Who has time to care?

Embracing new ideas means letting go of the old. [View Message in Browser]( / [Add Us to Safe Sender List]( WEEKLY NEWS 2.9.24 WEEKLY NEWS 2.9.24  FEATURED [Stuck in B2Boring? Take These Lessons From the Super Ads Bowl]( By Content Marketing Institute Team What does the Super Bowl ad game mean for marketers? Don’t let it be just a spectator sport. Contemplate these two questions to boost your B2B marketing — no matter the size of your budget. [Read more](  READ OR LISTEN TO [NEW!] THIS WEEK'S STORIES: [Crickets? Rethink Your Livestream Strategy]( by Ann Gynn Few may watch your livestreams, but that doesn’t mean only a few can benefit from that content. Discover how to expand its reach across your marketing strategy. [Why and How To Add Mentorship to Your Content Career Plan]( by Ann Gynn Professional interest in mentor programs is on the rise — for good reason. Mentorship holds short- and long-term benefits for both mentor and mentee, as these stories from content marketers in both roles show. [How To Help Your Internal Teams Fall in Love (or in Line) With Innovative Ideas]( by Robert Rose You need new energy and more creative approaches. You need the team to get out of its content and marketing rut. But if the org chart doesn’t change, you’ll just keep shipping the same old content. [ICYMI: How To Strengthen Your ‘Change Muscle’ for Your Content Team’s Success]( by Melissa Breker and Jenny Magic You face a perfect storm of urgent change initiatives, but change fatigue is real. Here’s how to plan to overcome the challenges and make the change successfully.  A NOTE FROM ROBERT ROSE Who has time to care? Ironically, a difficult thing for creative marketing and content teams to do is the one thing they want (and must) do frequently: Inject new, creative approaches into their work. I always see this challenge in my consulting, especially with companies building internal capabilities. In most cases, they do not lack a desire or acknowledgment for more creative ideas, higher-quality content, better-implemented technology, or even more precise strategic objectives. Usually, the challenge arises because they lack a conscious responsibility, charter, or even recognition that the teams can make such fundamental changes. The team leader may even explicitly encourage them: “We need new energy, creative approaches, something that will get us out of our rut." But the team struggles to respond. It’s hard to move beyond what they do or think they were hired to do. They feel they’re too busy to change to something new — and they’re not wrong (or right). Ask most people in most businesses how they create or innovate their content, and they’ll just shrug and say, “We create it. Content just happens. I do my job. It just works.” It’s hard to believe, given how much marketing content is demanded and created by most businesses, but it’s true. In businesses large and small, marketing and content teams (your org charts) are usually structured in a linear “creative idea” supply chain. Most don’t, can’t, or won’t originate creative ideas. Idea generation or innovation comes from a precious few. According to the roles assigned in the org chart, most marketing and content teams are empowered bottom-up. Few, if any, of those roles have anything to do with coming up with creative or innovative ideas. A classic example of this idea supply chain sees the creative content or marketing team getting their “orders” from other parts of the organization. Primary messaging was set elsewhere. The format designation comes from another team. The explicit (or implicit) deadline indicates where and how creative the team can be. Innovation or creativity isn’t a part of the idea supply chain. Marketing team managers don’t feel they have the right, or frankly the responsibility, to do risky, dumb, or innovative things that could break the idea supply chain. They focus only on what happens locally — their direct manager’s expectations, deadline dates, technological activities on their checklist, etc. Even if these team leaders are told to “get energized” or “shake it up,” without a definition of what that means or a change in current approval methods, they see no upside in doing it. So, what’s a leader to do? In [Rose-Colored Glasses]( this week, I explore several options that just might give your teams and colleagues room to care. Have you faced similar challenges? [I’d love to hear how you solved them.]( In the meantime, remember: It’s your story. Tell it well. Robert Rose Chief Strategy Advisor Content Marketing Institute Robert Rose Chief Strategy Advisor Content Marketing Institute Would any of your colleagues or friends benefit from Robert's weekly updates? Please invite them to [subscribe]( here.  MORE FROM CMI Swipe Right on Strategy In a digital space full of constant change, a new AI product seemingly every day, and conflicting marketing advice at every turn, reconnect with the relationship that matters most and fall in love with your content marketing strategy. CMI’s new content marketing certification program, in partnership with the American Marketing Association, will help you rediscover your strategic spark and match your content to its perfect audience. Enrolling gives you 12 months of access to the course and exam to earn a Professional Certified Marketer® credential. [Learn more »](  Super Bowl Sunday Ad Chat What's a marketer's favorite part of the Super Bowl? You guessed it — the commercials! Join in on the fun (virtually) for a real-time review of this year's Super Bowl ads in the #CMWorld Slack group. [Sign up for the Slack group »]( Already a member? 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