The Ides of March(eting)

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Hello Spark reader,

From cobblers to the cobblestones of ancient Rome: the indefatigable Rohan Shams is so full of inspiration at the moment that we’re lucky to have another of his keenly observed essays and the chance glean yet more of his wisdom from his many years as a Marketing Director and Manager.

The Ideas of March have probably brought tension and sales pressure to many a business boardroom in these past few weeks, but Rohan’s sage advice is here to save marketing leaders and their teams from needing to take the Q1 fall (again). So hold onto your carefully laid marketing plans and veni, vidi, vici!

And, as Ryan told you about in our last edition, we were delighted to host our first client workshop in our new office in Saint Paul last week, welcoming the Thomson Reuters brand team for a brand workshop that we all thoroughly enjoyed! More here.

-joel

The Ideas of March(eting)

Guest essay by Rohan Shams

It’s about that time of the year.

A leader stands to present strategies and plans for the future. Little do they know, many of the other leaders they face will soon turn against them under the pressure of their own agendas—led by the ones they least expect.

Now, if you’re picturing the Roman Senate, with Caesar standing to deliver his big speech, only to be brought down by his own peers—well, the Ides of March bring a similar fate to marketing leaders in leadership meetings around the world.

The regular January “how long can you say Happy New Year” jokes have long dried up. The mid-February love in the air has truly faded. Mid-March brings that panic-stricken realization: Q1 is almost over, and we’re behind on marketing execution.

So, the usual reviews play out, where product leaders cynically ask why the innovative and unique 93,000 products they launched this quarter failed to make an impact—despite having just two and a half marketing associates assigned to the area. And the sales leads chime in, claiming lead quality and numbers have dropped due to marketing’s slow start to the year.

Yes, Marketing leaders are often the ones fending off questions about why the quarterly numbers aren’t looking good enough in the Q1 review.

Luckily, these meetings don’t end as tragically as they did for Caesar on the Ides of March, but for marketing teams, mid-March often results in a flurry of last-minute, panic-driven decisions: “Open the floodgates! Push anything out! We’ll improve it later!”

Budgets, which were just about finalized in February, suddenly take another major pivot. Any discussions about a strategic, long-term approach are tossed aside in favor of a quick PO to double LinkedIn spend or ramp up paid search.

For marketing teams that follow the Gregorian calendar, the Ides of March is often no less disruptive than it was for the Roman state in that fateful month.

Of course, many exceptional marketing leaders anticipate this scenario and come well-prepared. They’ve seen the blame-shifting before and have a tried-and-tested approach to navigate it.

And so, here are some of my own thoughts on tackling the end-of-Q1 rush—without discarding the long-term plans that you and your team painstakingly built over the past six months. These aren’t just marketing strategies, but a mix of leadership traits and tactical nuances I’ve seen outstanding leaders display over the years.

1. Be braver

One of the most admirable traits a marketing leader can have.

It may sound odd to call bravery a marketing skill, but often, the role of a marketing leader is to be the shield, not the spear, when blame is thrown around various functions. The pressure can be immense, especially if quarterly numbers aren’t looking great. And since blaming marketing is an easy escape route for many organizations, it takes real guts to stand firm on your strategy and protect your team.

The best marketing leaders I’ve seen take ownership in the room but make necessary adjustments behind the scenes. They shield their team from unnecessary blame, keeping morale high and focus sharp.

2. Move the time horizon

Short-term panic often stems from a narrow lens.

Despite the common belief, marketing hasn’t yet evolved to yield the power of electrons that can be switched on and off with a button. It’s a long game. When leaders fixate on a single quarter, it’s your job to zoom out:

• What long-term pipeline did Q1 generate?

• How does performance compare to historical Q1s?

• What signals indicate stronger quarters ahead?

By steering the conversation toward the bigger picture, you shift minds from reactionary thinking to strategic patience.

3. Reuse, refresh, relaunch

If a campaign was working in December, chances are, it still holds value in March. Instead of resetting everything, consider:

• Refreshing creatives or messaging

• Tweaking distribution

• Rerunning successful content with minor updates

The best marketing teams don’t start from scratch every 90 days—they maximize what already works.

4. Milk that cash cow

Every business has one product, service, or tactic that delivers fast.

Strong marketing leaders always have a go-to play ready, whether it’s a shorter sales cycle, a high-converting funnel, or a predictable audience segment. Having this in your back pocket can make all the difference when leadership is demanding quick results.

There are many ways to navigate the Ides of March(eting), but the key is not to let the urgency of Q1 derail your long-term vision.

As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. And it certainly didn’t fall because of one bad quarter. The best marketing leaders don’t just survive the Ides of March, they use it as a moment to reinforce strategy, resilience, and leadership.

Rohan B. Shams is a marketing and communications strategist with over a decade of experience in financial markets, sustainable finance, data, and transformation. He has led major projects to drive market expansion and establish brand positioning for global firms. Passionate about bridging finance, sustainability, and innovation with human-centered marketing, Rohan regularly shares insights on market trends, growth, and navigating emerging markets.

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