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The top100 list
At the risk of stating the blatantly obvious, it’s been a tough year. The impact of Covid-19 on companies across all sectors has been severe. The lockdown was indiscriminate. For those tasked with the oversight of marketing, it has been particularly tough. Established ways of doing business changed overnight. The attitude and behaviour of customers was altered, perhaps in some ways forever.
Effective marketing leadership is more important than ever. During such uncertainty, celebration of achievement is important. Marketing Week exists to try and drive effectiveness. Yes, by calling out bad practice but also by highlighting what good looks like. As last year, this is the objective of Marketing Week’s Top 100 – building a picture of what makes an effective marketer. As with the inaugural list from 2019, we are showcasing 100 marketers across 10 sector groupings.
Although the focus is still on the most senior marketer at large companies, we have cast the net wider this year to include verticals such as pharma and professional services. There are lots of new faces alongside the more familiar. We have again employed the considerable knowledge and wisdom of some of the most authoritative and opinionated people in UK marketing to help determine the final list so all those included can be sure they have earned their place. You can read more about our judges on the judges page and about the criteria used below.
One area where the list does fall short is in ethnic diversity. There are people of colour in the Top 100 but not enough. The fact is, there are not enough black and brown faces in marketing leadership positions in large organisations. Marketing Week will continue to push for change but it requires a wider and more concerted effort by the UK marketing industry.
We look forward to telling the stories of some of the Top 100 over the next 12 months. Amid the chaos and confusion of 2020, they have been severely tested. Look out for illustration of what effective marketing leadership under duress looks like across Marketing Week’s channels over the next year.
Amid the scenario planning, re-strategising and re-budgeting, it is easy to forget how much talent there is in UK marketing marketing. Massive congratulations to all those who made the list. They are shining examples of the innovation, resilience and creativity on display in the industry.
Russell Parsons
Editor-in-chief, Marketing Week
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Marketers are no longer just a support service to the rest of a business. In 2020, they are a central part of business transformation as companies of all kinds pivot towards the customer and driving growth.
With marketing as an industry in a state of ground-breaking evolution – from access to data to the need for businesses to move faster than ever – an effective marketer is one who brings a sense of curiosity to this brave new world, and is able to master the new tools at their disposal.
Today, customer centricity is the name of the game across all sectors, and that is why technology such as AI is such a huge opportunity for marketers. Customer interactions are becoming more data-driven, and so those who can tailor personalised engagement based on past interactions will be head and shoulders above the rest.
This list is important because it champions those who are really making an impact on our industry, and it gives the next generation of marketers role models to learn from.
With a panel made up of some of the biggest names in marketing, these are the individuals who are creating lasting change in their organisations. We are honoured to have partnered with Marketing Week for this project, because it has given me the opportunity to meet with and hear about other marketers across a whole array of industries and the great work they are doing.
A big congratulations to everyone who made it on to the list this year. I can’t wait to see what you do in the next.
Ashling Kearns
Vice-president of EMEA marketing, Salesforce
The final 100 marketers were chosen on the basis of a number of factors:
BUSINESS SUCCESS, which included, but was not limited to, company results, brand health scores and alignment of marketing to business strategy.
INNOVATIVE THINKING, including introduction of new initiatives and new product development.
IMPACT AND INFLUENCE, which included involvement in industry and sector initiatives, as well as evidence of internal influence.
A long list for 10 vertical sector groupings was chosen by senior members of the Marketing Week editorial team. Names and justifications were then passed to the judges who ranked them according to the previous criteria and a final 10 for each grouping was determined. Those considered for the long lists were the most senior marketer of their brand, company division or unit. They must have worked for a UK brand or company, or had responsibility for the UK market and must have achieved against the set criteria in the 12 months to June 2020.
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Has the pandemic accelerated a digital shift, or is it a temporary blip?
Why marketing transformation is taking on new urgency
Unified data: the key to understanding post-lockdown consumer trends
Has the pandemic accelerated a digital shift, or is it a temporary blip?
Why marketing transformation is taking on new urgency
Unified data: the key to understanding post-lockdown consumer trends
FURTHER READING
Sponsored by Salesforce
FURTHER READING
Sponsored by Salesforce
TOP100
TOP100
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Judges
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methodology
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analysis
TOP100
TOP100
judges
Judges
methodology
methodology
analysis
analysis