Sunday Edition: ADOTAT Unplugged

Well, look who’s sticking around. Apparently, you’re into this—so we’re doubling down. Turns out, I actually enjoy grilling people on-camera and off, and I’ve picked up more than a few things along the way. So, on Sundays, brace yourself for the unfiltered version—personal stories, journeys, and all the stuff you definitely didn’t sign up for but won’t want to miss.

Welcome to ADOTAT Unfiltered—where buzzwords go to die, PR fluff gets roasted, and the only spin is the brutal truth. Expect raw insights, hard-hitting industry realities, and just enough weekend wit to keep your neurons firing.

For less than whatever overpriced, pumpkin-flavored nonsense Starbucks is shilling this season, you’ll get the stuff they don’t want you to know—deep dives, behind-the-scenes scoops, and the kind of no-BS analysis you actually need.

Your Sunday inbox deserves better. Mondays can wait.

🔥 Women in Marketing: The Genius Myth and the Reality of Who’s Actually Running the Show

Alright, let’s get something straight. For all the blustery talk about "marketing visionaries," the reality is that most of the so-called male geniuses in this industry are just repackaging ideas women perfected decades ago. The Steve Jobs wannabes, the LinkedIn "thought leaders" who spend more time on hot takes than actual strategy, the guys who still think "disruption" means throwing a bunch of buzzwords at a PowerPoint—yeah, women have been outmaneuvering them for years.

The truth is, marketing isn’t about who talks the loudest in the boardroom. It’s about who listens, who adapts, and who actually gets things done. And if you want to know what real leadership looks like, take a page from the women in this industry who are redefining what it means to win in marketing—without the chest-thumping bravado.

I’ve learned more from women in marketing than from every overpriced MBA course, Silicon Valley keynote, and self-congratulatory ad tech conference combined. These are the lessons that matter—the ones that actually move the needle, the ones that aren’t just LinkedIn fluff.

🚀 Lesson #1: The Power of Listening—Because Talking Louder Isn’t a Strategy

Some men think leadership is about barking orders louder than everyone else—as if volume equals vision. Lizzie Chapman, VP at NextRoll, proves that’s nonsense. She doesn’t just run a team—she’s built a company culture where people actually feel heard. And not in that empty “we have an open-door policy” way that’s just PR spin. No, she’s got an anonymous question board at every company town hall where employees can ask anything—and leadership has to answer. That’s real transparency. That’s leadership with substance.

Meanwhile, Alexis Hochleutner cracked one of marketing’s biggest lies: hard work alone won’t get you to the top—listening will. You can grind all day, but if you’re not paying attention to what your team, your clients, and the data are actually saying, you’re just playing the corporate hustle hamster wheel. Her approach? Surround yourself with people who challenge you, not just ones who nod along. A lot of male execs could take notes—except they’re too busy interrupting the women who actually have the good ideas.

💡 Lesson #2: Emotional Intelligence Over Ego—Because the Best Leaders Know When to Let Others Shine

Let’s talk about ego, because it’s the Achilles’ heel of every underwhelming male leader who thinks marketing is just about who can dominate the meeting the most. Men have spent centuries confusing arrogance with competence. If marketing were left solely to the guys who believe “alpha energy” is a brand strategy, we’d still be stuck in the golden age of tone-deaf pink “for her” products and condescending campaigns.

Ishveen Jolly, founder and CEO of OpenSponsorship, saw past the ego trap early on. She built a company that was supposed to be a self-service platform—until she realized that wasn’t what clients actually wanted. Instead of doubling down on a bad idea (as many male-led startups do out of sheer stubbornness), she pivoted to a premium, white-glove service model. That’s what real leadership looks like—knowing when to let go of an idea and actually listening to the needs of the market.

Then there’s Erin Levzow, who redefines resilience in leadership. She knows that real strength isn’t about pretending you have all the answers—it’s about knowing when to ask for help. Too many leaders, especially men, equate vulnerability with weakness, but Erin understands that leaning on others isn’t a liability—it’s a superpower. Some of the best executives I’ve met weren’t the ones with the biggest egos—they were the ones with the biggest capacity to elevate the people around them.

🔄 Lesson #3: Pivoting with Grace—Because Adaptability Beats Stubbornness Every Time

Marketing isn’t static. If you’re still running the same strategies you were five years ago, you’re already obsolete. And while too many men in the industry cling to their outdated playbooks like a lifeline, women in marketing have mastered the art of the pivot.

