Sally Benson is a digital marketing professional with over 15 years of experience. At RPM International Inc. (NYSE: RPM), she leads strategic initiatives that fuel brand growth, advance digital transformation and deliver measurable impact across its diverse portfolio of industry-leading companies.
In an interview with Business Management Review, Benson discussed her career and shared insights on the evolving digital marketing landscape and strategies for advanced storytelling. A Career Built with Passion I began my career as an assistant manager at a Best Buy Mobile standalone store, where I was first exposed to marketing. I initiated a cross-promotion with Chick-fil-A in the same mall, trading visibility for sandwiches and driving traffic to both. Later, I joined a company focused on building website content, where I unknowingly stepped into the world of SEO. With guidance from the company’s founder, I gained a strong foundation in SEO and website maintenance, igniting my passion for digital marketing. When the Google Panda algorithm disrupted content-based websites, I transitioned to a role at a news station’s parent company, helping launch a daily deals platform. I led marketing initiatives and managed people to promote the new digital venture. After working in marketing for a toy company, I joined a startup creative agency, where I learnt about digital channels, including SEO and pay-per-click (PPC), while collaborating with designers and developers. Eventually, I advanced into corporate leadership, managing a full team. My passion for SEO and PPC drives me to remain updated and certified. I attend conferences like the Chicago Digital Summit and follow industry resources like Search Engine Land and Search Engine Journal to stay ahead of trends. Currently at RPM International Inc., I consult with businesses and evaluate strategies to accelerate revenue growth while eliminating inefficiencies. Adapting to the Evolving Marketing Landscape Increasing privacy regulations and third-party cookie deprecation created tracking challenges in digital marketing. We can’t change the problem, but we can adapt by learning through conferences and peer collaborations. Protecting privacy is important, and we need to operate with the limited authorized data available, even if it is just 30 percent. I worked with analysts to explore alternatives like server-side tracking through Google Tag Manager, which offers better control over data collection while maintaining regulatory compliance. In addition, I evolved my strategies into account-based marketing, targeting a specific company or role rather than keyword data. The emergence of Generative AI damaged Google advertisers as ads got pushed down and traffic was reduced. In turn, I develop training workshops and guide teams to establish new KPIs based on evolving traffic patterns and track LLM citations. I teach businesses to optimize for both SEO and Generative Engine Optimization to set realistic baselines and grow strategically from there. Also, diversifying advertising channels is important to protect against future disruptions. Strategic Approach for Advanced Storytelling Branding varies by company, but it should prioritize authenticity, transparency and relatability, while protecting sensitive information. My approach begins with discovery and brand messaging— the ‘golden egg’ of branding. Even when clients seek immediate results, I prioritize understanding their business and how they differentiate themselves. I conduct in-depth interviews with multiple stakeholders, including executives, sales teams and customer service departments, to discover authentic, overlooked strengths. By gathering diverse perspectives, I identify key wins, challenges and competitors, and cross-reference them with digital competitors. From these, I curate strategic messaging into campaign efforts. Advice for Aspiring Marketing Professionals ‘Forever a student’ is my personal tagline. Marketing is a constantly evolving field, and success requires continuous learning and adaptability. I have managed team members and mentored interns, while also learning from their existing experience, fresh perspectives and ideas they bring. Sharing knowledge is central to my leadership style, and I take pride in former team members carrying those lessons into their management roles.