Mini MBA star: Lex Bradshaw-Zanger

Clarity, vision and strategy are the keys to brand management, says L’Oréal’s Lex Bradshaw-Zanger.

Lex Bradshaw-Zanger, CMO UK and Ireland at L’Oréal

Brand management is about clarity, vision and strategy, says Lex Bradshaw-Zanger.

He believes the first of the two best pieces of advice he has been given about brand management came early in his career: a brand is a promise. The second came in the brand codes module of the Mini MBA in Brand Management: Codify the shit out of everything.

“This couldn’t be clearer. Our marketers may have become tired of their brands and their codes. But these are the things that make the magic happen as they weave together channels from TV to Facebook to outdoor, and also messages that build the brand or drive sales through performance media,” says Bradshaw-Zanger.

The course was also a timely refresher in marketing and brand management basics, and in highlighting the importance of diagnosis, strategy and tactics, he adds. Bradshaw-Zanger enjoyed the format and content of the course, as well as the popular final simulation module. “I almost want to do it a second time so I learn from my mistakes,” he says.

But he picks the brand codes module as his favourite part of the course. “The methodology, thinking and discipline that you put into this module pulls it away from pretty graphics and art directors to the core reasoning behind it – the mental connection that it plays both across time, objectives and across channels,” he says.

Take your skills to the next level with the Mini MBA in Brand Management. The next course, which is run by professor and Marketing Week columnist Mark Ritson, starts on 20 April. The Mini MBA in Marketing course begins on 13 April. Visit the Mini MBA website for more information and to book your place.

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