TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................................... 3

The Core of Agile Marketing.................................................................................................................................. 4

Getting into the Agile Marketing Mentality......................................................................................................6

The Imbalance of Traditional Work Management Practices.....................................................................9

Realign Your Strategy............................................................................................................................................... 10

Putting Agile Marketing into Practice............................................................................................................... 12

The Intention of Scrum............................................................................................................................................ 15

Key Scrum Roles.........................................................................................................................................................17

Nourishing Your Backlog........................................................................................................................................ 19

Preparing Your Agile Practice with Sprint Planning Meetings............................................................... 21

The Rebirth of Status Meetings.......................................................................................................................... 23

Adding Additional Agile Sequences to Your Practice.............................................................................. 25

Creating Your Agile Flow........................................................................................................................................27

Namaste........................................................................................................................................................................ 29

Unleash Your Agile with Workfront .................................................................................................................. 30

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Introduction
gear
80+R
Channel Your Inner Yogi with Agile Marketing 93% of marketers
say Agile helps
Racing to meet deadlines. Begging for timely feedback. Managing them switch gears

80%
constant interruptions. Sitting in wasteful meetings while you have quickly and more
too much to do and too little time to do it. Let’s face it, marketing can
effectively
be a less than Zen-like experience.

But it doesn’t have to be.

graph
Starting a daily yoga practice increases strength, agility, and focus.
80% of marketers
Similarly, practicing Agile Marketing will alter the way you approach
managing marketing work and ultimately enable you to be more
say Agile helps
productive, adaptive to changes, and focused on the right priorities. them deliver
a better, more
In this guide, we’ll teach you the fundamentals of Agile Marketing relevant end
and how to create an Agile practice that will help you channel your
87% of marketers product1
inner marketing yogi and deliver better marketing outcomes with
less stress. say Agile makes
their teams more
Let’s begin. productive

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 The Core of Agile Marketing
Agile Marketing is a methodology for managing marketing work that emphasizes visibility, collaboration,
adaptability, and continuous improvement. Just as there are the eight aspects of yoga, often described as
limbs of a tree, there are eight guiding principles at the core of Agile Marketing.

The 8 Principles of Agile Marketing

1 Drive customer satisfaction through early and
continuous delivery
2 Adapt quickly to changes in priorities or in the
market
3 Develop close, daily cooperation among teams
5 Remember that simplicity is essential
6 Encourage more team involvement, visibility, and
accountability
7 Work toward a common goal and celebrate
achievements

4 Focus on continuous improvement 8 Break work down into smaller, easier to consume
increments

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 “An Agile approach enables you to become
more effective without working more. You
may get more done—or you may not. The
point is that you’re more likely to get the
right things done.”
– Andrea Fryrear, Chief Content Officer, Fox Content2

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 Getting into the Agile Marketing Mentality
Like yoga, Agile is as much about mindset as it is about practice. The practice of Agile is about doing—
working in short, iterative bursts with frequent feedback and continuous improvement. But the goal is
about being Agile—being more productive and responsive to change. Getting into the Agile Marketing
mentality requires focusing on customer feedback, being quicker and nimbler, easily adjusting plans and
strategy, and responding to opportunities or challenges swiftly.

But developing the mental strength you need to be Agile requires more than simply implementing
Agile practices; it requires you to be willing to change the way you and your team think about, manage,
organize, and execute your work. The desired result being that you become a more Agile marketer—and a
more successful one.

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 50+
In interviews conducted with 50
CEOs, CMOs, or VPs at more than
50 U.S. companies, the winning
trait of their success was agility.3

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The Imbalance of Traditional Work
Management Practices
Traditionally, most marketing teams have relied on a top-down approach to work management, known
as Waterfall. In Waterfall, managers assign tasks to individuals and teams before a project begins and the
project cascades (like a waterfall), task by task, as the team reaches each milestone.

While Waterfall project planning certainly has its place, the rigidity of the Waterfall approach creates
problems for marketers. Waterfall can make it difficult to find flexibility or balance in your workload.
Because all planning happens in advance, it becomes time-consuming to react to even the slightest
change in the plan. Then, because marketers must backtrack and rework components of a project,
they are in no position to respond to rapidly changing marketing conditions or new opportunities and
workloads become even more unbalanced.

