Lost in a branded maze

Brands have more of everything today; people, data, agencies, media, budgets...Yet, brands are under more pressure today than ever before. And it isn’t just me who thinks like this. Seventy-five percent of CMOs I talk to believe they have been worse off in the last three years compared to the past 10. Furthermore, over 50% of those CMOs don’t feel in control anymore.

So what has been lost?

In my opinion, in their quest to embrace everything that is new, and more and more of it, brand managers have forgotten some basic principles which are both timeless and even more relevant today. Brand managers today are so immersed in the cycle of marketing and competing that they have lost their ability to amaze with their marketing.

Here are four factors that will help brand managers be better off:

1) Consumer understanding

Marketing pays off the most when it is all about the consumer. Marketing is about understanding customers so as to be able to drive actions (purchases, recommendations, shares), build affinity and cement loyalty. Great marketing is consumer focused. The actions it drives create a win-win situation for both the brand and the consumer – the company gains engagement, loyalty and profitable revenue; customers have their needs met, problems solved, wishes fulfilled. This is the single most important job of brand management, yet it has taken a backseat, as brand managers seem to be more interested in operational management rather than inspiring and influencing consumers to buy their brand. There is much more consumer data available compared to a decade ago. Yet the more data brand managers have the more removed the feel from their consumers – and this is why it is so important to feel the consumer again. Brand managers need to leave their air-conditioned offices to go out into the real world and immerse themselves with their consumers. Reading a research report is not the same; there is no comparison at all.

Brand managers need to leave their air-conditioned offices to go out into the real world and immerse themselves with their consumers. Reading a research report is not the same; there is no comparison at all.

2) Creativity

Creativity is the single biggest force in marketing. Creativity in product; in distribution; in communication. Creativity in every aspect of the business. Creativity is essential to standout marketing. Now that brand managers have access to nearly every imaginable type of consumer data, they can enhance their creativity even further. They can use data to discover distinctive marketing opportunities and create powerful marketing campaigns. However, I do not see this happening; brand managers are still doing the same old thing the same old way by disregarding the data and failing to dig deeply into the data to develop actionable steps for their brand. Today when it comes to creativity in marketing communication brand managers have become bigger road blocks than agencies. Brand managers are averse to undertaking bold standout work. They do want to see such work but they don’t want to do take the risk themselves. Clients definitely have taken a few steps back on creativity. On the other hand, agencies have moved forward on creativity. They have come of age under a new and younger generation of leadership and are in a much better position to creatively solve brand communication challenges.

3) Agency talk back

Brand managers are better off when agencies talk back. Agencies used to do more of this before, because they were all about long partnership with the client and the focus was on doing good work. Today agencies are all about billing, revenue targets and the constant fear of losing a client, as relationships are short lived. As a result, the focus is on doing what the client wants. Although agencies really need to question clients about their thought process and decisions, they worry when they have an outspoken account or creative director and they are often told by their CEO to hold back their comments. The truth is that there is a lot of rubbish flooding the advertising world as a direct result of agencies living in a state of financially induced fear. Agencies will gain more respect if they stand up for their work with conviction, while clients need to let go of their ‘I am the client’ and ‘I know best’ attitude.

4) Make choices

Life is about choices and so is marketing. Given their budgets, brand managers need to make smart choices. ‘This or that’ is needed and not ‘some of this and some of that’. When marketing was simpler this happened automatically if only because there weren’t that many choices. Today, there are so many choices in every aspect of brand marketing that one needs to have the guts to pick a few and do them well, rather do them all, just to tick a box. For example, effective media plans start with choosing the medium first, yet brand managers want to use everything: TV, print, radio, outdoor, activation, digital... They may be better off if they just do TV or just activation, or just outdoor, but making this choice takes guts, which is why most brand managers end up doing a little of everything and hence the results fail to meet the expectations.

To conclude, brand managers need to take time off from the cycle of marketing life they are stuck in and rediscover their true vocation – to do brilliant marketing.

Shoaib Qureshy is Chief Executive, Bulls Eye DDB.shoaib@be.com.pk