There likely weren’t many well-established marketing firms that read Danielle Sacks’s recent article in Fast Company, "The Future of Advertising: Mayhem on Madison Avenue," that felt vindicated. Yet, rather than abdicating our four hundred thousand year-old upright posture and skulking around on ancestral all-fours like the ad execs in the article, we stood erect, chests out, chins up, fists in the air.
BrightHouse has been a proponent of reaching individuals through meaningful and direct methods versus mass media for nearly two decades. Hardly adversarial with advertising agencies, we frequently partner with and help them become believers in our long-standing conviction, “If you’re paying for the media, you have the wrong message.” Not as sexy as Fast Company’s quotation from Jon Bond, but equal in character, "Marketing in the future is like sex. Only the losers will have to pay for it."
The media landscape will continue to change and become increasingly complex as technology progresses at its mind-warping speed. But there is a constant, a Rosetta Stone that we use with clients from Bounty to Secret to Carlsberg, that helps determine where to be, when, how and with whom.
It’s called purpose, or as we named it twelve years ago, the Master Idea. If your company or client has an authentic purpose, one that’s relevant to your ethos, culture and values, then you have a lens, magic goggles, through which to view this daunting digital landscape—and everything else, for that matter, from innovation to HR. This perspective helps ground you, like a foot on the floor during a bad case of the bed spins. It will help you create, edit and make decisions in real time because you’ll know exactly why you’re here. And if you know your why, you can deal with any what, who, where or when.
The other piece of good news is on the content for this revolution — movies didn’t replace theater, the Kindle didn’t replace books. Content that feeds the soul—that helps people become part of something bigger than themselves, purpose-inspired content, will always be craved. So, if your company or client has an authentic purpose, then no matter whether the content is crowd-sourced, for a media event, a motion picture or a picture on a package, it will be guided by this authentic purpose that meets a need in the world.
Human truths, not taglines, purposes that help improve not just public perception, but also public life—these are the things the marketing world will need to adapt to if it wants to stand tall and keep evolving.
Cathy Carlisi is leader of the BrightHouse creative engine. Cathy has worked for agencies such as Carmichael Lynch and Fallon in Minneapolis, as well as for several agencies in Atlanta, including Babbit and Reiman. Cathy’s work has appeared in national and international award shows such as The One Show, Communication Arts, The New York Art Directors Annual, Graphis Advertising Annual, Print Regional Design Annual and the Addys—including Best of Show. She has worked for world-class organizations such as CNN, Delta Air Lines, Rollerblade, Schwinn, Energizer, The Cartoon Network, Graco, Children's Defense Fund, Georgia-Pacific, and Coca-Cola. She is also a published poet and graduate of The University of the South—Sewanee, where she received Magna Cum Laude/Phi Beta Kappa distinction.
BrightHouse is the original Ideation Corporation. We are a global consultancy of thinkers creating commercial success through social value. We're creating a world where new ideas reign, where corporate values mirror human values and where higher earnings link with higher purposes.
Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts
The Most Exciting Time to be in Marketing
Not since the birth of our nation has there been a more exciting time to be in marketing. America has its roots in marketing. Thirteen brands, then called colonies, had their own cultures, values, strategies, logos (flags) and taglines (mottos).
Philosopher, statesman and arguably this nation’s first great account planner, Ben Franklin, brought all thirteen brands together at a conference in Philadelphia, which sported his pithy theme: "If we don't hang together, we will surely hang separately." This message roped them in rather quickly by offering this disparate group of brands something bigger than anyone of them - the purpose of "We The People."
Our purpose proved that some ideas are bigger than others and have the ability to galvanize and unify a fledgling nation, let alone brands. Purpose stands the test of time as well. Unlike positioning statements that come and go, purpose never changes. It is our North Star, our secular religion and a symbol of what we can be. “We the people” means as much today as it did way back then, just as Southwest will always stand for democratizing the skies.
