Finding Meaning in Our Work: Marketing Lessons from Melissa Fors Shackelford on Marketing / And
Season six of Marketing / And is in full swing, and one question AMA CEO and podcast host Bennie F. Johnson loves to ask always lands with impact:
“What advice would you give to marketers?”
In a recent episode, Bennie sat down with Melissa Fors Shackelford—Fractional CMO and author of Harnessing Purpose: A Marketer’s Guide to Inspiring Connection—for a conversation about finding meaning in the work we do, the clarity required for authentic marketing, and why everything must start with value. Melissa, named the American Marketing Association’s 2019 Nonprofit Marketer of the Year, has spent more than two decades helping mission-focused brands scale with intention and navigate the complexities of the healthcare industry.
What followed was a reflection on purpose—personal purpose, organizational purpose, and the role marketers play in connecting the two.
Finding Personal Purpose in Marketing
For Melissa, purpose isn’t a slogan—it’s an internal compass. Her advice for marketers, especially those feeling disconnected or burnt out, is to look inward first. Identify what excites you, she says, and seek opportunities that align with your values. Even in industries that may feel less mission-driven, meaning is possible when marketers anchor their work in the end user.
She shared an early-career example from her time working on Honeywell thermostats, a category far from glamorous but deeply relevant to everyday life. Honeywell created the original round thermostat—hence the phrase “turn up the heat”—and has been a market leader ever since.
“Looking back, it wasn’t sexy,” she says, “but we could clearly see the good in the world we were doing. Every household needs heat, especially if you live in Minneapolis like me.”
Her takeaway for marketers today: Know who your customer is, what they need, and how you help them. Meaning lives there.
Building Resilient Marketing Teams
Melissa also shared her leadership philosophy for navigating the pressure-filled world of modern marketing—an environment where creative work is often subject to instant critique.
“No one blames the financial team for the budget,” she notes, “yet everyone has something to say about the marketing campaign.”
For her, resilience is built through team culture—one rooted in respect, challenge, and shared purpose. When leaders help team members connect to their personal “true north,” confidence grows, collaboration strengthens, and teams can weather the scrutiny that comes with the work.
Case Study: Merging Two Iconic Brands at Hazelden Betty Ford
One of the most compelling parts of the episode was Melissa’s story about leading the brand merger that created today’s Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. She joined Hazelden knowing a merger was ahead—uniting two iconic names in the substance use disorder and mental health field: the Betty Ford Center and Hazelden.
Merging brands, she explains, is a delicate dance. The challenge is honoring history while creating a united future.
Through research and stakeholder engagement, Melissa’s team uncovered a powerful shared origin story not widely known: When former First Lady Betty Ford became sober and set out to create her own treatment center after leaving the White House, she went to Hazelden for guidance. Archival photos showed Betty Ford on the Hazelden campus with Secret Service agents alongside Hazelden’s president.
“That image became an anchor during the branding and organizational transition,” Melissa shared. “In many ways, both organizations were there at the beginning.”
Her lesson for marketers: Look for the connective tissue. Not every merger offers a story as striking as this, but most organizations have shared values, relationships, or impact points that signal, We belong together.
AI and the Future of Marketing
Melissa closes with a clear perspective on the evolving role of marketing. Once a creative discipline supported by technology, it is now fully intertwined with it.
“Marketing is marketing technology,” she says. “Marketing is data. Marketing is analytics. And now, marketing really is AI.”
She believes marketers will not only adopt AI early—they will lead organizational experimentation and innovation. Her call to action: embrace the tools, stay curious, and be willing to test new approaches.
Listen to the full episode to hear Melissa’s insights firsthand.
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Marketing / And explores life through a marketing lens, diving into the moments where creativity, purpose, and culture intersect. Each episode introduces you to visionaries whose stories you might not know yet—but absolutely should. Because at its best, marketing isn’t just about selling something. It’s about shaping stories, shifting perspectives, and inspiring what comes next.