Leading the pack. Managing leads between marketing and sales. Earning respect as a leader. Leading the charge into new markets. Award-winning campaigns. There’s plenty to explore in ‘The Lead Issue’ of Marketing, which is now in the hands of subscriber and casual reader alike. Here’s what’s inside.

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Few business maxims are as widely known as first mover advantage, despite patchy evidence of its merits – in ‘First in, best dressed?’ Rob Grant examines when marketers should bravely lead from the front and when it pays to sit in the slipstream. In ‘Leading the charge’, Tesla Motors Australia’s Heath Walker talks Peter Roper through the brand’s quest to get Australia on the grid, as the vertically integrated automotive company leads the charge towards an all-electric future. Peter Strohkorb has seen the future.

In ‘Sales and marketing in 2020′, he writes to us from 2020 as the CEO of an organisation – maybe one like yours – that grew substantially by making some very effective changes to the way sales and marketing worked together. The Millennial Generation is not a homogenous group, but there are fundamental differences with previous generations, writes Dion Appel in ‘A guide to making meaningful connections with Millennials’.

What’s one thing you wish you’d known before leading your first digital change program? Thanks to our Brain trust, you can avoid the mistakes and learn from the wisdom of Virgin Mobile’s Alicia Mack, Xero’s Andy Lark and HCF’s Jenny Williams. The key findings from a survey exploring the current state of the marketing talent scene in Australia in 2015 gets visualised in this issue’s infographic. 

And for Caroline Patrick, working for a fundamental purpose, giving back to her community and constantly growing professionally keeps her busy, balanced and fulfilled, writes Michelle Herbison in our profile of 2015’s CPM of the Year.

Case studies: 

• ASX: ‘Investment Heroes in Disguise’ campaign. 2015 AMI Awards for Marketing Excellence winner for B2B campaign
• Just For Pets: launch of ‘Pet Health Centre’ initiative. 2015 AMI Awards for Marketing Excellence overall winner
• Western Sydney University: rebrand and ‘Unlimited’ campaign. Includes the inspiring story of Deng Adut, the child-soldier turned refugee lawyer
• Bethanie: Geographical expansion on a shoestring. 2015 AMI Awards for Marketing Excellence winner for low-budget campaign
• Brown Brothers: ‘Colourful Conversations’ campaign and website. 2015 winner at the Australian Web Award.

Columns:

• Jac Phillips: No leader ‘demands’ respect
• Michael Valos & Alvin Lee: The high-definition CMO
• Steve Sammartino: Leading with price
• Sergio Brodsky: RIP expertise
• Con Stavros: Way out
• Graham Plant, Effective Measure: A start-up’s view of the first-mover (dis)advantage
• Michael Barnes, Forrester Research: Trends that will lead 2016
• Steve Taitoko, UnLtd.: Leading through mindful purpose
• Plus: the best marketing opinion from the web.