How to Build Your Creative Team with Jill Kellett, Vice President of Product & Marketing at Root Insurance

The Revenue-Driven CMO

Today’s guest has been called a force of nature and came up as a designer and art director. She gained extensive experience in retail and e-commerce world in digital marketing, serving in leadership roles at companies like Express and Lane Bryant. Jill Kellett is the Vice President of Product & Marketing at Root Insurance. Jill joins Host Chris Mechanic to detail her approach to evaluating and setting up a creative team for success and the six key competencies critical to successful creative teams. Jill also discusses the unique challenges of disrupting the insurance industry and the role of data science in Root Insurance's marketing strategies.

Takeaways:

• Use a comprehensive approach to assessing your creative team’s structure through close observation over a period of 3 to 4 weeks. This involves individual and collective analysis to understand how each team member fits and contributes to the overall team dynamics.

• There are six core competencies each member of your team should have. These competencies; curiosity, disciplined problem solving, systems thinking, ability to disagree and commit, outcome orientation, and positive dynamics can apply to any team in the organization, not just creatives. Each competency serves as an indicator of an efficient and effective team player.

• Creative teams should have the freedom to ideate, conceptualize, and work on briefs even without explicit guidelines. This gives room for creativity and might lead to a better outcomes.

• The ability to professionally disagree and still commit to decisions made by the team is crucial for team progress and harmony. This involves accepting and working through decisions even if one doesn't fully agree with them.

• Being customer-oriented is crucial in marketing. In an industry where the experience is key, such as insurance, it becomes even more critical to focus on providing an excellent customer experience.

• Results and data play an important role in creative work. There is a shift in the art and science of marketing where the creative aspect is crucial, but so is understanding the performance and results from a data standpoint.

Quote of the Show:

• “We are seeing a huge shift in the artand science of marketing. As the science becomes more and more automated, creative is really the big lever.” - Jill Kellett

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-kellett/

• Personal Website: https://jillkellett.com/

• Root Website: https://www.joinroot.com/

Shoutouts:

• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

• Forbes Article mentioned: https://www.forbes.com/sites/85broads/2014/02/06/how-to-hire-curious-people-and-keep-curiosity-alive/?sh=1e75e20d94e3

Ways to Tune In:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7334aa0c-702a-47aa-8c55-760fa2cf4dda/the-revenue-driven-cmo

• Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-revenue-driven-cmo/id1444680950

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1OCuYchAG8TlGv82YARRhy?si=60a093a194c64c17

• iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-revenue-driven-cmo-99614345/

• Listen Notes: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-revenue-driven-cmo-chris-mechanic-rdU1oESluqs/

• YouTube: https://youtu.be/64iuDfdgv_w

The Revenue-Driven CMO is sponsored by WebMechanix, the performance marketing agency that makes you smarter. Learn more at https://www.webmechanix.com/

The Revenue-Driven CMO is produced by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through branded podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/