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 Realign Your Strategy
To keep balance in your workload and achieve more flexibility in responding to market changes, you need
to realign your strategy. Currently, 63 percent of marketing leaders cite agility as a high priority, but only
40 percent of marketers rate themselves as Agile.4

Here are a few of the ways Agile realigns the traditional (Waterfall) approach to managing marketing work:

Agile is team-based. Agile can easily adapt to changes.

Waterfall follows a top-down approach with tasks assigned by a In Waterfall, changes require stepping all the way back to the
manager or team leader. With Agile, tasks are not assigned from the beginning, are difficult to make, and may impact the budget and
top down. Instead, team members are empowered to volunteer for timeline. With Agile, the team incorporates changes into the next sprint,
tasks they want to work on. making it easy to adapt to evolving needs.

Agile plans and executes in shorter time frames.
In Waterfall, planning of every component of a project occurs in
advance, creating a long time frame from start to finish. In Agile,
planning and execution happen in short iterations or sprints.
Agile tests continually.
In Waterfall, testing of the entire campaign or product occurs at the
end. In Agile, testing occurs throughout the campaign, allowing the
team to make revisions as necessary to improve the customer-centric
focus and success of the overall campaign or asset.

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 63+R 40+R 63%
63% of marketing
leaders cite agility as
a high priority,…
40%
…but only 40%
of marketers rate
themselves as Agile.5

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 Putting Agile Marketing into Practice
Just as there are many different types of yoga practices—Ashtanga, Hatha, Bikram, Kundalini, etc.—there
are many Agile frameworks. These frameworks are how you apply Agile Marketing practices to your work.

The three most common Agile Marketing practices are Scrum, Kanban, and a mixed-methodology approach:

Scrum Kanban Mixed methodology

Based on the idea that quick,
concentrated timeframes of work
make teams more adaptable,
iterative, and Agile than top-down
management approaches, Scrum
gathers a small team together
to work on a project. Teams
incorporate work from the backlog
(a list of planned tasks not yet
started) and plan in short bursts
called sprints—typically one to three
weeks at a time.
This method depends on visual cues and uses a Many marketers find that adapting
central storyboard with sticky notes (or a digital or altering frameworks such
equivalent) to represent work items. Columns as Scrum or Kanban to their
on the board divide the work and indicate a workflow is what works best
team’s backlog and different progress statuses, for them. Some prefer to start
including “in progress” and “completed.” slow—continuing to plan work in
The team determines work-in-progress limits Waterfall, but executing in Scrum
(WIPs) based on available working hours and sprints. This is often referred to as
places work items from its backlog into the “in a “modified Scrum” approach. And
progress” column as the WIP limits allow. Work some marketers apply a hybrid
is continuously added to the Kanban board and framework of Scrum and Kanban,
moved along the columns until complete. often called “Scrumban.”

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“Agile methods support rapid adaptation in a strategic, balanced way.
Agile teams may be fast, but they aren’t chaotic. Choices are
considered; decisions are not reactive.”
– Andrea Fryrear, Chief Content Officer, Fox Content6

“Marketing organizations need to change the way they work to drive

increased performance and achieve the effectiveness and efficiency
they need to stay relevant in the market. Agile offers that flexible,
collaborative, data-driven approach.”
– Barre Hardy, Associate Partner, CMG Partners

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The Intention of Scrum
While all three Agile frameworks can work well, Scrum (or modified Scrum) is the approach many
marketers find most suitable for their workflows and needs—allowing them to incorporate tactics from all
disciplines to achieve a more Agile state.

However, to be truly Agile requires going beyond intention and on to action. In Scrum, this starts by
creating a Scrum team of three to seven members. Ideally, this team will be:

• Self-organizing
• Self-assigning
• Cross-functional

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 group5
“The team model in Scrum is
designed to optimize flexibility,
creativity, and productivity.”
– The Definitive Guide to Scrum8

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Key Scrum Roles
In yoga, there are different poses that move your practice along. Similarly, in Scrum there are different
roles that move the practice of Agile along.

