Second guessing what people want from advertising can be dangerous and brands need to go back to basics when considering the most effective routes to boosting loyalty and sales.
Small companies can benefit just as much as big conglomerates from gaining insight into their customers and marketplaces when rolling out new ideas. Although market research sounds expensive, there are ways to achieve valuable knowledge without a huge outlay.
Many adverts take us directly into the heart of happiness: they show us families that are happy to be together, lovers who remember how to be grateful, friends who delight in one another’s company. They can be moving precisely because what they depict is so difficult to find in real life. Their emotional power is premised on evoking what is missing, rather than what is present in our lives.
“Marketing provides good payback for shareholders,” declared PepsiCo last week. This was not a statement uttered by one of the soft drink giant’s senior marketers but its chief financial officer Hugh Johnston.
Pernod Ricard is confident Christmas will be a strong period for its alcohol brands despite the cost of living crisis, with factors like the World Cup and the absence of Omicron this year expected to bolster sales.
Though it’s easy for marketers to be seduced by the short-term wins that come with lower-funnel activities, the evidence is clear: it takes a full-funnel strategy to make it through a downturn unscathed.
New data suggests corporate-NGO partnerships will only increase in importance over the next three years amid the cost of living crisis and war in Ukraine.
With more than half of marketers admitting effectiveness is not a defined role and rarely a priority in their business, are brands thinking clearly about how to properly resource their teams?