Purpose is the new profit. This week the Association of National Advertisers returned to the roots of its own industry by reclaiming the power of purpose and all the profits that come with it. As Dell's former CMO put it, "Purpose isn't just good for the soul, it’s actually good for the bottom line."
In Firms of Endearment, Rajendra S. Sisodia, David B. Wolfe and Jagdish N. Sheth define Firms of Endearment as companies that “seek to maximize their value to society as a whole, not just to their shareholders.” These firms, which include such purpose-driven juggernauts as Google, Patagonia, Southwest and Whole Foods, returned 1025% over the last 10 years, compared to only 122% for the S&P and 316% from the companies profiled in Good to Great.
Purpose turns brands into stands. And what you stand for allows you to play in a larger space. Take Graco as an example. What Graco knew intuitively, but had not articulated since the founder’s passing, was that its most important role was caring for caregivers. Once the organization rallied around this sense of purpose, it grew from a $450M juvenile products company to a $1.3B baby and parenting essentials company.
Finally purpose allows us to work in the company of something greater. When John F. Kennedy asked a janitor at NASA what he did for a living, he replied, " I am helping to put a man on the moon by the end of this decade.”
As one of the leaders of the purpose movement who has worked on purpose for more than eighty Fortune 100 companies, I can attest to the power of purpose for people, products and profit. Purpose is back and promises to elevate the role of marketing from seller to servant, and in doing so will transform brands, companies and this planet.
Philosopher, statesman and arguably this nation’s first great account planner, Ben Franklin, brought all thirteen brands together at a conference in Philadelphia, which sported his pithy theme: "If we don't hang together, we will surely hang separately." This message roped them in rather quickly by offering this disparate group of brands something bigger than anyone of them - the purpose of "We The People."
Our purpose proved that some ideas are bigger than others and have the ability to galvanize and unify a fledgling nation, let alone brands. Purpose stands the test of time as well. Unlike positioning statements that come and go, purpose never changes. It is our North Star, our secular religion and a symbol of what we can be. “We the people” means as much today as it did way back then, just as Southwest will always stand for democratizing the skies.
Purpose is the new profit. This week the Association of National Advertisers returned to the roots of its own industry by reclaiming the power of purpose and all the profits that come with it. As Dell's former CMO put it, "Purpose isn't just good for the soul, it’s actually good for the bottom line."
In Firms of Endearment, Rajendra S. Sisodia, David B. Wolfe and Jagdish N. Sheth define Firms of Endearment as companies that “seek to maximize their value to society as a whole, not just to their shareholders.” These firms, which include such purpose-driven juggernauts as Google, Patagonia, Southwest and Whole Foods, returned 1025% over the last 10 years, compared to only 122% for the S&P and 316% from the companies profiled in Good to Great.
Purpose turns brands into stands. And what you stand for allows you to play in a larger space. Take Graco as an example. What Graco knew intuitively, but had not articulated since the founder’s passing, was that its most important role was caring for caregivers. Once the organization rallied around this sense of purpose, it grew from a $450M juvenile products company to a $1.3B baby and parenting essentials company.
Finally purpose allows us to work in the company of something greater. When John F. Kennedy asked a janitor at NASA what he did for a living, he replied, " I am helping to put a man on the moon by the end of this decade.”
As one of the leaders of the purpose movement who has worked on purpose for more than eighty Fortune 100 companies, I can attest to the power of purpose for people, products and profit. Purpose is back and promises to elevate the role of marketing from seller to servant, and in doing so will transform brands, companies and this planet.
The Marketing of Marketing
Marketing has been part of our lives since the dawn of time. One can imagine the first humans who worshiped the sun. That star was planning and executing the conception, promotion and distribution of humanity. Its message was life. And we were the messengers. That big ball of fire – our first TV- would turn on every morning and show us how to grow, work and live.
