How not to be boring in B2B, AI agents and lessons from F1 - Colin Fleming
Colin Fleming is a returning guest, and the CMO of ServiceNow, a B2B company ripping up the B2B marketing playbook. It’s not the first time Colin has done this, having previously spent 13 years at Salesforce turning them into a brand to be reckoned with. In this episode I talk to Colin about their new brand campaign with Idris Elba, what the future of marketing with AI looks like and the biggest lessons a CMO can take from a former F1 racing driver.00:00 - Intro01:36 - What is ServiceNow?03:03 - How well is the marketing role understood at ServiceNow04:26 - How to position marketing for leadership05:38 - How are B2B buying decisions made07:49 - Dealing with losing 50% lead volume10:22 - How Colin is building the ServiceNow brand?12:00 - ServiceNow’s use of distinctive assets14:21 - ServiceNow’s ads with Idris Elba17:07 - Understanding Agentic AI19:47 - AI agents use cases20:37 - Why we shouldn’t fear AI23:10 - The risks of AI agents24:12 - How to make AI agents work together26:04 - What skills will CMOs need to win in the next 5-10 years?27:20 - 5 things B2B marketers are wrong about29:10 - How ServiceNow are using personalisation at scale31:53 - Why the data is so important for AI34:13 - How Colin went from F1 to CMO35:04 - Lessons from being a racing driver to marketing36:06 - ServiceNow’s partnership with Aston Martin37:43 - Most surprising lesson for Colin since he left Salesforce