Quad exec Oliver Kimberley on setting priorities, choosing partners, and tending to the soul of marketing

The early warning signs that a marketing team is getting stuck in low-value work don’t show up on a dashboard. Instead, the signs tend to be written all over your team’s faces and in your own attitude as a marketing leader when you confront everyday challenges, according to Oliver Kimberley, general manager of the managed services division at Quad.

“I think on some level you just know. You feel it when you get to your computer and you look at all the work that’s there to do as a team, and you feel like you aren’t keeping up,” said Kimberley. “I’m sure, as a CMO, your team is conveying some of that emotional messaging to you. And I think generally, you might feel—even if you’re getting it all done—like you’re underdelivering.”

Kimberley’s team helps brands across sectors like retail, healthcare, and financial services not only reduce their stress levels but also shift their focus toward high-value work. Quad recently outlined its approach to best-in-class marketing operations in an ADWEEK webinar, and we caught up with Kimberley to build on the discussion, delving deeper into some of the questions our audience raised.

What do you see as the main forces making marketing more complex?

Kimberley:  What we hear consistently is that there’s more and more to do. Marketers are managing more channels, and they are launching more campaigns faster than they ever have before. Larger brands also have to deal with local, regional, national, and even global needs. And now, more recently, everything is becoming so highly personalized.

On the other side of the equation, marketers are typically getting less and less budget. Their teams aren’t getting any bigger, and in the last few years, there’s been uncertainty from an economic perspective. They’re also getting pressured to explore new areas, whether that be a new channel or AI.

When budgets and teams are stretched, what practical steps can organizations take to build operations that are both efficient and scalable?

Kimberley: When budgets decrease, the first call tends to go out to the supplier base to see if they can reduce the fees or per-item cost to shrink down those bills. That’s been happening for probably at least the last 15 to 20 years.

I think the better way is to step back and look at how you’re operating everything within your organization’s marketing ecosystem. Look at how you’re allocating your people and your time, and check whether you really do have good processes in place. The key here: You have to be really honest about that.

If that seems too daunting for you as an organization, you can bring partners in. For example, at Quad, we’ve seen how hundreds of different companies operate. We often find that when we engage with a brand and create what we call a blueprint, we end up knowing so much more about their marketing operations that helps clients get to a better place. Very few clients really know how the end-to-end tactical execution takes place. Stepping back and learning that is hugely important.

If a CMO could only focus on improving one area in the next six months (people, process, or technology), where would you advise them to start, and why?

Kimberley: You have to get the process right first because the people are going to manage the process, and the technology is going to enable a process that you’ve defined. You have to know what your end goal is and then clearly identify where the pain points are for your organization. Of course, I would never recommend you forget about the people, because people are the heart and soul of marketing. That said, it’s really important that those teams have a reliable process so they can dedicate more time to developing breakthrough ideas.

Even with great tech and streamlined workflows, you pointed out that people can feel inundated and overwhelmed right now. How can marketing leaders design operations that empower teams and prevent burnout?

Kimberley: When you have to make transformations within your organization, being a real leader means you try, as much as you can, to bring the teams into the fold. You have to actively listen to them and try and understand what they need. I believe many teams respect a leader who will dive in and help figure out the problem in the day-to-day, not just putting out a fire at the last minute.

In terms of potential burnout, I think those concerns have been around for a long time, but some of it may be associated with so many people working remotely and spending so much time on screens in meetings. I’d advocate for finding a better balance, where people get time to do their work and take back control of their schedules. People should have time to be thoughtful and ideate without distraction vs. meeting after meeting.

In your recent webinar, Quad proposed a third “P” in marketing operations, which is “partners.” What separates a truly strategic partner from a vendor that just executes tasks?

Kimberley: You can begin to see it by looking at the existing partners you have. If they’re not able to provide the kind of tactical support and strategic guidance that you might be looking for as an organization, maybe it’s time to start looking for a different kind of partner.

“Strategic” is a word that’s probably overused, but it’s really about finding a great fit. Ask yourself: How far will they go to help you when something happens—even if it happens on a Friday and needs to be resolved by Monday? How real is the feedback they give you—would they challenge you to become a better partner? I also really like the word “care”—when an issue within your marketing operations comes up, they should ultimately care about it as much as you do.