Secret Marketer: ‘Below the line’ is dead, but let’s not forget the key to great marketing is conversion
David CoveneyHas email marketing stopped being all about demand generation, and instead morphed into ‘above the line air cover’ for a campaign?
Has email marketing stopped being all about demand generation, and instead morphed into ‘above the line air cover’ for a campaign?
Over the past few weeks, I have had the pleasure of rubbing shoulders with a number of my peers in the marketing industry at awards nights and conferences. This is always a healthy experience, as we can chew the fat on what is really happening in our world, as well as compare notes on the challenge impoverished CMOs are faced with when sat around the boardroom table.
Technology is not just changing brands’ relationships with consumers – it is also changing how we as marketers must work.
Regular readers will know that I am something of a traditionalist. I am also a big fan of the high street and brands that have real substance – that have history and heritage, that sell products and services that can be touched and felt.
The one core skill of all marketers is to be a great communicator. It is what we do.
The decision to terminate a brand or give it new life should always be made for commercial reasons but sometimes it’s worth reflecting on the type of life the brand has had.
Marketers are charged with driving volume, but it is all in vain if the ‘price’ part is poorly managed.
One of the most annoying parts of my job is the need to constantly “re-sell” marketing to the board.
While people once pledged allegiance to a brand for its reliable products, customer loyalty is no longer guaranteed.
Agencies firing off hundreds of emails to brands they would love to have on their roster, but who have no interest in them, is not going to attract new business.
People like to be fashionable; they want to follow the trends and are looking for shortcuts. As marketers, we need to help customers with the right signals – to set fashions, pre-empt them and encourage people to follow us.
Over the past few weeks, we have seen a couple of brands put under public scrutiny as a result of horrific accidents.
For client marketers, one of the great things about agencies is that they usually tell you what you want to hear, despite a few home truths proving more beneficial sometimes.
Many big beasts of the brand landscape showed themselves to be dinosaurs when confronted by digital competition. Avoiding extinction takes a willingness to change.
One of the attractions of a physical store is its appearance. If it looks good, customers are likely to step in so its vital for all retailers, no matter how big, to invest in their retail marketing if they want to keep alive their emotional ties with customers and stop them going online.