The Push
The Push is a podcast for senior marketers eager to hear honest perspectives from peers who tell it like it is. We speak directly to your day-to-day reality and don't bother with superfluous tactics you don't need.
We understand that senior marketing is uniquely frustrating.
- You have to sell the 'why' more than any other department.
- You're held accountable for results beyond your control.
- You're forever dealing with non-marketers who 'know better than you'.
- Stakeholder politics, opinions, and “gut feelings” constantly get in the way.
- You're so busy dealing with stakeholders, there's little time left to conceptualise new strategies and hone your craft.
We bring together senior marketers to candidly share stories, analogies, strategies, and mental models they've used.
You can use these conversations to:
- Explain complex concepts to non-marketers.
- Get more client buy-in.
- Explore new strategy ideas.
- Better articulate your existing knowledge.
- Explain the 'why' behind your strategy.
- Keep your own team engaged.
- Better navigate marketing politics (which are inevitable).
- Remember that you're not alone in your experiences.
No empty buzzwords. No listicles. No generic advice.
Whether you’re in-house, agency-side, or a consultant, you’ll leave feeling empowered to speak up and lead with confidence.
The Push is hosted by Jack Ferguson, a Brand Strategist with 15 years of marketing and brand experience across 20+ industries.
The Push
S3 E46: The Marketing Objectives Paradox: Promises Get Remembered
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Every marketer knows the value of objectives, they help you prioritise, decide what to push, and what to park.
But here’s the paradox: the very objectives that keep you focused can come back to bite when stakeholders grip too tightly to the promises baked into them.
This episode is hosted by Brand Strategist Jack Ferguson.
In this solo episode, Jack unpacks a story of working with a professional services client where well-intentioned objectives turned into “but you said we’d have sales by now.”
From that experience came a shift in how he sets, frames, and manages objectives.
He’ll cover:
- Why outcome-based objectives set you up for blame when factors outside your control stall sales
- The danger of stakeholders remembering promises, not caveats
- How to balance short-term tactics with long-term brand building without losing credibility
- What input-based objectives look like in practice (and why they’re safer)
- How ongoing retainers and project-based arrangements affect expectation drift
If you’ve ever felt trapped between setting clear objectives and being held to outcomes you can’t control, this episode will give you a framework for balancing ambition with defensibility.
Helpful Links:
Find Jack on LinkedIn here: Jack Ferguson | LinkedIn
Follow The Push on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thepush
Follow The Push on TikTok here: thepushmedialab (@thepushmedialab) | TikTok
Follow The Push on Instagram here: Instagram
Visit The Push website here: https://bethepush.com/
Visit Jack’s personal website here: Brand Strategist: Marketing Consultancy — Jack Ferguson