An Award-Winning, Purpose-Driven, and Influential Leader: Who's this "Marvel" to watch out for?

Monday: Marketing Marvels FROM THE DESK OF MILES EVERSON: Hi everyone! How was your weekend? I hope you all had a good rest and a great time with your loved ones. As we begin a new week, let's delve into the insightful journeys of extraordinary individuals in marketing and business. Today, we put the spotlight on a person whose experiences are a great source of inspiration for novice and veteran professionals alike. Keep reading below to know more about this award-winning, purpose-driven, and influential leader in insurance marketing. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

An Award-Winning, Purpose-Driven, and Influential Leader: Who's this "Marvel" to watch out for? Today’s “Marvel” is a truly EXTRAORDINARY “Marvel.” As a seasoned executive with a decade of senior leadership experience and building new capabilities, teams, brands, and digital distribution channels from the ground up, this person has been known as an award-winning, purpose-driven, and multi-passionate leader throughout the years in Canada. Any ideas on who we’re talking about? She’s… Martha Turner Osborne! Osborne is the Chief Marketing and Social Innovation Officer of Teachers Life Insurance, a life, disability, and sickness insurance company in Canada. It is one of the largest insurance companies for education workers and has been around for over 80 years. The company is licensed to sell insurance to all Canadians coast-to-coast. As a veteran in the field, Osborne has experience working across all distribution channels including face-to-face (F2F), digital/e-commerce, retail, and established agents/brokers. Her work has earned her many awards globally for building brands and customer engagement in unique and cost-effective ways. She sits on a number of boards and committees, including the EcoSchools Canada Board, Craft Ontario Board, Sick Kids Digital Marketing Advisory Committee, and Canadian Marketing Association’s Executive Direct Marketing Committee. Osborne is also a guest author for the Huffington Post. Embracing “Social Innovation” in Marketing Osborne has been working as a marketer for over 20 years and has been leading the marketing and digital functions and departments for small, medium, and large corporations. Her work over the last 15 years has focused on helping companies realign their purpose and discover new ways to embrace “social innovation” or innovation with a purpose. When Osborne was approached by Teachers Life, her deciding factor to join was the insurance company’s history as a mission-based company. She felt she could add value to help take a wonderful brand narrative and elevate it to a whole new level. In her words: “In particular, I was drawn in by their mission statement—to be the premier community-based insurer in Canada. I knew that North Star gave me a lot to work with to make a difference.” At the core of Teachers Life’s business is a mission to give back to its policyholders and the communities it serves. In 2014, the organization was the first life insurance carrier in North America to launch a fully digital quote and issuance platform for term life, which won several industry awards. In 2022, Osborne and her team developed a strategic plan to further transform Teachers Life’s digital ecosystem for individual insurance and launch a new digital-first, purpose-driven brand called Nowly Insurance. Teachers Life also launched a bold new social give-back program called Press Start, which supports Canadian youth activists and social entrepreneurs to connect them with tools, resources, mentors, and industry thought leaders. The goal of this program is to help find solutions to some of Canada’s most pressing social challenges. As a result, Teachers Life received recognition as one of the “insurtechs” (insurance + technology) to watch out for in 2022. The organization,under Osborne’s leadership, was also nominated by Virgin Pulse for a FastCompany Innovation Award. Changing the Insurance Marketing Industry, One Step at a Time Osborne points out that the secret to Teachers Life’s success is knowing the needs and wants of Canadians, and ensuring the organization responds to how Canadians wish to interact with insurance. … but it’s not always easy. According to Osborne, it’s a tall order when marketing a product that is commoditized, intangible, and low engagement. However, she’s up for the challenge. She believes that while insurance has always been known as a “laggard industry” in terms of innovation, the times are changing. A tremendous influx of “insurtechs” are shaking the industry and creating accessible, affordable solutions nowadays. So, what is she and her team planning to do? Osborne says the key is to be able to sift through and determine which solutions and partners are most relevant to a particular business model at a particular time, and ensure partnerships that share the same vision, roadmap, and values. According to her, marketing plays a critical role in ensuring these are part of the brand promise, and authentically delivering on that. “Great Leadership is where the Magic Happens” When it comes to leadership, Osborne believes the best leaders are the ones who know there are lifelong learnings in life. Even when others are undermining their work, these people work their way up the corporate ladder and attain professional success through grit, patience, and perseverance. She also notes that every day is a different day at work, but what’s most consistent is that every day seems to be fast-paced, always changing, and always evolving. That’s why for her, maintaining a balance between one’s work and personal life is not easy, but with an insatiable curiosity, she believes people will enjoy exploring and learning new things, both in their personal and professional lives. What else? Keeping a team motivated comes from making sure members share the vision and purpose of what the work represents. Open and honest communication is key, as well as being very sensitive to not over-working a team. Her message to aspiring leaders is this: “Be honest with yourself and what speaks to you. Not what your parents or others want or think you should be. When you stand in your signature strengths, the magic happens, and the rest follows.” Take Osborne’s important life, business, and marketing lessons to your heart! Always remember to start and end from a place of empathy—empathy for yourself, your coworkers, your customers, your business partners, etc. BE KIND! At the end of the day, your greatest accomplishment will be how you make others feel about themselves. Your material and financial contribution to a firm is just secondary. Hope you’ve found this week’s topic interesting and helpful.