One of those innovations came by chance; turning attention to the incorporation of blogging and video, Amrita’s team recognizes that the hybrid (that is, including links to their videos within their blogs) was improving their ranking on Google — something that allowed them to expand on their strategy with new hires.

A bit more about Amrita:

Amrita Mathur is the VP of Marketing at Superside, a leading “Creative as a Service” company. As the first member of their marketing team, Amrita focuses much of her effort on Business Strategy, Go-To-Market Strategy, and building Superside’s organization for success. She is also the host of the Gather & Grow Series, Superside’s interactive series covering topics on the intersection of design and marketing growth. Amrita and her team revolutionize design at scale for ambitious brands like Amazon, Meta, Shopify, and Coinbase.

Connect with Amrita:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/amritamathur/
• https://www.superside.com/blog/author/amrita-mathur
• https://www.youtube.com/@SupersideHQ

Connect with Mike & Gaby @ Proofpoint Marketing:

• Mike’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikegrinberg/
• Gaby’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriellaisrael/
• LinkedIn Company Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/proofpoint-marketing-llc
• Proofpoint YouTube Channel: http://bit.ly/ProofpointonYouTube
• Proofpoint Marketing Website: www.proofpoint.marketing