A Marketing Lesson from the College Football Playoff

In the car, on our way back from watching a football game with friends, my wife asked me:

“If a team has an Offensive Coordinator and a Defensive Coordinator, what exactly does a Head Coach do?”

Thinking it was an easy question, I began to speak, but quickly fumbled my words. As a former High School football coach, I was embarrassed how long it took me to formulate an answer. After a minute or two, I finally gave her my answer:

“The Offensive Coordinator’s job is to create a playbook, know where to place certain players in each play design, and make sure each player understands his role in each play. They have Assistant Coaches underneath to help individual players with their technique. The Defensive Coordinator and Assistants do the same on their side of the ball. Throw in the trainers, nutritionists, recruiters, and other staffers and it is the Head Coach’s responsibility to make sure everyone is doing their job in pursuit of the overall vision and winning.”

My wife’s question got me thinking. I’m an avid football fan (a lifelong Nebraska Cornhusker), and I’ll be tuning in to the College Football Playoff (CFP) and the NFL playoffs over the next few weeks—maybe you will too. But before we focus on the action on the field, I wanted to share this takeaway: The Head Coach of a football team is like the business owner or CEO of many of the companies we work with.

A Head Coach doesn’t personally recruit every player—that’s the recruiting staff (HR). They don’t manage the equipment or the stadium lights—that’s facilities (Operations). They aren't in the weight room at 5:00 AM monitoring every rep—that’s the Strength and Conditioning coach (Training and Development). In a business, Sales, Operations HR, and Finance all have their own "rooms." The CEO is the leader who understands how all the individual parts interconnect and provides the vision to drive the whole organization forward.

So, what’s this got to do with your marketing?

At The Marketing Squad, we act as your outsourced marketing department. For our clients, we aren't the CEO. We aren't the Head Coach. We are your Offensive Coordinator, aligning the play calls with the vision and goals you have for your business.  

Great teams, like great companies, have strong, clear leadership at the top. The best business leaders, like the best coaches, eventually have to lean on specialists. A head coach depends on their coordinators to scheme, plan, and adjust mid-game. If a Head Coach gets too focused on the individual plays on the field, they might miss a key injury update or a shift in the opponent's strategy. Likewise, a CEO, who gets bogged down in the weeds of operational minutiae, may miss the next big growth opportunity in the market. 

If you lead a growing business, partnering with The Marketing Squad is like hiring an Offensive Coordinator that you can fully trust with that side of the ball…I mean…that part of your business! Here are just three reasons why (I’d list more but the game is about to start):

1. Experienced Play Caller: For more than 18 years, we’ve been the outsourced marketing partner for businesses in the Louisville area. We’ve seen every defense and know how to adjust to market shifts.
2. Innovative Playbook: Our unique Partner Process isn't just a list of tactics chasing after meaningless metrics. It gives you a predictable formula for growth designed to move the chains and get you into the end zone.
3. Experts in Our Field — it’s our team that makes the difference! Strategic, business development minded, creative, innovative … oh, and most importantly, we want to win! We care about the final score (your business impact) as much as you do.

If you’re ready to score more and beat the competition this year, let’s talk. Click the link below to get started—I’m looking forward to speaking with you!