Why Second Key Marketing?

The Power of Four

Our planning methodology is disciplined, collaborative, and proven. It begins with Discovery, where we identify your core issues and opportunities through in-depth interviews with your leadership team, sales representatives, and customers – often present and past. We know what questions to ask to get at the core issue(s). Then we write the Situation Analysis and Marketing Objectives.

Once you approve the Situation Analysis and Marketing Objectives, we recruit, and you approve, three additional C-level strategists to form your Strategy Team. These are seasoned CMOs, CEOs, and CTOs with direct experience in your industry and/or experts in key marketing technologies we know will be deployed.

Together, we conduct three strategy sessions, with you and other stakeholders you invite to the first session so your Strategy Team can ask questions and ensure they fully understand your business.

This is the most effective planning methodology I’ve deployed in my thirty-year career. One idea sparks another in our strategy sessions, and through rigorous discussion, we always reach consensus on the most feasible path to achieve your marketing objectives.

We often compete against agencies that rely on a single C-level strategist supported by siloed specialists focused on individual tactics—such as web design or social media. In contrast, our Power of Four approach brings together four strategic minds, integrating diverse expertise to deliver comprehensive, actionable strategies that work.

Then we flesh out rough tactics, an estimated budget, and timetable which requires your participation and approval. We can implement the plan or you can implement it yourself.

Client Benefits

C-Level Expertise Without the Full-Time Cost
Every business needs senior marketing leadership—but not every business needs (or can afford) a full-time CMO. With Second Key Marketing, you get the insight and impact of elite CMOs and CEOs without the overhead.

Your Custom CMO⁴ Team Which You Approve
From a network of 75+ top-tier CMOs and CEOs, I hand-select four experts tailored to your specific challenges. Some bring deep industry knowledge; others specialize in key technologies, channels, or strategies critical to your goals. You have to approve the team before we move on.

More Firepower Than Agencies or In-House Teams
Most agencies rely on one C-level leader supported by specialists in one area i.e. copywriting, web design, and social media. With us, you get four seasoned executives—with the experience, creativity, and strategic insight needed to develop your plan.

Technology-Driven Strategy That Cuts Through the Noise
From AI tools to CRM optimization, we help you identify and deploy the right tech for smarter, more effective marketing. We also guide traditional and digital solutions, including Where-To-Buy software and tools that outmaneuver competitors.

Ongoing Strategic Support
Your Strategy Team stays in reach—even after the initial engagement. When new challenges or opportunities arise, you can tap into the same trusted experts or a refreshed team.

Fortune 500-Level Talent, Now on Your Team
Our CMOs have driven growth, innovation, and category leadership at the highest levels. Now, they’re focused on you—bringing world-class thinking and battle-tested experience to your business.

Plans Built to Perform—And Executed to Win
We don’t just create effective strategies. Depending on your needs, we help execute them, oversee internal teams, define KPIs, build custom dashboards, and track ROI.

Examples of Problems We Solve

Stagnated Growth

We will uncover the core issue(s) causing the stagnation and develop a strategic plan to jump start and grow sales. We have found that sometimes the issue is something different from what the leadership team thinks it is. Our deep dive approach to understanding the situation will get at the issue and provide a plan that addresses it head on.

Understanding How to Use AI

We will help you understand how to use the power of AI in your business. We have CMOs who have used AI for years, keep up with new AI products, understand which AI product to use, and how to provide the maximum value to your business.

Pricing & Distribution Issues

Our network includes CMOs with years of experience determining how to price and promote products and services – both cost plus and value added pricing. We have CMOs who build and managing distribution channels. Some of the issues we often see are companies who compete only with price; have too many distributors; have distributors who are not in compliance with marketing updates, poorly trained and unmotivated distributors.

Brand Development, Positioning, and Brand Building

We have several CMOs experienced in all the elements of branding and brand messaging. This includes brand analysis, brand planning, positioning, naming and logo development. Our CMOs understand how to make your brand stand out from your competitors, avoid cliches, be bold, emotional, and instill value to your audiences and customers.

Digital Transformations

Some companies struggle with how best to move their company to digital technology, or how to set up and optimize their existing digital software. This is not only with marketing, but also with other departments- financial, operations, sales, and product/service development.

Traditional Advertising

Our CMO network includes CMOs who have planned traditional multi-million dollar advertising budgets for CPG products, retail chains and franchises, smaller retailers, and professional service businesses. Our CMOs understand how to maximize the value of direct mail, PR, TV, radio, podcast, and programmatic advertising.

Complex Problems & Opportunities

Some marketing issues are complicated. Sometimes a complex issue or objective cannot be solved with any of the software on the market. This is especially true for companies with unique business models or a unique set of circumstances. Other times, CEOs and their teams are disadvantaged by the limits of their experience or self-imposed constraints of not being able to think outside the box.  This is when the power of four C-level brains working together becomes extremely valuable.

Promotional Marketing / Sales Promotion

We have several CMOs in our network who have implemented hundreds of promotions for B2B and B2C companies at the salesforce, trade, and consumer levels. Dealer loader programs, off-invoice and bill back allowances, on-packs, in-packs, instant redeeming coupons, POS couponing, games and sweepstakes including official rules by state, coupons, tie-ins, loyalty programs, bundles, free samples, and FSIs. We have CMOs who have negotiated dozens of licensing deals, and CMOs who have sourced, designed and manufactured hundreds of millions of premiums for QSRs and CPG products overseas.

Digital Marketing Optimization

Many digital agencies understand how to optimize one or two digital channels but claim that they can do it all. Those agencies typically lack the expertise to understand digital marketing at the planning level. We have several CMOs who understand how to determine what digital marketing channels to use, and how best to optimize them. We have CMOs who are experts at website design and development, social media setup, technical-SEO, SEM, SEO, CRM marketing, influencer/affiliated marketing, content marketing, social media advertising, streaming advertising (OTT). We have CMOs who understand how to allocate budgets, test and optimize all types of digital marketing. We have C-level experts in Where-To-Buy software and implementation.