It’s all very well being differentiated, disruptive and revolutionary, but if your main competitor makes a meaningful improvement, your brand will drop behind if you don’t follow suit.
As the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity draws to an end for another year, many marketers will be patting themselves on the back for wins at the awards. But are they really measuring the effectiveness of their creativity?
Asking whether purpose will increase market share is the wrong question. But brands all have a deep-seated vision, which marketers should dust off and use to inspire their approach to innovating for, and engaging with, consumers.
Marketers could do worse than reflect on both the substantive and affective trials of those aged 35 to 55 and find ways to contribute positively to both.
Disagreeing with someone on Twitter is one thing but calling out a colleague’s way of thinking takes a lot more courage.
Marketers need to get involved in conversations around technology to ensure it is put to use in a meaningful way that will enhance consumers’ experience rather than leave them feeling cold.
From identikit ads for small businesses to the same outdated image of the over-60s, creatives need to look beyond the obvious and stop falling into the same old traps.
Covert insults in research groups, demeaning consumer descriptors and polarisation in the workplace are creating an out-dated and churlish impression of the industry, which if not addressed will be to its detriment.
CEOs might be making difficult demands of marketers to be more agile and entrepreneurial but they are right that marketing needs to move beyond its traditional plate-tectonic pace of progress.
To create long-term, sustainable growth, brands need to stay ahead of the game by creating products and services consumers don’t even know they need yet.
The best marketing practitioners develop strategies based on sound theory, but they are pragmatists when it comes to driving it through.