After everything went down on Thursday CW all but confirmed a reorg was coming with TM's "retirement" and everyone now rolling up to DS. Seems as though they also laid off a few remaining TM loyalists. At this point we don't know if we should expect more layoffs, generally speaking, or more layoffs as part of a reorg or all of the above. It's unsettling how much money we paid Deloitte over the last year plus the Orioles AND Ravens sponsorships while hemorrhaging outflows - though that's probably why TM is out. If anyone hears anything, keep us updated.
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Seriously, how the heck did marketing get so much headcount? And what do they all do?
Keep thinking about how the latest GD reorg goes into effect on 8/1 which happens to be this Friday. I've been here long enough to see many around on Thursday day, gone Friday, never to be seen again. Pretty standard corporate practice.
Because of this, can't help but wonder if there might some smaller, quieter purges made this week at the lower levels before the new structure goes into place.
Anyone heard anything? It's been too quiet.
@kk "Interested in your thoughts on the segment marketing being centralized in global marketing."
Not sure who this was directed to, but I'll add my five cents anyway.
Ever since I entered this industry nearly 30 years ago, segment marketing has been a fashion thing -- like hemlines (up and down) or men's ties (wide or narrow). First the trend is to put it in the business units ("close to the end user"). Then, a few years later, the fad is to centralize it ("efficiencies of scale.") And so if goes.
TRP appears to be on the centralizing leg of the cycle.
Helps keep the consultants employed, I guess.
@dn Interested in your thoughts on the segment marketing being centralized in global marketing.
@f9 i agree that there’s a new norm but we all can’t be expected to run our day-to-day inundated with rumors and anxious about getting an afternoon email. simply suggesting either cut faster or giving some better form of communication around the status of a particular round so that people can move on
if last thursday’s email saying “those that have been affected have been notified” was their way of saying that this entire round is over, that’s great, but that should be clearer in the note and in the faqs given to people leaders that this round is over, not just that batch within the whole round
merely a suggestion. i don’t think there’s a great way to handle a layoff but i think we can all agree that keeping people in limbo is among the worst
@f3 "if you're going to cut then cut. if not then tell us team-by-team that we're done until after this round is complete."
I'm afraid it's never going to be "done." This is the new normal.
Last company I worked for (giant Wall Street firm) used to fire 5% of the work force every year just to "clean out the deadwood." They were very open about it.
Might not get that brutal at TRP, but clearly the real emphasis going forward (Rob's patter notwithstanding) is going to be on cost control, not a "return to organic growth."
saw the reorg announced this morning for dee's org but is anybody aware of corresponding layoffs today? or has anybody received notifications for "meetings" tomorrow? seems like layoffs involving marketing personnel were last week. is there more to come?
either way, leadership is aware of this website and it's entirely possible they're reading this. have some human decency and stop dragging this on. if you're going to cut then cut. if not then tell us team-by-team that we're done until after this round is complete.
@dn you are 100% correct on literally everything you said. As someone who is also in the know to know.
@OP Does anyone know in how many figures they spent on Ravens and Orioles? There are literally people on X who swear the Os and T Rowe mutually cursed each other. The Os were such a winning team, and then they got involved with the firm, and all went to s*it on both sides. I really haven't seen what is happening with the Ravens yet, but when you either attend an Os game or watch on MASN the T Rowe logos everywhere just looks desperate and tacky. It is like when someone is having a "Hot Tub Clearance" and they plaster a major thoroughfare with signs every 10 feet for miles. The sign and a few well-placed logos may have been enough. What next? Have T Rowe Price logs inserted in fortune cookies and sell to all Chinese restaurants in Baltimore? It was a gee wh-z idea that backfired as 1 year later there is turmoil here. It obviously didn't attract much if any AUM. Now every time the Os su-k and give up 20 runs in a home game, everyone subliminally sees that T Rowe Price logo and makes a bad association.
I found this if anyone wants to learn more about the Deloitte Procurement project.
https://www.cfodive.com/news/inside-t-rowe-price-procurement-transformation-ai/734423/
@dw "the sky doesn’t seem to be falling..."
Yet. I don't think this is over. But it may some weeks/months before they decide who else doesn't fit in their new structure.
@dr the sky doesn’t seem to be falling
First changes to the marketing org just announced by DS
@bn I'm well aware of how marketing dollars are spent are here. I'm also well aware of how the impact of those dollars are measured, or lack there of. I also know despite best efforts to pull a winning story out of MMM, the Curiosity Campaign was a complete flop. But when your main KPIs are brand health and brand awareness, which has no bottom line attribution, it's easier to spin a story that's backed by impressions and page views. That's entry level analytics and given the overall expense for all of those initiatives I expect more. If you want to come here and defend the brand or the poor decisions made by marketing leadership I suggest you use real data to prove your point rather than the same boilerplate bullsh-t we hear in every townhall and all-hands meetings. Since you're clearly so much smarter and more experienced than me, show me the actual ROI for everything we've spent on branding. I'll wait.
And the Deloitte engagement has been nothing but a clusterfu-k. It's changed hands so many times and the push for segment marketing self-service has been nothing short of a disaster. We've trained segments to fish for themselves just for them to immediately submit an intake to have another team do the work for them.
OP you clearly do not have any understanding of how Marketing dollars are spent, why investments are made, or how they are measured (and performing). Please educate yourself before publicly speculating about any individuals by name.
@b7 what department are you in if you don’t mind me asking?
@ba Theresa McLaughlin
Who is TM?
@b7 best of luck, anonymous amigo. keep your head up. you’ll land on your feet
@b6 Deloitte was brought in last year to evaluate the firm’s marketing processes. This was openly shared by GD leadership in town halls and all-hands.
@b3 pretty sure I'm getting laid off tomorrow. I was emailed a skip level meeting with someone I haven't met yet.
@b3 what’s the story behind Deloitte being involved? Never saw anything about this till it started coming here
Heard last week that more is coming due to Deloitte. Implied reorg and related layoffs. Sooner rather than later. Might as well just get it all done at once.