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Looking ahead, we see an increasingly complex range of choice, channels and connection points available to our consumers and our customers. Within this context, the question for me is: what is the optimum shape for SABMiller to be to succeed in this future? Our answer has marketing at the core. Not just a department, but a fully integrated and commercial marketing mindset across all disciplines, from technical to sales to finance and beyond… This may seem obvious in principle, but delivering this outstandingly in practice has significant implications for mindsets and skill-sets, as well as for organisational design and process.
And strong brands have a crucial role to play. Brands which are crystal clear on what they stand for, balancing authentic, consistent, enduring propositions with the flexibility and speed of reaction needed to take full advantage of these fast changing conditions, right across the business. Which brings me back to Big M – difficult to deliver in practice, but essential if we are to have the fully integrated, fast-moving commercial organisation we are committed to.
Posted: July 29th, 2010 | Author: Glen Dower | Filed under: future of marketing | Tags: future of marketing, graham mackay, SABMiller, the marketing society | Leave a Comment »
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The web-enabled transformation of marketing has only just begun. To date, most brands embracing the web have treated it as just another channel on a media plan. Over the coming decade, a brand’s
online presence will rise in prominence to become a critical platform for engaging with customers, and
in the process will come to be a more closely integrated part of a brand’s marketing strategy.
Don’t miss out on the view from the top of leading-edge companies in our book Future of Marketing. Order your own copy of this hardback, limited edition book, priced just £29.99, by clicking here.
Posted: July 22nd, 2010 | Author: will.armstrong | Filed under: future of marketing, leadership | Tags: future of marketing, google, Nikesh Arora, the marketing society | Leave a Comment »
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Ultimately, we see marketing’s job as being to nourish the most valuable asset your business has – the intangible relationship between brand and consumer. To commit each day to making the experience for the consumer a little bit better than it was the day before; to create and share value, to make sure the lines of communication are open and responsive; to raise the smile rather than cause a frown. We’re not as good as we could be at these things at Innocent, but we’re certainly getting better.
Don’t miss out on the view from the top of leading-edge companies in our book Future of Marketing. Order your own copy of this hardback, limited edition book, priced just £29.99, by clicking here.
Posted: July 15th, 2010 | Author: will.armstrong | Filed under: Uncategorized, future of marketing | Tags: future of marketing, innocent, Richard Reed, the marketing society | Leave a Comment »
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Expect to see a blurring of the boundaries between advertising and editorial. Social networking sites, for instance, endorse goods and services in a way that is closer to editorial. More supple electronic methods, however, bring their own challenges. Spending on PR and crisis management will grow – to counter a chaotic, noisy world where bloggers and ‘unofficial’ media can tarnish a brand before a chief executive can react.
Posted: July 8th, 2010 | Author: will.armstrong | Filed under: Leadership Central, future of marketing | | 1 Comment »
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This is an exciting time to be creating and building brands. On the one hand, it seems like everything is changing. On the other hand, one very important dynamic has not changed: the consumer is boss.
If we listen closely to consumers, if we understand wants and needs, if we offer simple solutions, if we provide delightful experiences and build meaningful relationships – we advertisers, we brand creators and brand builders, we communicators will enable our businesses to grow and to thrive for the long term.
Posted: July 1st, 2010 | Author: will.armstrong | Filed under: future of marketing | Tags: AG Lafley, Brand Building, procter & gamble, the future of marketing, the marketing society | Leave a Comment »
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This survey is being conducted as part of a project to assess the Future of the Marketing Communications Industry for mmc.co.uk
It should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. Please complete the survey by clicking here.
Many thanks for your help in this project which will be published in the summer.
All responses will be treated in the strictest confidence, results only being published at the aggregate level, and any quotations used anonymously.
Posted: July 1st, 2010 | Author: will.armstrong | Filed under: Customer Stream, future of marketing | Tags: the future of marketing, the marketing society | Leave a Comment »
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Of course we have to be mindful of the fact that the changes in the ways that people socialise, form friendships and interact will have an impact on how we target them – not least because consumers increasingly expect a two-way dialogue with us. They expect to have their views listened to and acted upon by brand owners. However, irrespective of the means by which one reaches consumers, marketing will remain for me about the ‘four Ps’ – product, price, promotion and people. Have you got a quality product? Is it at an appropriate price point? Have you got a compelling means of promoting it to consumers? Do you have the talent in your organisation to create the ideas and deliver brilliant execution? Get those four things right and you’ll be a successful marketer now and in the future.
Posted: June 24th, 2010 | Author: will.armstrong | Filed under: future of marketing | Tags: Changing world, Diageo, future of marketing, Paul Walsh, the marketing society | Leave a Comment »
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Customers now have access to multiple channels, which empowers them with knowledge and allows them to exercise unprecedented levels of choice about how and with whom they do business. This has significant implications for how organisations market themselves – they have to be open, listen hard and react quickly, making sure they demonstrate consistent, flawless CRM, brand execution and marketing communications across all customer touchpoints.
So it’s no surprise that the role of marketing practitioners is changing quickly. We are witnessing the arrival of the first generation of marketers to have spent their lives online, and older generations will survive only if they’re curious enough to embrace this new world – to become digitally literate and switch mode from tell and sell ‘monologue marketing’ to interactive ‘dialogue marketing’.
Posted: June 17th, 2010 | Author: Glen Dower | Filed under: future of marketing | Tags: future of marketing, marketing society, vittorio colao, vodafone | Leave a Comment »
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Thanks to the power of the web, it is now the customer who imposes their needs and desires on us, the retailer. They can make their approval – or disapproval – felt in a myriad of ways. In short, they are the ones who control the message. This is not just a trend – it’s the marketing equivalent of irreversible climate change.
That means embracing new technology, establishing and encouraging vital new channels of communication. It means tapping into the unique electronic intimacy of the web via live online forums and feedback sites; getting to know our customers; and building trust and reinforcing loyalty through authentic understanding and listening.
Posted: June 10th, 2010 | Author: will.armstrong | Filed under: future of marketing | Tags: Brands & Technology, Charles Dunstone, future of marketing, The Carphone Warehouse, the marketing society | Leave a Comment »
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Whilst customers say they prefer to buy from trusted brands, they are now taking ownership of that trust by benchmarking their perceptions and choices against many sources rather than choosing to believe brand marketing per se. Most importantly, trust has shifted away from media and celebrity endorsement, and more towards family, friends, and other consumers. Vox populi or ‘village opinion’ has been given a voice online and is an influential new format to be included in the communications mix.
Whilst in the short term this can seem uncomfortable – as it offers less control and less consideration time – it will ultimately increase openness and honesty, which customers respond to. Brands will need to demonstrate consistently that they deliver what they promise – be that on ethics, sustainability or quality – and will need to be prepared to defend it openly.
Posted: June 7th, 2010 | Author: will.armstrong | Filed under: Leadership Central, future of marketing | Tags: future of marketing, leadership, Sir Stuart Rose | 1 Comment »
