In the latest AANA Marketing Dividends episode, David Scribner, head of Virgin Mobile, and one of the few marketers to become chief executive of a major company, says marketing makes “a critical contribution” to business growth because it is “the voice of the customer”.

He also said his marketing background helps ensure that customers are the focus of the organisation’s strategic decision making.

He makes these points in the second episode of Marketing Dividends presented by AANA which screens for one week commencing Sunday the 2 November on Sky News Business.

“In the knowledge age that we are in, there has never been a more important time for them (marketers) to be the voice of the customer, to be the barometer of what’s happening in the market and actually use that to help with business growth.

“Marketing is absolutely critical to the growth of Virgin Mobile. Marketing has always been, at any Virgin company, the core of what we do because it is a brand-based company that really cares about its customers,” said Scribner.

In terms of getting a better hearing in the c-suite, Mr. Scribner said marketers needed to concentrate more on the ‘hard measures’ and use data and analytics to explain how they can deliver sales and profitability.

Marketing Dividends came about as a collaboration between AANA and MEC Global.

Check out the first episode with Suncorp’s Mark Reinke below.

The series on Sky News Business features 13 three minute episodes.