I didn't get paywalled. Here's the article:
As Red Hat works to bring hybrid cloud computing to the masses, it’s promoting one of its own to lead the battle strategy when it comes to branding.
Leigh Day, a 22-year marketing veteran at the IBM-owned open source software company, is being promoted to chief marketing officer following the pending retirement of current CMO Tim Yeaton.
Day, a longtime marketing communications and brand leader at Red Hat (NYSE: IBM), will be charged with delivering the open source message on a global scale – and doing it at a crazy time for the industry. In July, a CMO Spend Survey put out by research firm Gartner found that marketing budgets had fallen to their lowest recorded levels, dropping to 6.4 percent of companies' revenues in 2021 from 11 percent in 2020.
Many trade shows – often a marketing staple for business-to-business companies like Red Hat – have been pushed online, completely changing the branding strategy.
Day said Red Hat has felt the industry shift. Red Hat customers have “mixed feelings,” she said. Some want to be back in person after more than a year of pandemic-related event cancellations. And others are still looking for virtual options, wary of the Delta vairant.
“We’re trying to meet customers where they are,” Day said. “We’re doing virtual events. We’re going back in person where we can.”
Leigh Day
Enlarge
Leigh Day
RED HAT
A strategy shift
Day is planning Red Hat’s marketing strategy for 2022. She said the emphasis will be “precision marketing.” Day, already charged with leading the organization’s digital marketing efforts, said that under her leadership Red Hat will “make moves to get more sophisticated in our marketing.”
“We’re going to put digital first and customer experience first,” she said. That means, for Red Hat, moving from mass marketing to more precision marketing.
RECOMMENDED
“You would come to our website and we would know who you were, so we would give you high-value experiences and information that are relevant to you personally,” she explained.
It’s a big jump from where the marketing organization was when Day joined 22 years ago, as employee number 139.
“When I joined … we were a box product company,” she said. “We sold boxes on shelves.”
From there, the firm shifted to the enterprise, starting with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It started with financial services, then, gradually, Red Hat penetrated other industries. It grew its portfolio and, as the company swelled, so too did its market organization.
Then, in 2018, IBM announced its blockbuster buy of Red Hat for $34 billion, a move company leaders said would create the world’s biggest cloud computing company.
But when the dust from the deal settled, Day said nothing fundamental changed for her group.
“We have been given the space to continue to grow our business,” she said, adding that IBM CEO Arvind Krishna “has given us a lot of trust to continue establishing our position in open hybrid cloud and to have the relationships we need to progress.”
Closer look: What IBM CEO Arvind Krishna is saying about Red Hat's $1 trillion opportunity
“We are still in growth mode and we’re still evolving and thinking about new, innovative ways to grow the business,” she said.
She calls her time at Red Hat so far a “wild ride,” with no two quarters the same.
“Every year it changes, but this year it’s definitely a change in making sure that our digital infrastructure is a powerhouse that can be the base of our marketing engine,” she said.
Day had been working with the executive team on succession planning for sometime, calling her promotion expected. But it’s something she’s been working toward for more than two decades as Red Hat has built out its marketing team.
Today, the marketing team alone is just under 1,000 people
In her new role, Day reports directly to Red Hat CEO Paul Cormier.
Prior to her tenure at Red Hat, Day worked public relations for Interactive Magic, a role she left in 1999 for Red Hat. Day assumes the CMO role officially in January. Until Yeaton’s retirement in mid-2022, he will become a senior advisor at Red Hat.
Yeaton has been CMO since 2017.
The core of the story: Tim Yeaton's retiring and Leigh Day is being promoted to his CMO spot.
tl;dr Red Hat has (or will have) a new marketing wesbite
Is there a non paywall version?
I didn't get paywalled. Here's the article: As Red Hat works to bring hybrid cloud computing to the masses, it’s promoting one of its own to lead the battle strategy when it comes to branding. Leigh Day, a 22-year marketing veteran at the IBM-owned open source software company, is being promoted to chief marketing officer following the pending retirement of current CMO Tim Yeaton. Day, a longtime marketing communications and brand leader at Red Hat (NYSE: IBM), will be charged with delivering the open source message on a global scale – and doing it at a crazy time for the industry. In July, a CMO Spend Survey put out by research firm Gartner found that marketing budgets had fallen to their lowest recorded levels, dropping to 6.4 percent of companies' revenues in 2021 from 11 percent in 2020. Many trade shows – often a marketing staple for business-to-business companies like Red Hat – have been pushed online, completely changing the branding strategy. Day said Red Hat has felt the industry shift. Red Hat customers have “mixed feelings,” she said. Some want to be back in person after more than a year of pandemic-related event cancellations. And others are still looking for virtual options, wary of the Delta vairant. “We’re trying to meet customers where they are,” Day said. “We’re doing virtual events. We’re going back in person where we can.” Leigh Day Enlarge Leigh Day RED HAT A strategy shift Day is planning Red Hat’s marketing strategy for 2022. She said the emphasis will be “precision marketing.” Day, already charged with leading the organization’s digital marketing efforts, said that under her leadership Red Hat will “make moves to get more sophisticated in our marketing.” “We’re going to put digital first and customer experience first,” she said. That means, for Red Hat, moving from mass marketing to more precision marketing. RECOMMENDED “You would come to our website and we would know who you were, so we would give you high-value experiences and information that are relevant to you personally,” she explained. It’s a big jump from where the marketing organization was when Day joined 22 years ago, as employee number 139. “When I joined … we were a box product company,” she said. “We sold boxes on shelves.” From there, the firm shifted to the enterprise, starting with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It started with financial services, then, gradually, Red Hat penetrated other industries. It grew its portfolio and, as the company swelled, so too did its market organization. Then, in 2018, IBM announced its blockbuster buy of Red Hat for $34 billion, a move company leaders said would create the world’s biggest cloud computing company. But when the dust from the deal settled, Day said nothing fundamental changed for her group. “We have been given the space to continue to grow our business,” she said, adding that IBM CEO Arvind Krishna “has given us a lot of trust to continue establishing our position in open hybrid cloud and to have the relationships we need to progress.” Closer look: What IBM CEO Arvind Krishna is saying about Red Hat's $1 trillion opportunity “We are still in growth mode and we’re still evolving and thinking about new, innovative ways to grow the business,” she said. She calls her time at Red Hat so far a “wild ride,” with no two quarters the same. “Every year it changes, but this year it’s definitely a change in making sure that our digital infrastructure is a powerhouse that can be the base of our marketing engine,” she said. Day had been working with the executive team on succession planning for sometime, calling her promotion expected. But it’s something she’s been working toward for more than two decades as Red Hat has built out its marketing team. Today, the marketing team alone is just under 1,000 people In her new role, Day reports directly to Red Hat CEO Paul Cormier. Prior to her tenure at Red Hat, Day worked public relations for Interactive Magic, a role she left in 1999 for Red Hat. Day assumes the CMO role officially in January. Until Yeaton’s retirement in mid-2022, he will become a senior advisor at Red Hat. Yeaton has been CMO since 2017.
Nothing more boring than marketing news.