Then marketing fell into the hands of organizations and lost its luster and purpose. There is no root for the word “marketing” which should be a hint as to whether it has any purpose here on earth. The closest origin would be the word marcatus, which means market or trading place, which might explain our obsession with trading in one kind of marketing for another.
Most of us are most familiar with Mass Marketing. That’s where the marketer sends one message out to everyone with the hope that all will be listening and later buying. Unfortunately, mass marketing became missed marketing as television lost its reception with America. You could call it “absenTVism.” People were no longer huddling around that big box. So marketing had to turn to other channels.
First came Direct Marketing. Spawned to make reach and frequency more laser like than buckshot, direct marketers targeted customers with specific interests. This weighty decision gave birth to junk mail. In the 70’s alone, the average weight of the Sunday paper, doubled.
By the 80′s, the world of marketing was besieged with Walkmans, cell phones, faxes and computers making selling very complicated. Welcome Presence Marketing. Here the idea was to fish where the fish were or get the message to where people were going to get away from messaging like concerts and ballparks. When that strategy started to strike out, we invented “Experiential Marketing.” Espousing that only “an experience” can change your mind, it became the new marketing. Marshall McLuhan would say, ” Everybody experiences far more than he understands. Yet it is experience, rather than understanding, that influences behavior.”
Later called “Surround Marketing” and then “Immersive Marketing”, Experiential Marketing created the backlash of “Permission Marketing. The theory here was that we customers would invite the company’s advertisements into our homes. We would actually ask to be bothered. Perhaps that is how Telemarketing found its way on to our dining room tables. After all, telemarketers always call at dinnertime. Don’t they?
Soon alternative media meant that a marketer had no alternative but to use it. Marketing was going ape! That’s when “Guerilla Marketing” hit the streets. Marketing now was warfare and that meant seizing all opportunities to capture customers. Battalions of students sold cars. Models sold beer. Companies would enlist anyone and everyone if they could ambush customers.
By the 90′s “Digital Marketing” created rapid exchange between buyers and sellers. It also created a new place to hang out – the Internet. Soon, marketers would conclude that if its not online, it’s not. This gave rise to “Viral Marketing” which like a virulent disease spreads fast and furiously until we are all consumed. There seems to be no cure for marketing’s permutations and mutations. Most recently, marketing has morphed into Narrowcasting. That would be the opposite of broadcasting born in the era of mass marketing. Ego marketing is now making its debut as a way to customize a message and market directly to a market of one – you. And then of course, there is Product-Placement Marketing that integrates products into movies in order to script you and then direct you to buy that product. Finally there is “NeuroMarketing” that actually looks at the blood flow in our brains to see if there is a buy button. By the way, there isn’t.
Perhaps, Supermarketing is just around the corner. In this world, marketing is all we do. We live in a virtual supermarket where products and services are marketed 24/7 and people are bagged like vegetables. On the other hand, we might “get back, get back to where we once belonged” as the Beatles’ lyrics suggest and remember how this all began. Let’s call this the new era of “ECO-Marketing.” Here, marketing returns to pay homage to the sun and serves the ultimate customer, the world itself. Here the power of marketing nurtures our nature for connection and helps us connect with nature. Sustainability in this new universe does not mean to survive at the expense of others but thrive along side each other. Marketing then exists to sell more than things. It promotes purpose. It creates action. And it saves a people and a planet that is just about spent.
Marketers need to ask themselves, “Are we messengers who forgot the message”. Their answer will determine the next iteration of marketing. And what’s next for society, itself.
Then marketing fell into the hands of organizations and lost its luster and purpose. There is no root for the word “marketing” which should be a hint as to whether it has any purpose here on earth. The closest origin would be the word marcatus, which means market or trading place, which might explain our obsession with trading in one kind of marketing for another.
Most of us are most familiar with Mass Marketing. That’s where the marketer sends one message out to everyone with the hope that all will be listening and later buying. Unfortunately, mass marketing became missed marketing as television lost its reception with America. You could call it “absenTVism.” People were no longer huddling around that big box. So marketing had to turn to other channels.
