Getting the Board Onside - Letter to the Editor of Media and Marketing

In your report from the Economist's Marketing Directors' Summit (M&M April 2008), getting Board level buy-in was one of the main concerns. Surely marketing strategy should be the life blood of organic growth - the key to every Board's heart. But the problem is real. In my experience working with many leading companies there are five key steps to gaining Board buy-in.

Marketers should make sure they are relevant to the business agenda and deliver results - both short- and long-term. They need to be accountable, and forge alliances with peers to marshal internal alignment around a clearly articulated and well-positioned brand. Marketing executives which do all of these five things always get board attention.

Sarah Essex
May 2008