Fara Howard is the CMO of ​​GoDaddy where she oversees all marketing strategies and works with their internal creative team. 

In this episode, Fara and I talk about her career background and GoDaddy’s brand evolution over the last several years. One of the several charges Fara led has been their experimentation on branded entertainment, launching their docuseries “Made in America”. She describes the experience as truly inspiring, and she shares how it’s performing as well as what they’re learning from the project.

Later in the show, they also discuss GoDaddy’s branded pandemic campaign “Open We Stand” and how they were able to launch it so quickly through their internal creative agency. Fara’s short answer? “The closer you can bring a creative organization to your business and to your business strategy, the better the work is.”

Listen to the full episode to hear more about how to keep and retain talent within a creative function inside your company as well as how to work with them effectively.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • The value of knowing your customer
  • Creating gritty, authentic stories
  • How to work with creative teams effectively

Key Highlights:

  • [01:36] Fara’s first job
  • [02:47] Fara’s path to CMO
  • [05:32] Tips for changing the industry you work in
  • [06:58] GoDaddy’s strategic journey of transformation
  • [09:45] The docuseries “Made in America”
  • [12:37] Investing deeply in your customer
  • [14:54] The “Open We Stand” campaign
  • [18:07] Generating content during the pandemic
  • [20:31] Finding and retaining creative talent 
  • [25:07] Where GoDaddy is going
  • [28:37] An experience that defines Fara, makes her who she is today
  • [32:23] Fara’s advice to her younger self
  • [33:50] What marketers should be learning more about
  • [35:00] The brands and organizations Fara follows 
  • [38:55] The biggest threat to marketers today

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Alan B. Hart is the creator and host of “Marketing Today with Alan Hart,” a weekly podcast where he interviews leading global marketing professionals and business leaders. Alan advises leading executives and marketing teams on brand, customer experience, innovation, and growth opportunities. He has consulted with Fortune 100 companies, but he is an entrepreneur at his core, having founded or served as an executive for nine companies.