In this episode of The Peerbound Podcast, Mel Cornford, Customer Marketing Lead at Canva, shares her journey from journalism to marketing, emphasizing the importance of storytelling and creating human-first content that's made for the platform. She discusses the success of Canva Enterprise, the transition from B2C to B2B marketing, and the importance of building strong internal and external relationships to empower sales teams.
Mel Cornford, Customer Marketing Lead at Canva, joins host, Sunny Manivannan on the Peerbound Podcast to discuss her transition from journalism to customer marketing. She shares her career journey, highlights from her work at notable media brands, and how those experiences shaped her approach at Canva. Mel emphasizes the importance of understanding sales teams' needs, creating human-first storytelling, and leveraging AI for efficiency. The conversation also explores the significance of testing, building internal and external relationships, and creating platform-specific content.
00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
01:00 Mel Cornford's Journey into Customer Marketing
01:12 Early Career and Journalism Background
02:10 Transition to Digital and Fashion Media
03:14 Shift to News and Building Digital Presence
07:48 Joining Canva and Initial Role
10:24 Finding and Celebrating Community Stories
14:22 Switching to B2B and Enterprise Marketing
16:23 Storytelling Approach and Social Content
23:47 Sales and Marketing Synergy at Canva
31:04 Leveraging AI in Customer Marketing
36:12 Advice for Early Career Customer Marketers
38:32 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Canva's Video Content:
Sam Barker Story: https://www.canva.com/newsroom/news/sams-story-lessons-wwii-veteran-turned-childrens-book-author/
Elsewhere Story: https://www.canva.com/newsroom/news/how-two-entrepreneurs-launched-a-travel-business-in-a-pandemic-with-canva/
Docusign Case Study: https://www.canva.com/case-studies/docusign/
Featuring:
Mel Cornford:
LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/mel-cornford-8751393/
Sunny Manivannan:
LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunnymanivannan/
X — https://x.com/sunnymanivannan
Follow us:
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/peerbound-inc
Tune in:
Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peerbound-podcast/id1708825056
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/5GO3n6pATX10fkY8lgf3GX
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@peerbound