Lessons learned

Last week marked my 21st wedding anniversary and also 21 years since I got my first ‘proper’ job in marketing. As I respond to congratulatory messages from friends and family on Facebook, I couldn’t help but reflect on the things that have changed and things I’ve learned over the last 21 years. Facebook didn’t exist but is now credited with influencing the outcome of a referendum and Presidential election.

So, here are the thoughts that came to mind on what I’ve learned during my career as a marketeer and they’re in no particular order...

1. Brands are built holistically

It might constitute modern day heresy, but I disagree with one of the central tennets of ‘How Brands Grow’. You need more than just a distinctive product and big media budget. You need to consider all your touchpoints – including how you treat your staff and how, in turn, they treat customers. As Trendwatching highlighted in their ‘Glass Box’ piece soon after ‘that’ United Airlines video (of an employee dragging a passenger from the plane) went viral, your internal culture is also your brand. For that reason, generalists should be more sought after than (digital) specialists as can’t join the dots as readily or work collaboratively with colleagues in Product, Sales or Operations. 

2. The brief is the first ad in any campaign

Its role is to engage and inspire. Ultimately, you’re selling the business challenge. If you don’t write a brief or take responsibility for getting it approved before you commission your agency, then you are going to create unnecessary cost and squander away your budget. After moving agency side and a few years freelancing, it still surprises me how few clients actually write a brief. My advice for any new Marketing Director is don’t call a pitch. A much quicker win is to simply start reviewing the briefs coming out of your team. Only then will you see what your existing agencies are capable of and ensure they’re effectively utilised.

3. The long-game trumps short-termism

Short-term results might help justify your existence in the face of regular restructures but they don’t necessarily build a sustainable brand into the long-term. Efficiency requires numeracy & timely results and can effectively be delegated to agencies via a PBR contract. In contrast, effectiveness requires both actionable insight, compelling ideas and a holistic, balanced evaluation agenda.

4. You are not representative of your target audience

The longer you spend in any organisation, the less your capable of representing your customer. Strategies need to be written for the real world. If you’re not comfortable with something your agency has recommended, don’t run the thinking past a friend or family member with no context or frame of reference. Many great ideas have died that way. It's much better to ask for more reassurance or perhaps a pertinent case study from another category or market.

5. Buzzwords come & go, but the fundamentals don’t change

When I joined a large marketing department in 1997, one of the largest lines of our plan was our directory advertising programme. We even sponsored the outside back cover of the Thomsons Local Directory. Google didn’t exist but is now the biggest media owner on most brands’ annual plans. While many things have changed, the fundamentals of marketing remain the same.

6. The landscape is changing and traditional agencies face fierce competition 

Big consultancies are acquiring creative shops. Media agencies are competing with creative agencies over who owns the out of scope services line ‘content’. Google and Facebook offer their own creative services. Ultimately, agencies offering rinse and repeat strategies have the most to fear.

7. Tactics and strategy are frequently confused, but not the same

This one pushes my button and is one of the main reasons why I avoid The Apprentice. Strategy defines your long-term goals and how you're planning to achieve them, so should be fixed. While a tactic is a shorter-term action designed to achieve a specific end, so can be flexible. When everyone understands the strategy, then all oars are pointing the boat in the same direction and everyday tactical activity connects with the strategy.

8. Change is the only constant

Job ads that ask for ‘classically trained X, Y or Z’ are likely avoided by talented employees. Smart people recognise that you need to learn each and every day. The ad suggests the employer is striving to maintain the status quo and effectively living in the past, therefore, unlikely to provoke to response from the most talented candidates.

9. B2B & B2C marketing aren't actually that different

In B2B, there are more cliches and its easier to be distinctive. However, PWC have shown that (when it comes to insurance) consumer behaviour is one of the biggest determinants of business buying behaviour. People don't suddenly become rational robots when they get to work. In 2013, Google found that B2B buyers are actually significantly more emotionally connected to vendors than their B2C counterparts. That makes sense when you consider trust is an emotional consideration. Ultimately, both B2C and B2B disciplines involve the important task of influencing behaviour, consideration of one brand over another and a holistic approach to optimising marcomms activity and the customer journey.