The Denamico Blog

What is a Marketing Growth Hackathon, Anyway?

Written by Alise Riedel | March 8, 2018

Finding the time to develop a successful marketing strategy can be challenging, especially if you're a business owner or C-level executive.

But if your marketing team is spending weeks planning, you may be wasting valuable time and money without making headway on your goals.

What if there was a hack for the marketing planning process? A method that let you plan faster and better?

When PR20/20 CEO Paul Roetzer asked himself this question, he came up with the Marketing Growth Hackathon Model. It’s a marketing planning model that gives you better results, faster. What makes it different? These 6 simple steps:

The Marketing Growth Hackathon Model

  1. Establish a SMART goal
  2. Define and segment audiences
  3. Profile personas
  4. Catalog accelerators
  5. Establish milestones
  6. Construct a campaign sandbox

The magic of these steps? They’re all jam-packed with strategy, helping you make the most of your “hackathon” planning time to make real progress towards your goals.

For example, under step #1, “Establish a SMART goal,” Roetzer recommends using 2 key components to narrow the focus of your goal:

  • Ability to execute - does your business have the time, technology, team and money to achieve the goal you’ve set?
  • Impact probability rating - how likely will this idea help you achieve your SMART goal?

To learn more about what each step includes, register for Roetzer’s workshop, How to Hold a Marketing Growth Hackathon, at Surly Brewing on May 17, 2018.

Quick Wins

After a successful Marketing Growth Hackathon, you’ll probably walk out with some lofty goals - and that’s great!

But you need short-term goals, too. Goals that can get you results this week, or this quarter.

Roetzer knows this. So his Hackathon model includes space for identifying “quick wins” that can improve your marketing strategy - today.

The best part? You can repeat this process over and over in your business, keeping your strategy responsive to challenges that come up along the way.

Collaboration is Key

Developing a new process is hard. Often, you need some help to get there. That’s why Roetzer decided to host a workshop on How to Hold a Marketing Growth Hackathon on May 17, 2018 at Surly Brewing.

At the Hackathon, you’ll learn how to spend less time planning, and more time doing. You’ll rub elbows with like-minded marketing professionals, and learn from their challenges and successes. You'll spark innovation, and walk away with better strategy to grow your business.

Is the Hackathon right for you? Roetzer and his team have led dozens of Marketing Growth Hackathons, and refined strategies for teams across a multitude of different industries. Chances are, they’ve worked with someone in your field before, and can help shine a new light on your marketing strategy.

It’s time to invest in your marketing strategy. Make it work for you, not against you. Spots are filling up fast, so reserve your seat May 17th, at Surly Brewing for the Marketing Growth Hackathon. The event will take place from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Interested in a full day of marketing insights? (Or, want to spend your whole day at Surly?) Stick around for the Twin Cities' Conference on the Future of Inbound, DenamiCON from 2:00-6:00 pm. This year, we're focusing on Marketing in the Machine Age. Is your marketing team ready for the future of AI? Gain the insight you need to keep up with automation from top Twin Cities MarTech experts.