Take Ishveen Jolly—she saw that the sponsorship game was broken long before the industry did. Instead of waiting around for the market to catch up, she rewrote the rules and built the kind of solution that brands actually needed. That’s not disruption—it’s understanding where the industry is going before it gets there.

Then there’s Lizzie Chapman, who doesn’t just help NextRoll pivot its marketing strategies—she’s built a company culture where people feel safe to try, fail, and innovate without fear. The best marketers aren’t the ones who never make mistakes—they’re the ones who learn faster than everyone else.

And if you’re still thinking that “disruption” is a strategy? A woman in marketing has probably already outmaneuvered you.

📊 The Numbers Behind Women in Marketing: The Data Doesn’t Lie—Men Just Ignore It

For all the talk about “progress,” here’s the reality check: women make up the majority of the marketing industry but are still vastly underrepresented in leadership. It’s like watching someone bake the perfect cake only to have a guy in a suit stroll in at the last minute and claim he invented frosting.

Women hold 60% of all marketing jobs in North America, yet when it comes to actual decision-making power, the numbers take a nosedive:

• 52% of CMOs are women—which sounds impressive until you realize…

• Only 24% of C-suite roles in UK SEO agencies are held by women.

• Only 22% of C-suite positions at large, publicly traded companies in Global 20 countries go to women.

Translation? Women are doing the work, but when it’s time to hand out the big titles and stock options, suddenly there’s a leadership “pipeline problem.” More like a gatekeeping problem.

💰 The Business Case: Why More Women in Leadership Would Make Everyone Richer

If you’re still skeptical that women are driving marketing success, let’s talk numbers:

• Companies with more women in executive roles generate 21% higher profitability.

• Diverse teams (including female leaders) bring in 19% more revenue.

• Brands led by women CMOs see stronger brand loyalty and higher ROI on campaigns.

What does this mean? Simple: If you want your company to make more money, hire more women and actually let them lead. Otherwise, enjoy watching your less diverse competitors outperform you while you host another panel on “bridging the gender gap.”

📈 The Performance Metrics: Women-Led Teams Outperform in Engagement and Retention

If you care about actual marketing effectiveness (not just who's getting credit in the boardroom), then the data speaks for itself:

Engagement Metrics (AKA: Do People Actually Care?)

• Time spent with brand content ⬆️

• Number of touchpoints per customer ⬆️

• Active participation (polls, surveys, chats, etc.) ⬆️

Retention Metrics (AKA: Do People Actually Stay?)

• Higher customer retention rates

• Lower customer churn

• Better Net Promoter Score (NPS)

• Higher Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Let’s be real: if engagement and retention were Olympic sports, women-led teams would be sweeping the podium.

🚀 Industry Trends & Observations: Why Women Are Running the Marketing Playbook

1. The Authenticity Advantage

• The days of hard-sell, shouty marketing are over, and women are leading the shift toward authentic engagement.

• Consumers want brands to feel human, not like a chatbot in a corporate suit.

2. Cultural Relevance is a Superpower

• Women-led campaigns tap into cultural moments better than the old-school, data-only approach.

• They don’t just “target demographics”—they understand communities.

3. The Mentorship Movement is Changing the Game

• The rise of mentorship networks for women in marketing is reshaping the industry.

• Women aren’t waiting for a seat at the table—they’re building new tables and inviting others to join.

4. Innovation in Ad Tech—Women Are Making Waves

• Women-founded ad tech companies are disrupting the landscape (but don’t get nearly enough credit for it).

• Expect more female-led breakthroughs in contextual advertising, AI-driven personalization, and cross-platform innovation.

📌 The Bottom Line

Women don’t just belong in marketing leadership—they’re already leading the charge, whether the industry recognizes it or not. The brands that embrace this reality will win, and the ones that don’t? Well, they’ll keep wondering why their engagement rates are tanking while their competitors are crushing it with smarter, more relevant, and more authentic marketing.

So, if you’re still debating whether women should be leading more marketing teams, maybe stop debating and start paying attention to the results.

🎤 Insights from the Women Actually Shaping the Industry (While the Rest Are Still Talking About It)

Marketing has no shortage of people who love to hear themselves talk. Panels full of men in expensive sneakers will wax poetic about “brand synergy” and “disruptive innovation” while their PowerPoint slides commit crimes against graphic design. But if you want to know who’s actually making things happen, look to the women in this industry. They’re the ones building the teams, leading the strategy, and pulling off the pivots that keep brands relevant while everyone else is still trying to decode the latest algorithm change.

