What great marketers do well

WHAT GREAT MARKETERS DO WELL Presentation to the Merage School of Business - University of California Irvine

David Murphy Co-President

Exec. Director – Brand Innovation

Barrie D’Rozario Murphy

MY MENTORS

THE MARKETER’S IMPERATIVE

“If you don’t like change, you’ll like irrelevance

even less.”

Tom Peters

THE MARKETER’S IMPERATIVE

“Those who live by the sword will be shot by those

who don’t.” Gary Hamel

THE MARKETER’S IMPERATIVE

“They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dist----”

The last words of

Union General John Sedgwick

WHAT CHANGE LEAVES IN ITS WAKE.

DISRUPTIVE FORCES: CONVENIENCE

DISRUPTIVE FORCES: EXPERIENCES

DISRUPTIVE FORCES: FUNCTIONALITY

DISRUPTIVE FORCES: DESIGN

DISRUPTIVE FORCES: PRICE

DISRUPTIVE FORCES: COMMUNITIES

WHAT GREAT MARKETERS DO WELL

•  STRATEGY: – Brand literacy – Consumer intimacy – Relevant

differentiation – Storytelling – Innovation

•  EXECUTION: – Thoughtful

interactions – Test and learn – Design – Context – Alignment – Courage

BRAND LITERACY

Brands provide a source of margin, repeat business and growth.

BRAND LITERACY

A brand is formed through an empathetic relationship with customers.

Emotionally led. Rationally justified.

BRAND LITERACY

Great brands possess a clear sense of true north.

Who they are What they value

Where they’re heading

BRAND LITERACY

Brand equity is not a static metric -- it is the relationship between

different dynamics.

Differentiation Relevance

Esteem Knowledge

Example: B.A.V. B

rand

Str

engt

h (D

iffer

entia

tionE

/ R

elev

ance

)

Brand Stature (Esteem / Knowledge)

Leadership

Niche or Unrealized Potential

Declining

New, Unfocused or Unknown Commodity or

Eroded

D_E R E K

D_E R E K

D_E R E K

D_E R E K D_E R E K

WHAT GREAT MARKETERS DO WELL

•  STRATEGY: – Brand literacy – Consumer intimacy – Relevant

differentiation – Storytelling – Innovation

•  EXECUTION: – Thoughtful

interactions – Test and learn – Design – Context – Alignment – Courage

CUSTOMER INTIMACY

There is no such thing as “the customer.”

Segments Needs Usage Values

CUSTOMER INTIMACY

Traditional market research often misses

the mark.

Focus groups lie. Quantitative lacks nuance.

Awareness, satisfaction, etc. are tired measures.

CUSTOMER INTIMACY

The best research yields insights, not data.

Category ideal vs. brand Personification

Values Loyalty drivers

Unarticulated needs

CUSTOMER INTIMACY

Great marketers are “commercial anthropologists.”

Observe with open mind Interact

Talk Understand

Connect the dots

Tundra launch

Extensive observational research to help design the truck. Engineers visited junk yards to learn why trucks fail; construction sites to see how workers use their trucks; saddle

shops attention to detail; NASCAR, rodeos, etc to understand the culture.

Segment ideal customer profile: “where life is tough

and the work is tougher.”

Build the truck where real trucks

are built.

Be a part of their world

Choose iconography that conveys USP.

Win the barstool debate.

USP: The 1/2 ton Truck with 3/4 ton guts

WHAT GREAT MARKETERS DO WELL

•  STRATEGY: – Brand literacy – Consumer intimacy – Relevant

differentiation – Storytelling – Innovation

•  EXECUTION: – Thoughtful

interactions – Test and learn – Design – Context – Alignment – Courage

RELEVANT DIFFERENTIATION

A relevant and differentiated proposition is the basis of

enduring brands.

Important, un-met needs Grounded in the truth of the product

example Desired benefit

Brand strength

Expected benefit

Brand weakness

Innovate Strategic focus

Improve Maintain

examples

Accessible design

Ladies and gentlemen

serving ladies and gentlemen.

Save 15%. Commercialize innovations

WHAT GREAT MARKETERS DO WELL

•  STRATEGY: – Brand literacy – Consumer intimacy – Relevant

differentiation – Storytelling – Innovation

•  EXECUTION: – Thoughtful

interactions – Test and learn – Design – Context – Alignment – Courage

STORYTELLING

Great brands tell great stories. They are an inspiring protagonist in a

compelling brand narrative.

