When I have conversations with people, one of the top questions they ask is what it’s like to run Marketing and Design. "You don't see the combination of leading Marketing and Design very often," people would say. I agree. It's rare, and a shame it doesn't happen more. I can probably count on one hand all the leaders I know who've done it.

My origin story leading Marketing and Design, like many things in life, was not planned. At Replit, I was helping with the hiring of a VP of Marketing. The founders asked if I was willing to run the team in the interim. Since I had experience in Brand, Growth, and a stint at HTC working on Global Digital Marketing, I felt confident I had enough pre-existing experience to take it on.

"Yes, and..."

"Yes, and..." is a prompt to expand on line of thinking. It originated in improv and was heavily borrowed in Design Thinking (which essentially is improv). "Yes, and..." challenges participants to think about building on what an existing improviser has stated instead of rejecting the premise. The power of this tactic is not only for brainstorming sessions. What if it was applied to the business?

I said, "Yes, and..." to Marketing and Design One of the biggest mistakes scaling startups make is getting ahead of structure before it becomes necessary. It should evolve to the need, not change overnight. You don't need all the management layers until it becomes a full capacity where the role is essential.

Why Marketing and Design are a perfect blend

After leading these two functions together, I find it perplexing that more companies don’t have this set up. At best, Brand Design is under Design at some organizations. Here are some reasons why combining Marketing and Design is the next Cronut for companies.

Considering end-to-end experiences

Companies say they care about end-to-end experiences, yet the orgs who work on it are segregated from one another. Dotted line org structures work, however, they require more planning, aligning and coordinating. Having all the orgs allows more fluidity in decision-making because they role up to the same leader. It's all-in-one like an iMac.

Most companies organize around surface areas or specific platforms over the customer experience. It's strange but predictable.

Consideration of omni-channel and the entire tech stack

In theory, everyone is bought in on thinking about a holistic omni-channel experience. In practice, it can be fragmented because there are various channel owners. This is the notion of “shipping your org chart.” This causes experience erosion over time. It’s not intentional or malicious, but happens due to the way of working. It’s important to have channel owners from an administrative and operational perspective. However, every team member should be thinking about the customer’s experience from awareness to being a product champion.

Org design

Our team at Replit was lean, but there were many functions: DevRel, Growth Marketing, Customer Success, Research, Brand, and Product Design.

Run Marketing like a design team

There are two struggles I see with Marketing teams. First, each person on a marketing has a completely different role than their colleagues. On Product Design and Engineering teams, they may be working on other areas but the function and work are relatable. The second challenge is Marketing is performance based and very metrics-driven. To be clear, they should be. However, this obsession can cap creative thinking.

Foster collaboration, but don't force it

Running multiple orgs does not mean all the rituals have to be unified. It may be tempting to include all the people in the same rituals, but that can get meeting intensive. Find ways to foster collaboration organically. For example, our team offsites were both functions as a way to break bread and learn about what others are working on. We also went to see Dune: Part II, together.

Research is research

There are many facets of research that needs to be done: market research, competitive analysis, product research, usability, and much more. At smaller companies, you can get away with one researcher. We had the luxury of having an incredible Staff Researcher who had the range and experience to cover Design, Product, and Marketing. When in doubt, hire a mixed-methods researcher.

Marketing philosophy

Lead with the messaging and narrative

My style is pushing the messaging across all channels—integrated marketing. Performance marketing is a valuable asset and complementary to this, but it's important to start with understanding why vs. how much.

Experiment and test

I prefer 30 tiny failures over one big one. Experiments and test is not a compromise on craft and gives you signal on what’s worth investing in. For example, the DevRel used in-person community events as a way to test experiences and understand what’s valuable for attendees. From there, they became larger campaigns.

A future of "Design and..." leaders

Not everyone wants to be a Chief Design Officer. It’s okay if you do as the ecosystem needs various types of leaders. Some may embrace the generalist path and focus on multiple areas. Having a designer’s intuition for any department or function can be transformative—Design and Marketing, Design and Product, Design and Business, or a new delightful combination. Embrace, "Yes, and..." at the organizational level. Leading Marketing and Design is one of the greatest highlights of my career.