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4 tips to becoming “2015 Marketer of the Year”

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A search of top trending marketing topics today will result in programmatic buying, content marketing, social media, big data, native advertising and mobile marketing, among others. While all these – individually and collectively – have dramatically reshaped the landscape of marketing in 2014, they also tend to overshadow the core objective of marketing.

If marketing has one goal, it’s to influence and change consumer behaviour. More often than not, it’s to influence a consumer to become favourably inclined to a brand, resulting in switching brands (competitive conversion) or driving a desire to purchase a new category. It can also be to change consumption habits – a shampoo-selling mastermind took the standard “lather, rinse” and changed it to “lather, rinse. Repeat”. Brilliant, pure genius!

Marketing can also influence people’s behaviour towards social good. Interestingly, some of the most successful campaigns recently have been social-cause related. “Earth Hour”, “Dumb Ways to Die”, “Ice Bucket Challenge” and the “Bentley Burial for Organ Donation” have either won or been worthy of Cannes gold/platinum Lions.

Thus, the key common ingredients of any successful marketing campaign are consumers (understanding, insights), compelling message and experiences, and effective efficient delivery that engages the consumer when and where they are most receptive.

The consumer landscape has dramatically changed over the past few years with the explosion of mobile (primarily smartphones), internet and social media. Consumers are far more willing to experiment with products and brands as the amount of information and online reviews makes taking a chance less risky.

The consumers today – conditioned by mobile and powered by the internet – are always on (explosion of online content, social media); want it now (a one-second delay in an e-commerce page load-up can cost millions in lost sales); and expresses freely (four out of 10 people repost photos, reviews).

It has, thus, become more challenging than ever to authentically connect with today’s consumer, and accordingly, trust is at an all-time premium. Today’s marketers must engage in a consistent, respectful two-way dialogue with their target audience. Make no mistake, the customer and fan experience has evolved into one driven by engagement and “shareability”.

Outlined below is my list of four tips to help jump-start your journey towards becoming “2015 Marketer of the Year”.

  1. Reinvent the traditional marketing model mindset

Most successful marketers are moving away from “broadcasting marketing messages” to publishing stories and useful content”.

Consumers want and are willing to engage with brands which add value to their life. Charmin has developed an app called “sit or squat” which directs consumers to the cleanest bathrooms when they are away from home. Nike has the “Nike+ running” app to help runners achieve their goals. These efforts provide valuable tools to consumers, and in so doing, create a positive association with the brand.

  1. Creativity (big idea) matters

While the explosion of video content has created challenges to reach consumers among the noise, it has also created a significant opportunity from a storytelling perspective. Admen are no longer limited to a 30-second TV spot. The top viral video ads have an average length of one to two minutes.

These top video ad campaigns (e.g. Old Spice’s “Smell like a Man, Man” and Volkswagen’s “Van Damme’s epic split”/“the Force”) are generating more than 50-70 million views, with a significant part being “earned” media. Is your brand name up there? If not, ever wondered why? There is an old adage in advertising agencies – “clients get the work they deserve”. Are you sufficiently challenging, inspiring and taking risks with your agencies to come up with great creative work?

  1. Digital and social media amplification

In a consumer participatory economy, marketers have to address two key questions from a consumer perspective. Why do I care (is the work relevant, engaging)? Why will I share (need to create value for them and their network)?

Leo Burnett uses its PLAY (how do we engage and keep them engaged?), BUY (how does participation encourage sales?), SHARE (how and why will people share?) engagement model to create compelling work. Some examples:

    1. Fiat Brazil Vem Pra Rua (
      )
    2. 7-Eleven Slurpee BYO Cup Day (
      )

4. Embrace technology and a “mobile first” approach in storytelling

In a world where consumers are rarely separated from their mobile phones, brands are learning to leverage them in creating delightful and surprising experiences as illustrated in this example by E-Mart Korea.

Brands are leveraging technology in developing highly engaging brand messaging. Some exemplary examples include British Airways (#lookup outdoor campaign in London) and Dunkin’ Donuts Korea (flavour radio campaign on metro buses and outdoor).

Top hockey players “skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been”. Marketers will have to hone that skill to effectively engage and influence consumer behaviour by leveraging programmatic buying, big data and real-time analytics, content marketing and a whole host of tools available in their armoury.

Ambrish Jain is the vice-president of worldwide marketing brand integration at Lenovo.

Other articles from The Futurist:

Getting up close and personal by Mike King of IKEA Singapore
Still a touch ‘Mad’ but not for long
 by Anna Bory of Audi

The death of traditional and digital marketing, by Rahul Asthana of Kimberly-Clark
Up, up and away with Millennials, by Rick Harvey Lam of Accor Luxury and Upscale Brands
Welcome to the ‘third age of travel’ by Karun Budhraja of Amadeus Asia
The future(s) of B2B marketing by Andrea Lin of Citi
The mobile customer experience will fuel digital transformation in Asia Pacific by Forrester
Communicate... or die by Greg Klayton of Kadence

This article was from  Marketing Magazine’s special edition The Futurist, the January-February 2015 issue.

For the full issue, click here.

 

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