Here’s a look at the three most important roles:

Team member
Any individual contributor to the Agile team, including the ScrumMaster, is a team member. An individual can be a team member on multiple
Agile teams simultaneously. The team is responsible for making all decisions about how it will do its work and accomplish its sprint goals.

ScrumMaster
The ScrumMaster is the one person on the team who should be knowledgeable about Scrum in order to ensure the team applies Scrum
correctly. He or she is also responsible for facilitating sprints and all Scrum meetings. The ScrumMaster leads the team and works to
remove any impediments that may arise. He or she also protects the team from fire drills and keeps them accountable for the work they’ve
committed to. This is not necessarily a management role, and anyone on the Agile team may hold this position.

Project owner
This individual is a member of the team who acts as a liaison between the team and its stakeholders. He or she decides the priority of tasks
in the backlog based on customer or stakeholder requirements. In marketing, this could be a campaign manager, a director, or a similar
role—someone who owns and is accountable for the work and reports back and forth between stakeholders and the team.

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 “Leading organizations are appointing a ‘ScrumMaster’
who leads rapid ‘sprints’ to develop integrated marketing
initiatives, apps, and websites.”
– Boston Consulting Group9

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Nourishing Your Backlog
A backlog lists all planned tasks that need completing. Just as your body needs nourishment to gain
strength, prioritizing tasks so your team can implement them in the correct order will nourish your backlog
and strengthen its efficacy.

In Scrum, the backlog determines what work items to execute during each sprint. A sprint is the length of
time in which the Agile team intends to complete a certain amount of work. Sprint length can vary, but is
typically one to three weeks.

By correctly prioritizing the backlog, the Agile team can easily determine what work is most urgent or
strategic and set marketing goals for the sprint accordingly. Holding a sprint planning meeting prior to the
start of a sprint can help correctly prioritize the backlog for the next sprint.

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 80+R 80%
80% of marketers said Agile led to
enhanced prioritization of the
things that mattered.10

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Preparing Your Agile Practice with Sprint
Planning Meetings
Led by the ScrumMaster, Sprint Planning meetings occur prior to the start of a sprint. Plan on an hour of
planning for every week of a sprint.

During the meeting, the Scrum team will:

calendar5 clock2 list3 hand umbrella2

Review, score, Determine Determine which Select tasks Set goals and
and prioritize individual and items the sprint on a volunteer address obstacles
backlog items team availability will include basis for the sprint

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The Rebirth of Status Meetings
In Scrum, instead of long, wasteful meetings, daily Scrum and sprint retrospective meetings are purposeful,
focused, and fast—giving your team members time in their day to work on what needs to get done.

Daily Scrum Sprint Retrospective Sprint Review

A quick—less than ten minutes— A short—less than one hour—
meeting held at the beginning of each meeting held after or in conjunction
day where each team member shares: with the end of a sprint to:
• What they did yesterday • Compare projected vs.
actual results
• What they’ll do today
• Discuss setbacks and wins
• Any obstacles they face
• Set goals to improve
future sprints
An informal meeting for all
stakeholders and the team to assess:
• What was produced during
the sprint
• How it might be adapted for
further improvement
• Did the outcome of the sprint
meet requirements

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 “Stand-up meetings provided a chance to identify
potential roadblocks and ask questions. Team
members were able to collaborate more quickly
and without a manager’s guidance: problem solving
on their own. Multistep projects were handed off
between people more easily as well.”
– Kelly Martinez, Digital Marketing Manager, TEKsystems 11

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Adding Additional Agile Sequences
to Your Practice
In yoga, the more sequences you add to your daily practice, the more you will strengthen your body and
increase your flexibility. Similarly, achieving a “state of Agile” is easier when you add in sequences that
make your efforts more transparent.

