How marketers can avoid killing advertising: WFA conference

In many ways the concluding speech at the global marketer conference, organised by the WFA as part of Global Marketer Week, summed up the motivations behind the points speakers strove to make throughout the day. David Wheldon, CMO of RBS and president of the WFA, highlighted seven very dumb ways the industry could wind up topping itself (yes, he did start with the ad):

1. Believing the definition of marketing has changed
2. Being less than 100 percent customer obsessed
3. Being 'either/or' (it should be 'and + and')
4. Being on target and completely missing the point—particularly with regard to procurement and finance
5. Focusing on the what and how—but forgetting the why
6. Believing the magic answer to everything is branded content
7. Suicide by overdose—overzealous targeting or shouting harder to gain share of voice

#GMWKL fantastic speech by David Wheldon on seven ways to kill marketing pic.twitter.com/G5hvLh8575

— Michael Karg (@karg_michael) March 17, 2016

Brands must empower talent

In the opening keynote address, AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes emphasised that the success of the empire he’s built has rested on the trust he has placed in his people.

“Give people in your organisation a chance and allow them to climb,” he exhorted. “My one strength is to find talent and push them to places they never thought they’d go.”

When it comes to marketing, brands need to realise that it’s too important a department to allow it to be taken over by finance people and shareholders, said Fernandes. “Stand strong, believe in your product and fight the case. Be a bit risky and don’t be afraid to fail.”

rockstar Tony Fernandez @AirAsia says marketing is the most powerful thing in an organisation @wfamarketers #GMWKL pic.twitter.com/aDdDpBa4nA

— Smita Gupta (@thesmitagupta) March 17, 2016

Stop measuring your campaigns every week

The industry has got to stop demanding instant results and short-term gains, said John Kearon, CEO of BrainJuicer. “Famous ads seduce, and they work long-term. Half of all market research in the world is spent on tracking. I don’t know why. It’s dead from the neck up.”

Fame, feeling & fluencing basically drive brand success @ChiefJuicer @BrainJuicer #GMWKL #WFA pic.twitter.com/LZptkg8WOy

— Alvin Lee (@acele) March 17, 2016

Earlier, Fernandes too pointed out that brands are built over the course of years, not weeks. “When we invested in Manchester United, shareholders asked, does that get us more sales?" he related. "It doesn’t. It takes years to build a brand. You have to push your brand forward, fight the system, and build your brand.”

Innovation is best achieved through accelerators

From experience, R/GA has found that the best means of building new innovation into a brand is through accelerators or incubators, said James Temple, SVP, managing director and ECD at R/GA London.

James temple from @RGA on accelerating innovation #GMWKL @CampaignAsia pic.twitter.com/9oH4qjSWFw

— Emily Tan (@kahani) March 17, 2016

Using consultants, he said, is a costly and time intensive enterprise that won’t necessarily lead to an actionable output.

Labs are hard to integrate into the rest of the business. Hackathons lead to a burst of activity that seldom leads to long-term results. However, incubators and accellerators that foster startups developing technology that dovetails with the brand seem to be working, said Temple, pointing to RGA’s own accelerator programme.  

Stop talking about change and just do it

“Are we still talking about change?” asked Maria Mujica, global leader of Mondelez International’s Fly Fearless initiative. “We’re wasting time. Change is the new normal, it's just getting faster.”

Leave space for agitators. Going against yourself will, in the end, become something positive. @merimujica #GMWKL pic.twitter.com/8WhQAheCa6

— WFA (@wfamarketers) March 17, 2016

Marketers have got to get used to discomfort, said Mujica, because it is through discomfort that the best work gets done.

'Fly Fearless' is Mondelez’ client-led approach to harnessing the power of collaboration by creating a physical and mental space for it. This has resulted in a series of experiments that have resulted in innovative breakthrough campaigns for the brand and a new way of working with agencies.

“This model brings together planners, a brand champion and a creative partner into a team. It compresses how we work and brings agitators and new talent into the team.”