Assist marketing teams in understanding how to better integrate marketing into the SAFe® implementation by helping them work with business and technical teams.

When organizations adopt SAFe®, new demands are placed on their marketing partners as a result of these adoptions. The desire for marketers to keep up with change at a rate that does not burn out their employees is driving them to look for better alternatives to their current structures in an effort to stay competitive. In order for marketing to better align with changing priorities (a core value of Agile methods), increase innovation, and deliver campaigns at a pace that matches the product development process and resonates with customers, marketing teams also need to learn how to work in a fast-paced SAFe environment®.

A part of how Agile marketing works is the management of the way value is delivered. Delivering value more frequently is just one part of the equation. It allows a greater degree of transparency within the organization, resulting in improved productivity. With marketing positions increasingly touching software systems and development in an increasingly direct way, aligning the marketing and product development teams in the same set of work practices provides substantial benefits as well.

This one-day workshop focuses on how SAFe® can be applied to marketing by using a combination of hands-on activities, guided exercises, and introspection to educate marketers about the importance of embracing SAFe®.

Enable Marketing Agility for the Lean-Agile Enterprise.

Almost $958 million is wasted annually by B2B companies on ineffective marketing campaigns. In most cases, a marketing campaign will take months to go live. Marketing departments are faced with the challenge of helping their companies meet their business objectives while competing for the loyalty and attention of their customers. Because of this, marketing organizations across all industries are rapidly adopting Agile with SAFe®. It is because it can help you collaborate better, release campaigns faster, and stay ahead of the relentless pace of change.

A traditional marketing team often works with long lead times and Waterfall scheduling, with multifaceted campaigns being planned out months in advance. It is common for teams to have dozens of dependencies between them. When changes are made mid-campaign, substantial rework has to be performed which causes delays in the entire system.

A SAFe® marketing team consists of iterative and test-driven teams that approach campaigns in an iterative manner. In this approach, large campaigns are broken down into smaller and incremental campaigns, which can be tested so that the learning and performance can be maximized and the performance can be improved rather than having large and complex campaigns that are uncertain and risky. Iterative, smaller campaigns provide us with validated learning that informs our future decisions.

As a result of integrating marketing into SAFe implementations, IT and marketing teams are able to communicate better and improve visibility across the entire organization, as well as between marketing teams. When product features evolve, are delayed, or are cancelled, marketing receives early insight into their impact on everything from campaign planning to website copy. It is possible to escalate issues fast and resolve them quickly, which eliminates wait times, rework, and other types of system wastes. Therefore, Agile marketing teams benefit from a shortened review cycle, faster time-to-release, a higher standard of quality, greater alignment, and an improved morale of team members as a result.

It has been documented that over 70% of digital transformations fail, which is why industry leaders will tell you that choosing the right instructor to deliver your Agile Marketing with SAFe® class can make all the difference! In my role as SPCT, I have been in the trenches implementing Scaled Agile Frameworks with proven success over overcoming transformation challenges. This course is designed to provide you with a deep understanding of implementing SAFe, and I intend to bring my experience and real-world case studies to the course, along with your own insights and analysis of your own unique context.

In order for your Marketing Department to succeed in the future, let’s start on your journey towards a solid foundation in the Scaled Agile Framework that will ensure your success for years to come!

Course Summary.

To assist marketing teams to gain a better understanding of how marketing can be incorporated into SAFe® implementations by engaging with the business and technical teams.

Those who adopt SAFe® are creating new expectations for their marketing partners as they do so. In order to meet these demands, marketing is motivated to better align itself with changing priorities (this is a core value of all Agile methods), to increase innovation, and to deliver campaigns at a pace that synchronizes with product development and is relevant to the customer’s needs. Today, marketers are looking for alternatives to their current structure in order to keep up with change at a pace that does not burn out their employees.

An Agile marketing approach improves project visibility, and allows for greater transparency within the organization, which leads to increased productivity. Delivering value more frequently is just one part of the equation, but the way that value is delivered is another. The marketing department is increasingly involved with software systems and development in a direct manner, so aligning the marketing and product development team around the same set of work practices is of great benefit.

In order for marketers to be able to apply SAFe® to their marketing efforts, this one-day course combines hands-on activities, introspection, and guided exercises, teaching marketers how to effectively apply SAFe® to marketing.

What you’ll learn?

As a SAFe® Marketing leader, it is your responsibility to be able to perform the following duties:

  • Be more responsive to the shifting demands of the market (deliver impactful marketing faster).
  • Be able to quickly adjust marketing tactics based on market feedback, in a seamless, streamlined manner, not through fire-drills.
  • Make the workload more sustainable by helping manage the balance of planned and interrupt-driven work through a “Work in Process Diet” and learning to say “No” or “Not Now”.
  • Switch to “continuously delivering value” rather than “big infrequent launches.”
  • Make it easy for marketers to work across marketing/inside sales siloes/disciplines.
  • Empower marketers to make more decisions, be less dependent on managers, and bring back the creativity and joy of marketing.

What you get?

Class registration includes:

  • Attendee workbook.
  • One-year membership to the SAFe Studio.
  • Course certificate of completion.

SAFe Certification Kit.

  • SAFe® AM certification certificate.

Topics Covered.

  • Why marketing organizations need Agile.
  • How to structure an Agile marketing team.
  • The four ways marketing can integrate with the ART.
  • How to specialize the principles and practices for marketing.

Who will benefit?

This course is designed for marketing leaders and influencers who can guide the decision to adopt SAFe® and Agile Marketing within their organization or program. Examples include:

  • Executives and Leaders, Managers, Directors, CIOs, and VPs.
  • Program and Project Managers.
  • Product and Product Line Management.
  • Portfolio Managers, PMO, and Process Leads.