Here are two additional tools that will benefit your Agile practice:

1 Burndown chart 2 Storyboard

A burndown chart is a graph that A storyboard is a wall chart or digital tool where sticky notes or cards
shows the progress of your sprint. represent each task and columns represent the progress of tasks. The
It measures how many hours have leftmost column contains the backlog (or tasks to be completed) and
passed in the sprint against the hours the columns on the right move sequentially from In Progress to Awaiting
of work completed and the hours Feedback to Complete. Team members physically move their tasks from
of work you still have left to do, to column to column during daily stand-up meetings to show progress.
ascertain whether your team is still on The storyboard provides an intuitive and public way to keep everyone,
track to achieve its sprint goal. including stakeholders, updated in real time.

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 93+R 93%
93% of marketers said adopting Agile
helped them improve speed to market.12

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Creating Your Agile Flow
Yoga is a series of sequences that leads to a “full flow.” For “In a world of
instance, you may start with a downward dog and move to rapidly changing
plank, cobra, and finally warrior pose to complete a full sun customer and
salutation, making your yoga practice deeper and better. Similarly, market demands
implementing Agile Marketing through a sequence of practices accelerated by
can improve its benefits. Start with sprints, work in daily Scrum digital, Agile
meetings, incorporate a storyboard, and then add a burndown helps teams
chart. As you progress through your practice, you’ll find you have keep pace.”
more power, balance, control, and wisdom in how you approach – PWC13
daily tasks and your overall strategic marketing vision.

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Namaste
When you practice Agile Marketing to its fullest, you can, like a yogi guru, enjoy nirvana—a state of joy
and peace. You’ll find yourself with far fewer interruptions, missed deadlines, or wasted meetings. Instead,
you’ll find you have the flexibility, control, and focus to produce amazing results.

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 Unleash Your Agile with Workfront

Position your marketing team for success with Agile Marketing. Workfront Marketing Work
Management will not only help your team become more Agile, both in mind-set and in practice,
but will also allow them to:

• Adapt to changes without missing a beat

• Become increasingly more effective

with time and resources

• Focus more on customer satisfaction

and continuous delivery

• Add strength and flexibility

to marketing execution

workfront.com/agile-marketing

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Works Cited
1. “Sixth Annual CMO’s Agenda, The Agile Advantage: The Methodology,”
CMG Partners, 2014, http://cmosagenda.com/methodology.pdf.
2. Fryrear, Andrea, “How to Stop Working So Hard: Agile Marketers
Work Smarter,” Content Marketing Institute, June 16, 2016, http://
contentmarketinginstitute.com/2016/06/agile-marketers-smarter/.
3. “How Do You Define Agile Marketing?” CMG, accessed August 29, 2016,
http://cmgpartners.com/content/agile-marketing-definition/.
4. “Sixth Annual CMO’s Agenda, The Agile Advantage: The Methodology,”
CMG Partners.
5. Ibid.
6. Fryrear, Andrea, “How to Stop Working So Hard: Agile Marketers Work
Smarter,” Content Marketing.
7. Brinker, Scott, “Insights from the Architect of Agile Marketing,”
Chiefmartech.com, March 1, 2016, http://chiefmartec.com/2016/03/insights-
architect-agile-marketing/.
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8. Schwaber, Ken, and Sutherland, Jeff, “The Scrum Guide,” Scrum Guides,
2013, http://www.scrumguides.org/docs/scrumguide/v1/scrum-guide-us.pdf.
9. Visser, Jody; Field, Dominic; and Sheerin, Alannah, “The Agile Marketing
Organization,” Boston Consulting Group, October 5, 2015, https://www.
bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/marketing-brand-strategy-agile-
marketing-organization/.
10. “Sixth Annual CMO’s Agenda, The Agile Advantage: The Methodology,”
CMG Partners.
11. Martinez, Kelly, “Agile Marketing: How We Rebuilt a Website in Record
Time,” TEKsystems.
12. “Sixth Annual CMO’s Agenda, The Agile Advantage: The Methodology,”
CMG Partners.
13. “Marketing at the speed of agile,” PWC, January 2014, https:// www.pwc.com/
us/en/advisory/business-strategy-consulting/ assets/agile-marketing.pdf.
31
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