<div class="gn-article"><div class="gn-hero gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-hero__image"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/687a235da6861294eec73166/69fa70f10b4a35c45c236cd0_entry-002-banner-68c3180350adb478789377-6902579f7afb1233368853.jpeg" alt=""></div> <div class="gn-hero__head"> <span class="gn-kicker"><span class="dot"></span>Expression</span> <h1 class="gn-title">The Secret Diary of a CMO Entry 005: Not Everything Travels</h1> <div class="gn-meta"> <strong>The GO Network</strong> <span class="pip"></span> <span>29 October 2025</span> <span class="pip"></span> <span>3 min read</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="gn-body"> <p class="gn-lede gn-reveal">I said in my last entry that things had been going well. This was the week the shine came off slightly and I received the usual stark reminder that good thinking doesn't always survive a flight.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">We were in Amsterdam for a partner alignment session that was supposed to be a chance to share early direction on a campaign we'd all started to feel very excited about. Same team, same brief, same clarity, now just extending it into the trade layer with one of our big distributors in Europe.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">The campaign itself had come together fast between our UK in-house team, two of our agencies, and our insights function. Myself and our UK brand felt strongly that we had sharp positioning, focused messaging, and genuine belief from everyone involved to this point that it would land well. I'd even had early endorsement from the global team, which, in this business, is like spotting a unicorn. We were hopeful.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">But Amsterdam was a different room, with the opinions of 8 European market leads and their wonderful dynamics in play.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">The conversation shifted quickly from brand to logistics. From creative thinking to sell-in timelines. From what we're trying to say, to what the retailer wants to hear, and you could feel the energy being sapped.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Now I have to be fair and say that I value their opinions and that there was more than a few very valid concerns that we had probably overlooked.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">I've seen this before. When the work is born in a room that trusts each other, then taken to one that doesn't. Where local leads are under pressure from their own P&amp;L, and agencies are seen less as partners and more as cost lines. There's a different tempo and naturally a different appetite for risk.</p> <aside class="gn-quote gn-reveal"><q>What you learn very quickly in a multi-national organisation is that not everything travels and that sometimes, protecting the core idea means letting the edges flex.</q><cite>The Secret CMO</cite></aside> <p class="gn-reveal">By the time we wrapped, we hadn't lost the campaign, but it had changed shape, majorly. Still functional, but not what we'd hoped, and imo much safer.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">One of the agency creative leads I debriefed afterwards and just said, "It's a shame."</p> <p class="gn-reveal">I spoke to the team the next morning and reframed it: this version gets our core creative ideas that we were so excited about out in the market. Even if it has been diluted, we can build from here.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">I'm not being naïve, there's a good chance we don't get back to the version we loved, but we're not starting from scratch and we've got people in-market who are bought in enough to keep pushing.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">The agencies have been solid throughout. No grandstanding, no sulking, just clear thinking and professionalism, even when the direction shifted. That matters a lot.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">I left Amsterdam tired but not deflated. These are the meetings where the job is less about a single vision and more about market translation.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">This campaign will see the light of day, in whatever shape it ends up. And so will the lesson, once again, that progress in a business like this rarely happens in a straight line.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">More soon.</p> <p class="gn-reveal"><strong>The Secret CMO</strong></p> </div></div>