Good marketing is difficult ... for many good reasons.
First, consumers are increasingly distracted by many factors (pandemic, political, economic, etc.), making it increasingly difficult to get their attention. And there are more channels and platforms than ever, which means marketers need to become multi-channel experts and omniscient.
But sometimes good marketing is difficult ... for not-so-good reasons. Because let's be honest, there are a lot of things that go wrong in the marketing world. The error may be difficult to spot, but I'll try anyway.
And I'd love to hear your thoughts on what I've been missing because I'm sure there's more ... Consider this a beginner's list!
Let's start with the breakdown of agencies
These changes are part of what I call normal corporate breathing. From centralized to decentralized and vice versa, again and again. And it's no different for the marketing / agency world. The status quo has evolved from all the marketing needs originating from a company seamlessly integrated into complex 3D puzzles (including strategy, creativity, media and production under one roof), most recently with the advent of digital, of hyperspeciality and isolation. . It suddenly seemed like every brand marketer needed at least five different companies for strategy, creative development, manufacturing, and more.
This disjointed approach is at least an over-correction that introduces a lot of friction, waste and misunderstanding into the marketing mix. (Now the pendulum is swinging back, propelled by inflation and cost-cutting efforts, as brands recognize what a company can do more efficiently, effectively, and on a larger scale ... like, well, quads. .)
Marketers have lost a lot of control over customer data and information
Quad's mission is to help brands master what we call Experience Marketing (MX), which encompasses everything from consumer awareness and trust to brand choice and purchase. Just as CX (customer experience) is about perfecting the customer journey, MX is about perfecting the marketing journey: Marketers have their own expertise in delivering content and experiences to customers.
We work with many of the world's top brands (4,500+) and increasingly find that the most effective marketers have significantly increased their data sets. To master their MX, marketers have programs to collect proprietary and proprietary data from customers
For many marketers, it's a catch-up game to learn or relearn who their customers are on a family level. With the rising costs of digital campaigns and the decline of major social platforms, many brands are realizing they need to find new ways to master their data. What am I talking about ...
Marketers rely heavily on "black boxes".
Over time, many brands have relied too much on external data systems and algorithms - "black boxes" - that they do not fully control or understand. For example, marketers (as we all know by now) have been playing with cookies for a long time.
The widely publicized drop in cookies, driven by how Apple and other big tech players are starting to rethink privacy, is a warning to marketers. In Quad, through our suite of Signals through Quad Intelligence solutions, we advise our brand partners how to better acquire their data, but also use it more effectively in online and offline campaigns. What do I ...
Many brands still view online and offline marketing as separate things
Consumers' online experiences inform and empower their offline experiences and vice versa. Digital and IRL are interrelated, interdependent, and part of a continuum for all demographics (especially Millennials and Gen Z).
Yet many brands view online and offline marketing as two separate things. Or at least they handle it differently.
At Quad, which helped brands redesign their MX, we spent a lot of time advising them on redesigning settings, flows, integrations, and timing for offline and online messaging. What do I ...
Too many transfers destroy marketing plans
As my colleague Eric Ashworth, who leads the Quad marketing agency and solutions function, likes to point out, every marketing step is a potential point of difficulty and a source of friction. This refers to the sand that forms when the strategic team is out of sync with the creative agency, with communication, with the digital team, with the social media team, with the production team, with the media planner and so on. . Turn on. Marketers tend to see this friction as an inevitable part of their marketing experience. Because obstacles happen and approval always takes time, right?
But the truth is, there is a direct correlation between an increase in the number of conversions in a marketing plan and poor performance (or even failure) of certain campaigns. And the reverse is also true: simplifying your marketing experience, which we embrace in the Quad, has a liberating impact on creative effectiveness.
So how do you start repairing what's broken?
As a Quad CMO, part of my job is to listen to other marketers: learn about their specific marketing challenges, learn more about their pain points, and help guide conversations about fixing bugs.
As always, the first step in solving a problem is to accept that ... we have a problem.
That is why I am thrilled that Quad is speaking to and sponsoring the Forbes CMO Summit 2022, where we will continue this high-level conversation.
If you are planning to attend, I look forward to hearing from you. But if not, I'd still love to hear your take on the marketing gap.
Contact me here and together we find the right solution.