Where Creativity Meets Data: Inside Asana’s Marketing Strategy with CMO Shannon Duffy

Data Driven Leadership

Marketing is often misunderstood, seen as either all creativity or all data. In truth, it’s both. Great marketing lives at the intersection of bold ideas and sharp analytics, and few leaders navigate that space better than Shannon Duffy, chief marketing officer at Asana.

In this episode, Shannon joins Jess Carter to share how she drives marketing that delivers real business results. She explains how data brings credibility to creative work—and how creativity can move the needle on key business goals. They also talk about setting expectations for long-term efforts like brand building and events, helping leaders understand the value of patience and the metrics that matter.

Stick around ‘til the end of the episode for a sneak peek at something special we’ve never done before! Want to be part of it? Check out Jess' LinkedIn post or DM her to submit a question—we might feature yours in the upcoming episode.

In this episode, you will learn:

• The importance of aligning marketing goals with broader business objectives
• Metrics that matter for brand and event performance
• Ways to balance creativity with data in marketing leadership

Things to listen for:

• (00:00) Introduction to the episode with Shannon Duffy
• (03:46) Key business metrics every marketer should know
• (07:22) Helping executives understand marketing
• (11:09) How to prove ROI for large-scale events
• (15:19) Aligning creative marketing with company goals
• (19:40) Using data and instinct to know when to pivot
• (21:55) Brand awareness beyond advertising