When I started 621, I knew I wanted our superpower to be a team of amazing people. We have built the business by tapping into experienced marketers we know and trust to deliver meaningful results to our clients while also enjoying the professional and personal fulfillment of working in our vibrant community. To that end, we’ve always made it a priority to attract the highest quality marketers to serve our clients AND team up with people who share our values – team-first, candor, and humility, among others.
Today, I’m thrilled to announce that Simon Fleming-Wood is joining our executive team. Simon has had a remarkable journey, with more than 20 years experience as a CMO building companies, brands, and teams. As the inaugural CMO at iconic brands like Pandora, Hippo, Tile, and Flip Video, he’s showcased an ability to create and grow businesses and brands customers love.
As the need for fractional marketing talent continues to grow, Simon’s deep experience will enable us to scale our strategic and operational solutions for the companies we partner with. I’m also excited about Simon’s ability to help us unlock the full potential of our talent.
Throughout his career he’s developed world-class teams and built a reputation as an impactful and empathic leader. He attracts and develops top marketers, as evidenced by the 14 former reports who’ve become CMOs, myself included.
On a personal level, Simon has been a mentor, advisor, and friend since he hired me to launch Flip Video over 15 years ago. I could not be more thrilled as we start this new chapter together once again.
To help introduce Simon, I asked him a few questions about his journey and the state of marketing today. Take a look below:
Q&A with Simon Fleming-Wood
Lessons from the frontlines
Scott: You've had great success scaling companies at every stage of growth and across many industries, spanning packaged goods, digital services and subscription, fintech, and consumer electronics. Tell us about that journey and how you’ve been able to adapt to so many new situations?
Simon: After my CPG training, I was an early convert to the Silicon Valley tech scene. Along the way, I have become a serial “builder” – solving hard marketing problems by attracting and developing great talent. Adapting has been about more than tackling a wide range of businesses and brands; it also includes changes in expectations for marketing itself, particularly around accountability. The key to evolving has been to champion the customer experience and identify areas where Marketing can have the biggest impact, both over the short term and long term, then clearly measuring and communicating progress against those goals. In addition, I coach my teams to remain curious to learn and test new approaches, and to embrace the goal of making our partners across Product and Marketing more successful.
Scott: Along with your 20+ years as a CMO, you’ve had broader leadership roles that included running Product, Analytics, Customer Experience, BD, and even as Interim CEO. How have these experiences shaped your perspective?
Simon: From my earliest days as a junior marketer at Clorox, I learned that marketing and brand strategy are inextricably linked to broader business and product strategy, and that customer insights are at the core of building successful businesses. I think many companies fail to recognize this and end up treating marketing and customer experience as an afterthought. The most successful companies see Product, Marketing, and Customer Experience as critical pieces of the same puzzle and make it a priority to ensure they’re harmonized. My experience running broader teams gives me a unique perspective to help marketing leaders and teams succeed in the context of the overall company objectives.
The state of marketing today
Scott: Where do you see companies struggling the most with getting marketing right, and what are the risks to avoid?
Simon: I see many companies making the mistake of focusing solely on the short-term returns without investing in activities that unlock long-term growth. The well-meaning desire to maximize efficiency too often leads to companies “hitting the wall” without a plan for profitable, long-term growth. The best approach, in my view, is to deliver the short term but build for the long term. That can be difficult for companies in this time of intense budget pressure. They simply can’t afford all the resources to do both at the same time. That’s why I am so bullish on a strategic, fractional approach.
Scott: So, on the topic of fractional marketing, why do you think it’s so critical for businesses today?
Simon: These times urge companies to be agile. Flexibility is essential as companies may not always have ample resources.. At the same time, some of the best marketers have embraced the flexibility of working fractionally. That’s why 621’s fractional approach is uniquely effective. We provide access to hand-picked talent and expertise and combine it with experienced CMO oversight and support. This formula gives our clients limitless marketing leverage by enabling them to tap into exceptional talent and capabilities that they could not afford to hire full time. We give CEOs and CMOs on-tap access to the best talent and the guidance to know when to activate it for maximum impact.
Why 621 and why now?
Scott: You’ve been a trusted advisor and champion of 621 from the sidelines since the beginning – what finally sparked the decision to join us in a more dedicated capacity?
Simon: Honestly, it feels like a natural progression. I've always admired what 621 has achieved, and, having been a part of it in an advisory role, I've seen the potential for growth and innovation. I’m excited about the prospect of helping companies scale by solving their biggest marketing and GTM challenges. This move is about harnessing that potential by leveraging my experience to drive even more impact in partnership with our hand-picked team of experts across every discipline of marketing. I am equally excited about growing our community of marketers and providing an environment of ongoing mentoring and support.
Scott: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. On a personal note, I’m delighted that you and I will have the chance to work together again. I’m looking forward to many more years of collaboration and continuing to elevate 621’s impact.
Simon: I’m excited for the journey ahead.
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