Empathetic protagonist Equally clear about its antagonist

Sense of journey Powerful archetypes

examples An authority-defying rebel uniting a community in a

crusade against fear.

An advocate of women’s self-esteem battling

against the falsehood of media-defined beauty.

A free thinker liberating the world from beige conformity.

WHAT GREAT MARKETERS DO WELL

•  STRATEGY: – Brand literacy – Consumer intimacy – Relevant

differentiation – Storytelling – Innovation

•  EXECUTION: – Thoughtful

interactions – Test and learn – Design – Context – Alignment – Courage

INNOVATION

Strategic innovation should solve real, unarticulated customer needs.

Analyze customers Observe them

Be inspired by them But don’t take orders

Slavish adherence to research would have led Henry Ford to build a faster horse.

INNOVATION

Latchkey kids + Microwaves Running + Music

Unserved rental market + cheaper locations

Techno-stress + affluence Senior market + cell phones

“We” generation + web

Often a mash-up of disparate insights and technologies.

INNOVATION

They are underpinned by rigorous analytics -- a business case that

drives fresh thinking.

Demand segments Price premiums

Assess real world trade-offs Conjoint analysis

WHAT GREAT MARKETERS DO WELL

•  STRATEGY: – Brand literacy – Consumer intimacy – Relevant

differentiation – Storytelling – Innovation

•  EXECUTION: – Thoughtful

interactions – Test and learn – Design – Context – Alignment – Courage

THOUGHTFUL INTERACTIONS

Every interaction matters.

Product performance Customer service

Packaging Retail display

Website Distribution Advertising

WHAT GREAT MARKETERS DO WELL

•  STRATEGY: – Brand literacy – Consumer intimacy – Relevant

differentiation – Storytelling – Innovation

•  EXECUTION: – Thoughtful

interactions – Test and learn – Design – Context – Alignment – Courage

TEST AND LEARN

Great marketers build learning cultures.

Kaizen Celebrate learning from failure

TEST AND LEARN

Dismal launch Major success

WHAT GREAT MARKETERS DO WELL

•  STRATEGY: – Brand literacy – Consumer intimacy – Relevant

differentiation – Storytelling – Innovation

•  EXECUTION: – Thoughtful

interactions – Test and learn – Design – Context – Alignment – Courage

DESIGN

Design is not an image. It is a business strategy.

DESIGN

Design thinking is a critical business discipline.

Forces customer orientation. Focus on possibilities. Question everything.

Embrace restraints. Reductive thinking.

DESIGN Designed a new banking

experience.

Created the “third place”

Transformed financial products into tangible, packaged items.

Coffee bar by window to convey welcoming environment

Money bar -- not cashier.

Self-guided video presentations

Doubled customer base in one year.

WHAT GREAT MARKETERS DO WELL

•  STRATEGY: – Brand literacy – Consumer intimacy – Relevant

differentiation – Storytelling – Innovation

•  EXECUTION: – Thoughtful

interactions – Test and learn – Design – Context – Alignment – Courage

CONTEXT

Context is a powerful, unspoken message. Brand associations can

shape brand meaning.

Media Distribution

Alliances Customers

CONTEXT

Helpful context:

YARIS advertising on mobile phones.

CONTEXT

Damaging context:

Jaguar X-type

Jaguar at Hertz

WHAT GREAT MARKETERS DO WELL

•  STRATEGY: – Brand literacy – Consumer intimacy – Relevant

differentiation – Storytelling – Innovation

•  EXECUTION: – Thoughtful

interactions – Test and learn – Design – Context – Alignment – Courage

ALIGNMENT

The most effective and enduring marketing strategies are fully aligned with

the company’s value chain.

USP is not an ad strategy Grounded in a unique business model

Activities complement and reinforce Strategy connected to the balance sheet

ALIGNMENT

“We’ll pick you up.”

Enabled by lower cost structure

Driven by lower off-airport real estate

Inspired by idea to service replacement car market.

“Designed for all.”

Expressed through iconic advertising

Manifested by unique merchandising strategy

Inspired by idea to find sweet spot between Walmart and Macys.

WHAT GREAT MARKETERS DO WELL

•  STRATEGY: – Brand literacy – Consumer intimacy – Relevant

differentiation – Storytelling – Innovation

•  EXECUTION: – Thoughtful

interactions – Test and learn – Design – Context – Alignment – Courage

COURAGE

Do you have the courage?

To follow customers into territories that are not obvious?

To provoke the system -- challenge your management?

To weather public scrutiny at all times?

To be different?

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david.murphy@bdm.net

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