Here’s what they have to say, in their own words—no fluff, no jargon, just real talk from women who get it.

📌 Lizzie Chapman (VP, NextRoll) on Authentic Leadership: Your Free Snacks Won’t Fix a Bad Culture

“We don’t take ourselves seriously, we take the work seriously.”

Let’s start here, because this should be tattooed on the forehead of every executive who thinks culture is a ping-pong table and a kombucha tap. Lizzie Chapman doesn’t buy into the empty, vibe-heavy version of company culture that looks great in recruitment videos but falls apart when actual leadership is required. Instead, she’s built something real at NextRoll—a place where people aren’t afraid to take risks because they know their ideas actually matter.

A company’s culture isn’t measured by how many beanbag chairs are in the break room—it’s measured by whether employees feel safe enough to take a big swing and fail without being thrown under the bus. That’s why NextRoll has a literal Jellyfish Board—an internal system where employees can submit anonymous questions that leadership is required to answer. Imagine that: actual transparency instead of a corporate buzzword masquerading as a value.

Most companies say they want honesty from their employees. Lizzie Chapman actually means it—and she’s created a structure where it happens by design.

📌 Ishveen Jolly (CEO, OpenSponsorship) on Breaking Barriers: Success Takes Time, Even If Everyone Wants It Overnight

“Be patient – entrepreneurs aren’t necessarily good at that.”

And there it is—the hard truth most startup founders refuse to hear. Ishveen Jolly has built a career on seeing the long game when others just want instant wins, which is why she’s successfully upended the sponsorship world instead of getting buried by it.

Her story isn’t the cookie-cutter, LinkedIn-inspirational kind where she walked into an industry, had a genius idea, and immediately disrupted everything. No, she started in India, built her expertise from the ground up, and realized early that success isn’t about making a single brilliant move—it’s about stacking smart decisions over time.

Some people want to launch a business and immediately land the biggest clients in the world. Ishveen knows that’s not how the game works. Instead, she took a methodical, strategic approach:

1. Start small.

2. Prove the model.

3. Scale up once the foundation is rock-solid.

It’s not glamorous, but it works—and it’s the reason she’s still standing while so many “visionary” founders flame out after their first round of funding.

Her biggest lesson? The idea itself isn’t enough—you have to know how to execute, evolve, and actually deliver.

📌 Alexis Hochleutner on Strategy vs. Hard Work: The “Ladder” is a Scam, Here’s What Actually Works

“Perfectionism is just procrastination dressed up in a fancy suit.”

If that quote didn’t hit you like a truck, read it again. Alexis Hochleutner has no patience for the glorified overthinkers who confuse planning with progress. She’s watched far too many people waste time trying to craft the “perfect” move instead of just making a damn decision—and in marketing, hesitation is the fastest way to become irrelevant.

But here’s where she really flips the script: she doesn’t just talk about work ethic—she talks about strategy. Because the biggest lie ever sold to young professionals is that grinding harder will get you ahead. Spoiler alert: it won’t.

The real currency in this industry isn’t sweat—it’s relationships. You can work 100-hour weeks, but if you’re not in the right rooms with the right people, you’re still going nowhere. Alexis cracked the code:

• Relationships matter just as much as talent—so build them intentionally.

• The “ladder” doesn’t exist the way they tell you it does—so stop playing the game by rules designed to keep you stuck.

• The best moves aren’t the loudest ones—sometimes influence happens in silence, behind the scenes, in the spaces where decisions actually get made.

💡 The Takeaway: Pay Attention to These Women, Because They’re Doing What Works

Marketing isn’t a volume contest. It’s not about who posts the most on LinkedIn or who can cram the most buzzwords into a keynote speech. It’s about who actually moves the needle, builds something lasting, and adapts faster than the competition.

Lizzie Chapman? She’s proving that real company culture is built on trust and transparency, not snacks and swag.
Ishveen Jolly? She’s showing that the slow, methodical path to success is more sustainable than the “move fast and break things” nonsense that crashes most startups.
Alexis Hochleutner? She’s making it painfully clear that working hard isn’t enough—you have to be smart, strategic, and well-connected, too.

If you’re still out here thinking success in marketing is about who shouts the loudest, these women have already outmaneuvered you.

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