Newly appointed global VP of marketing at Maxymiser, Paul Dunay, reveals his best advice and biggest extravagance
What was your first B2B-related job?
My first job in B2B was with Siegel & Gale – a branding, marketing and advertising agency – back before the turn of the century. I was in charge of all emerging technology companies, and the first B2B client I ever worked on was Radware.
What do you most enjoy about your job?
I really enjoy the freedom and flexibility of my job at Maxymiser – we are very good at just getting stuff done. In a lot of large organisations it often takes an act of God to get anything completed, so I really enjoy being able to just run like the wind and get things progressed.
What’s the best piece of marketing advice you’ve ever been given?
Never stop experimenting and fail fast.
What is your proudest achievement?
I managed to get my last company onto The Fast Company’s list of ‘The top 50 most innovative companies in the world’. That was a huge achievement and great to showcase at a board meeting.
To succeed, a B2B marketer must…
Be a publisher.
What is your favourite B2B ad campaign past or present?
My favourite B2B campaign of the past has got to be Accenture’s ‘Be a tiger’ campaign. At the time I was heading the marketing at its main competitor and I couldn’t have been more envious of that campaign.
What’s the next big thing in B2B marketing?
I think the next big thing has got to be targeting and personalising your website content to everyone that comes to your site. Personalisation is key.
Our jobs would be easier if…
There was less noise in the marketplace.
What are the traits you most and least admire in yourself?
My least favourable trait is I am completely obsessed with all things social and digital. My most is I can meet and talk to any individual, build a relationship and trust with them.
My biggest extravagance is…
Sailing – one year I spent 48 weekends sailing.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
The word I overuse the most is ‘solution’ – I call it the ‘S’ word. It seems to fit so many things; everyone seems to have a solution but a lot of those solutions are just looking for a problem.
What marketing challenge are you currently wrestling with?
Scaling a team is a challenge. We have a small team and we all do a lot within that, it is hard to scale sometimes.
What was your last marketing epiphany?
My last blog post on ‘IROI’ – the immediate ROI of social media.
Which marketing or business books would you recommend?
I have written five of them so any of mine would be good. But really two of the best books are by Seth Godin, The Purple Cow and The Dip. I also really like Inbound Marketing by the HubSpot crew and I really like David Meerman Scott. I have read every single one of his books and I have yet to find one that hasn’t challenged me to think differently.
Which individual has had the most influence on your career?
CMO, Ira Entis really helped me to shape my career. He also pointed out to me that the skills that had got me to my current level were not going to get me to the next level. He helped me to realise that I really needed to start building on my skill level and he was fundamental in helping me do that. The other person is the CMO of Scient, Christopher Lochhead. He has an amazing way of articulating things and I envy the way he can communicate crisply and succinctly.