First came Direct Marketing. Spawned to make reach and frequency more laser like than buckshot, direct marketers targeted customers with specific interests. This weighty decision gave birth to junk mail. In the 70’s alone, the average weight of the Sunday paper, doubled.
By the 80′s, the world of marketing was besieged with Walkmans, cell phones, faxes and computers making selling very complicated. Welcome Presence Marketing. Here the idea was to fish where the fish were or get the message to where people were going to get away from messaging like concerts and ballparks. When that strategy started to strike out, we invented “Experiential Marketing.” Espousing that only “an experience” can change your mind, it became the new marketing. Marshall McLuhan would say, ” Everybody experiences far more than he understands. Yet it is experience, rather than understanding, that influences behavior.”
Later called “Surround Marketing” and then “Immersive Marketing”, Experiential Marketing created the backlash of “Permission Marketing. The theory here was that we customers would invite the company’s advertisements into our homes. We would actually ask to be bothered. Perhaps that is how Telemarketing found its way on to our dining room tables. After all, telemarketers always call at dinnertime. Don’t they?
Soon alternative media meant that a marketer had no alternative but to use it. Marketing was going ape! That’s when “Guerilla Marketing” hit the streets. Marketing now was warfare and that meant seizing all opportunities to capture customers. Battalions of students sold cars. Models sold beer. Companies would enlist anyone and everyone if they could ambush customers.
By the 90′s “Digital Marketing” created rapid exchange between buyers and sellers. It also created a new place to hang out – the Internet. Soon, marketers would conclude that if its not online, it’s not. This gave rise to “Viral Marketing” which like a virulent disease spreads fast and furiously until we are all consumed. There seems to be no cure for marketing’s permutations and mutations. Most recently, marketing has morphed into Narrowcasting. That would be the opposite of broadcasting born in the era of mass marketing. Ego marketing is now making its debut as a way to customize a message and market directly to a market of one – you. And then of course, there is Product-Placement Marketing that integrates products into movies in order to script you and then direct you to buy that product. Finally there is “NeuroMarketing” that actually looks at the blood flow in our brains to see if there is a buy button. By the way, there isn’t.
Perhaps, Supermarketing is just around the corner. In this world, marketing is all we do. We live in a virtual supermarket where products and services are marketed 24/7 and people are bagged like vegetables. On the other hand, we might “get back, get back to where we once belonged” as the Beatles’ lyrics suggest and remember how this all began. Let’s call this the new era of “ECO-Marketing.” Here, marketing returns to pay homage to the sun and serves the ultimate customer, the world itself. Here the power of marketing nurtures our nature for connection and helps us connect with nature. Sustainability in this new universe does not mean to survive at the expense of others but thrive along side each other. Marketing then exists to sell more than things. It promotes purpose. It creates action. And it saves a people and a planet that is just about spent.
Marketers need to ask themselves, “Are we messengers who forgot the message”. Their answer will determine the next iteration of marketing. And what’s next for society, itself.
Break Free From The Chain Gang
The value chain, a chain saw mentality, chain store thinking and chains of command have the world of business in shackles. Each chain sets off a chain reaction that kills off creativity, passion and discovery.
Value chain was put in place to make sure companies are not spending dollars foolishly. But the value chain has a few weak links that in the end will cost your company even more money. Based primarily on reducing cost of services, value chain executers (an appropriate name) splice and dice, trim and slim and rip and strip budgets squeezing the very lifeblood out of the service that is being offered. The results: less service and quality. What’s more the value chain process has little value in building relationships. Often they hurt them. It is time that value chain departments depart from investigations to investing in what might be the next great idea for their company.
Chain saw mentality has cut into our values as human beings. Cost reductions by way of deducting people is no way to grow a bottom line. Still companies partake in employee genocide wiping out entire floors of people. The Coca-Cola Company lost much of its intellectual pop lately as it has many of its finest were poured out onto the street in the last decade. And most recently, BellSouth made the unfortunate call to let thousands go. Corporate policy must change so that autocratic leadership cannot become automatic canning of the most valuable asset a company has – its people.
