Advertising Week 2016- Work That Matters
Ad Week 2016. 9.26- 9.30
Seth Godin | Getting In Touch With The Work That Matters
Speaker: Seth Godin, Author, Entrepreneur, and Marketer
Seth starts by explaining that to tell a story as a marketer, empathy is necessary. Clients own a factory and they require agencies to do more- sell more, create more awareness, achieve more impressions and likes, and share more. Clients want more so that they can achieve growth in the business. Reaching for “more” in the industry has led to average products for average people, also called mass advertising.
Clients are spending millions of dollars in advertising and they are determined to solve consumer’s problems. Examples are cold medicine or water. How many different bottle water does a person need? How many “new” and average products can solve a customer’s need? Instead of focusing on the “average”, there should be a focus on developing new, and innovative products.
In addition, Seth explained how an average customer’s memory is like a goldfish’s memory, it lasts for 8 seconds. The same concept can be explained in a store. Consumers are exposed to several average products and they don’t have time to reflect. The goldfish does not have money, meaning average and cheap products are not worth the extra spend for a consumer.
“Reaching everyone is the opposite of leading them. The industry needs to stop telling people they are all the same. We have branded them to death” Seth Godin.
According to Seth, big data is another issue in the advertising industry. Marketers are so focused on researching where the customers are coming from instead of figuring out where to lead them and give them direction. Destroying the perfect before enabling the impossible is how revolutions are started. This is something clients need to learn. Brands need to give relevant messages and become engaged in their prospects. One way to think of it is by imaging an ice cream truck. A child that gets ice cream from the same truck once a week will miss the truck if it doesn’t show up one day. This is how customers should feel about brands. Treat different people differently. Give people a choice and they will choose. It is the “weird” and different people who really care about your product if you stay relevant and differentiate it.
Instagram, Facebook, and AirBnb are great examples of companies that have customers coming to them. AirBnb does not physically own hotels, but they are still one of the most successful companies as of today due to a connection and trust with customers. They are in charge and they are leading the customers.
Seth also described the average customer as someone who wants to fit in, they always look for what other people think of them, and that is exactly why the client is targeting them. They are the ones that will buy the average product and they are the masses.
What would you pay more attention to a regular cow or a purple cow? Obviously, the purple cow is more interesting because the regular cow is boring. Brands need to look for different ways to stand out so that the customer will pay more attention to them, spend more, and engage in them. Not every idea will be a good idea but brands need to do it and they will have a chance to adjust. If a company does not have good ideas, they need more bad ones. Their guards will go down and they will be able to look at what went wrong. Scarcity, abundance and unlimited ideas lead to the next big idea. Brands need to start leading.
“Treat different people differently”, Seth Godin
The Agency of the Future
Speakers:
Andrew Bruce CEO Publicis Worldwide
Paul Grunning, CFO DDB Chicago
Vik Kathuria, Vice president, Oracle Marketing Cloud
Chris Lederer, Principal at Strategy&
John Gerzema, Chairman, and CEO BAV Consulting.
Some would say the agency world is dying, other say it's just hitting a new stride. But still the question remains, what does the future of the agency look like? Will it head down the corporate path? Leading executives from holding companies and agency startups, as well as the newcomers in the agency marketing services, joined a discussion to address just that.
The speakers started by explaining that the industry needs empathy and to get a deeper understanding of the consumer than what has been done in the past. It is essential for the agency of the future to create more personalized and connected experiences. In that way, consumers will connect emotionally with brands.
A question was raised about initiatives that are being done differently now than in the future. Paul Gunning that has lead several strategic consultant projects explains 4 pillars that were used for McDonalds:
1. Consolidation of making services, everything is under one leadership. It was said that even though they are put under one roof, different services should be allowed to be experts in their field. More ad agencies will become like an Uber- business model, where they will be outsourcing creative ideas.
2. Access to data, which helps to have things consolidated.
3. Getting rid of zillows. Even the client is realizing that on their own.
4. Transparency: the client has to be transparent about their own process and this is a two-way street. The industry is moving fast, there are a lot of brand efforts and there has been developed so many new tools to this day that the industry cannot give up on it yet. It would be too sad to see it all go to waste, therefore agencies and the client together must partner and develop strategies and insights for the future. It is harder to break zillows in large companies.
When it comes to partnerships and relationship, it seems like there is a one-model. There is a big focus on efficiency which can be difficult when you find yourself collaborating with ten people. People will ask themselves if there are any trust and accountability. It is important that there is a connection between the partners, because in the end, they are working together to protect a brand. There should be a shared journey. Ad agencies work in a people`s business, we are a part of their world.
Lastly, the industry needs modern leadership that looks for diversity. There needs to be a greater focus on people, as one of the leaders described “people teams”. There is a need for better culture and responsibility. 70% of millennials in the US wants to work for companies with a strong culture. One good example is Toms, they have both a strong soul and culture. We need better diversity for ourselves, not for the client. With a better environment and workplace the client will come to us.
Takeaways:
1. Empathy: Understanding the consumer and its path to purchase is extremely important now than ever. We work with people all day and we need to treat different people differently. Stop treating them as average people who are all the same and make them value your brand.
2. Diversity: Greater focus on people with different backgrounds, culture, and gender. It is important to create an environment that attracts people. In addition, the industry needs leadership that are charismatic and whose mission and vision is to inspire.
3. Agency culture: The diversity within the agency creates culture, creativity, and culture. If an agency wants to target different types of people, then that should be reflected in the company. Hire talented people with different perspectives who can bring in fresh ideas who create inspired work.
“The Agency of the future” panel
