In the first instalment of this special vodcast series Produced in partnership with B&T, CMO legend Fernando Machado opens up about his career, creativity and the fear of not standing out.
What makes industry leaders tick and what were some of the pivotal moments that helped them rise to the very top of marketing, advertising and the media?
These are some of the pertinent questions that a new eight-part series, The B-Sides, aims to uncover over the next eight weeks.
At Cannes in Cairns, News Corp’s The Growth Distillery interviewed some of the leading lights who attended this year’s conference to peel back the layers to uncover the untold stories behind some of Australia’s most influential marketing, advertising and creative thinkers.
Hosted by The Growth Distillery’s director and head of intelligence Dan Krigstein, each week, we’ll spotlight a different luminary, from renowned marketers to groundbreaking entrepreneurs and brand visionaries, exploring the personal and professional struggles, triumphs and the defining moments that shaped their pathways.
The B-Side not only uncovers the human stories behind their extraordinary achievements, but also unpacks the learnings, doubts and setbacks that they encountered along the way.
To kick off, Krigstein caught up with the ‘King of Cannes’ – the most CMO in the history of the Cannes Lions, Fernando Machado, who was making his first trip to the Tropics in Far North Queensland.
Machado is a senior marketing advisor of NotCo and has previously served as the global CMO of Activision, Burger King and Unilever’s Dove brand.
The Brazilian, who’s presentation urging marketers to ‘deliver the rice and beans first’ was one of the hits at Cannes in Cairns, began his career in the factory as an engineer.
“I didn’t know what marketing was, I started work as an engineer. I studied mechanical engineering and was an intern at a factory and that as the first time I heard the word marketing,” he said.
“They had the data but also had a creative side with design, advertising, conceptual thinking…I was good with numbers, my dad as an engineer, I studied engineering, but I was always drawing, making jokes and doing all the t-shirts for the class and I liked that. [With marketing] you have the quantitative side and a creative side.
Machado’s desire was simple: “do good creative things”.
He plied his trade initially as a young marketeer in the famed school of Unilever, learning important lessons about how change, diversity, culture and creativity are so important.
“I truly believe if you take the creative path in the long run, it produces better results for your brand and for your business,” he said.
What made a difference was a, “culture where people are creative ambitiously and are not afraid to voice their opinions – how can we do better?
“You need to incentivise people to speak up. If things don’t work out, ensure privately that people aren’t scared to try again.
In this vodcast, Machado explains why a Mark Zuckerberg quote about risk is important to marketing, self-doubt, and the fear of “falling flat… and being irrelevant”.
He also offers leaders, including CMOs some advice: “Bring your people on the journey, work with ‘doers that make shit happen’ and avoid the risk of “spreading yourself too thin’.”
Find out why Machado went from Vaseline to Dove – where he did the real beauty campaign – before heading to Burger King and NotCo, and why his creative curiosity has led him to become one of the most decorated CMOs globally.
