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Verizon Business, sponsor of The Drum Awards for Marketing Americas, is rewriting the rulebook by way of merging product and advertising and marketing right into a unmarried serve as. During the judging, we stuck up with leader product and advertising and marketing officer Iris Meijer to listen to why she believes extra entrepreneurs must reclaim all 4 Ps.
When Iris Meijer became up to pass judgement on The Drum Awards for Marketing Americas in a “Good Vibes Only” blouse, it wasn’t only a commentary outfit – it was once a commentary of intent. Calm, centered and filled with perception, Meijer, who serves as leader product and advertising and marketing officer at Verizon Business, introduced that power to a fast moving judging day.
But the largest commentary got here now not from her T-shirt, however from the best way Verizon Business is rethinking its personal advertising and marketing style – by way of going again to the basics. “We’ve combined product and marketing functions together, and that’s been very, very interesting,” Meijer stated. “We felt that truly putting the customer at the center of everything was the way to go.”
It sounds easy, however within the telecoms and tech sector, the place engineering incessantly leads the best way, it’s not anything wanting a structural shift. “When you start designing products from outside in, rather than inside out, which many technology companies do, and then combine that with the insight that marketing has, it’s really powerful,” she stated. “That’s been our focus for the last year and a half.”
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Meijer is a part of a rising motion pushing advertising and marketing to reclaim its complete possible – now not simply promotion, however all 4 Ps: promotion, worth, position and product. “Marketing is actually going back to the basics,” she stated. “I own the four Ps, and I think that’s really showing how marketing can be such a strong contributor – even driving the strategy and results for the company.”
She’s fast to confess the transition hasn’t been with out its friction. “Product management in telecom can be quite technically focused on launching products, not necessarily starting with the customer. Whereas marketing naturally does. So, it’s been about bringing those two worlds together. It’s a learning process.”
The effects, then again, discuss for themselves. Marketing now informs product building with reside buyer perception and knowledge, whilst product leaders get a more in-depth view of go-to-market technique and industrial efficiency. “What’s surprised us is how much stronger the collaboration has made both teams,” Meijer stated. “Now we’re looking at product end-to-end, all the way to sales results.”
This shift isn’t simply interior. Verizon Business is the use of its new construction to form a clearer, simpler tale out there. “Telling the story is showing the results,” Meijer stated. “You can see it in the products we’re putting out there. They resonate better because they’re designed with the customer in mind from the start.”
As a long-time tech marketer, Meijer is used to the field’s tempo. “It’s constantly changing, and that’s what’s kept me in it,” she stated. “The ever-changing nature of the space is both the biggest opportunity and the biggest challenge.”
Naturally, AI has grow to be a part of that equation, and Meijer is apparent that it’s now not new to Verizon. “As a company, we’ve used AI for a decade. Now with generative AI, we’re seeing acceleration,” she stated. “But for us, it starts with responsibility. We’ve got an AI governance board. My team looks at use cases across marketing and sales. Personalization at scale is finally real. That’s exciting.”
With that momentum, Meijer says entrepreneurs must be aiming upper. “Marketing has the data. Marketing has the insight. It’s more commercial now than ever before. But we need to step up. We need to be at the table – not just sending emails.”
That industrial focal point is precisely what’s modified at Verizon. “My marketers’ targets are sales and revenue – not MQLs,” she stated. “That’s far more interesting for the organization. If you own product, pricing, and revenue, you’re shaping the business. And you have a much stronger voice.”
So must extra CMOs apply go well with? Meijer doesn’t hesitate. “I strongly believe that CMOs can stand on their own. They can be the custodians of the customer. And if they take on more – like product – they’ll have an even stronger voice in the business.”
Her verdict at the paintings she noticed on the awards? “It was so good to see that B2B doesn’t have to be boring. It can be creative, bold and it can really make a difference. That’s what I want to see more of.”