Chain store thinking might be great for franchise operations, but within a unique company sameness or routinization will destroy innovation. For many, the dream is to do the same thing over and over but people are over it. Customers no longer buy products; they buy solutions- custom made ways of making their lives way easier. The days of one-size-fits-all have been circumvented by “the power of one.” Even conventional chains are localizing their efforts. Micro-brews are an example of “big is small.” Worst of all chain store thinking incarcerates brains. Thinking inside the box becomes the corporate standard. Standards are not for people who stand for making the world work better. It is time that we reward people creating new orders, not following them orders.
Chain of command is perhaps the most antiquated concept in business today. Militaristic, this medieval caste system allows for the rise of modern day dictators. In these organizations the boss is nothing more than “double S.O.B. spelled backwards.” Steely-eyed, know-it-all dogmatic, top-down leadership is a ship that is sure to sink as its captains abandon this old world school of management for more liberating, organic and democratic systems. Companies today need to get horizontal with their staffing structures if they want their profits to be vertical. Round tables should be used as a metaphor for how decisions will be made. And ideas should be heralded as the currency of leadership. Nurturing environments become the hot beds of creativity, passion and discovery. In allowing ourselves to fail without the ridicule of supervisors we innovate faster, better and more often.
Prison chain gangs work together. They are linked by common values. And they all report to one boss. Sounds like your company. Perhaps it’s time you make a break for it.
Value chain was put in place to make sure companies are not spending dollars foolishly. But the value chain has a few weak links that in the end will cost your company even more money. Based primarily on reducing cost of services, value chain executers (an appropriate name) splice and dice, trim and slim and rip and strip budgets squeezing the very lifeblood out of the service that is being offered. The results: less service and quality. What’s more the value chain process has little value in building relationships. Often they hurt them. It is time that value chain departments depart from investigations to investing in what might be the next great idea for their company.
Chain saw mentality has cut into our values as human beings. Cost reductions by way of deducting people is no way to grow a bottom line. Still companies partake in employee genocide wiping out entire floors of people. The Coca-Cola Company lost much of its intellectual pop lately as it has many of its finest were poured out onto the street in the last decade. And most recently, BellSouth made the unfortunate call to let thousands go. Corporate policy must change so that autocratic leadership cannot become automatic canning of the most valuable asset a company has – its people.
Chain store thinking might be great for franchise operations, but within a unique company sameness or routinization will destroy innovation. For many, the dream is to do the same thing over and over but people are over it. Customers no longer buy products; they buy solutions- custom made ways of making their lives way easier. The days of one-size-fits-all have been circumvented by “the power of one.” Even conventional chains are localizing their efforts. Micro-brews are an example of “big is small.” Worst of all chain store thinking incarcerates brains. Thinking inside the box becomes the corporate standard. Standards are not for people who stand for making the world work better. It is time that we reward people creating new orders, not following them orders.
Chain of command is perhaps the most antiquated concept in business today. Militaristic, this medieval caste system allows for the rise of modern day dictators. In these organizations the boss is nothing more than “double S.O.B. spelled backwards.” Steely-eyed, know-it-all dogmatic, top-down leadership is a ship that is sure to sink as its captains abandon this old world school of management for more liberating, organic and democratic systems. Companies today need to get horizontal with their staffing structures if they want their profits to be vertical. Round tables should be used as a metaphor for how decisions will be made. And ideas should be heralded as the currency of leadership. Nurturing environments become the hot beds of creativity, passion and discovery. In allowing ourselves to fail without the ridicule of supervisors we innovate faster, better and more often.
Prison chain gangs work together. They are linked by common values. And they all report to one boss. Sounds like your company. Perhaps it’s time you make a break for it.
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