Dear BAMf Podcast: Episode 61 with Tamara Alesi

Dear BAMf // Episode 061: Tamara Alesi of YouGov gives advice on how to rationalize with a demanding CMO.

In this episode of the Dear BAMf podcast, we speak with Tamara Alesi, Industry Lead for Agencies and Media Companies in the Americas at YouGov. She has experience in proven omni-channel marketing & media with 20+ years of diverse expertise. In this episode, Tamara answers tough marketing and PR questions from our listeners, including this one about using problem-solving to work better with your CMO.

Dear BAMf,

I'm the internal head of comms at my startup and we have about 600 people, so not a small company at the least, but our marketing team is only 12 people.The problem is my CMO is by default overwhelmed, can't get our PR agency, the data and context they need, dumps pressing issues on the agency - usually once a week - and so on. I love this agency and I know they are frustrated. I'm trying to give them access and help to what they need, but our culture is very hierarchical. A lot of people here are from Microsoft and big corporate groups. Thus, I feel a bit sandwiched in what I can do. I don't want to leave because I'm very tied to the mission of what we're doing. I just don't know how to unblock the senior person so we can actually get somewhere, and I've seen this happen with her before, she'll put the blame on our external partners to likely save face. I don't want that to happen to my agency. 

Listen now to hear how Tamara advises this writer to move forward.

Dear BAMf: Episode 61

Episode 61 highlights:

• (03:45) What is YouGov?

  "YouGov's mission is really simple. Our job is to supply a recent and continuous stream of accurate data on - ultimately - what the world thinks," says Tamara. You can go on their website to find data and track information on anything from US buy approval rates to consumer brands to government approval ratings. YouGov is already in the mix with top government agencies and brands as Tamara explains, "What's special about YouGov is we already work with the world's most recognized brands. So our data lead offering really supports and improves the spectrum of marketing activities that the agencies, that the media owners, and that the brands are all participating in."

• (05:45) What are you most proud of accomplishing in the last 12 months?

  Tamara is most proud of surviving a pandemic and her team of family and doctors who kept her healthy during Covid saying, "I didn't have to go to the hospital. I had an amazing team of doctors who kept me plugged in via digital assets. I had apps on my phone that would take oxygen levels and they really helped me stay home." Tamara faced numerous challenges and changes this year, from moving out of NYC to recently starting at YouGov. She reflected on the transitions by saying, "We don't give ourselves enough credit for the challenges we've had to tackle this year."

• (08:50) Do you have a favorite way to tell a story?

  YouGov likes to tell stories through their panelist's data, "A panelist is somebody who opts in to provide their opinion," explains Tamara." YouGov has 15 million panelists globally and 5 million in the Americas. Personally, Tamara enjoys storytelling using self-reflection to seek happiness. She explains how she was challenged by her executive coach to tell a story about herself in less than 5 minutes. This process taught Tamara to tell her story in a succinct manner that only left room for the most important details.

• (12:58) How does an employee rationalize with a demanding CMO?

  "Be a problem solver and bring solutions, not problems," Tamara suggests. She notes that the best way to be heard is to come to the CMO or CEO with a solution. "As somebody who's in an agency and who wants to get noticed, a lot of people are often piling it on the CEO," Tamara says. They're always hearing problems, so coming with a solution is a breath of fresh air. Tamara learned to always approach a problem with 3 solutions. She attributes this technique to her former boss, Sasha Savic at Mediacom. 
  

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