Mad Men style advertising agencies struggle with new international marketing models
Now, more than ever, we live in a procurement-led world. The Financial Times reports that US advertising agency TBWA/Chiat/Day has appointed a new “chief compensation officer” to lead its negotiations on the fees it charges clients. “It is a sign that this agency has had enough of being squeezed by its clients’ procurement officers,” says the report. “Marketing is fighting back.”
At least it’s trying to. Yes, it’s common knowledge that chief executives can have a tough time knowing exactly what value has been derived from marketing spend. Add to this ongoing and international economic woes, and the job of selling products and services isn’t easy. Sadly, some would say, the world portrayed in Mad Men, doesn’t exist any more. We’ve moved on.
But have we really? The report in the FT is correct when it suggests that experimenting with new approaches, new business models, can lead to the interests of customers falling between the cracks of organizational silos. All too often, silos don’t work. As a consequence, many a structural change – client and agency-side – has failed to meet the demands of international marketers and their procurement departments.
Harvard Business School’s Ranjay Gulati claims that too many marketing departments describe themselves as “customer-centric” when in fact, “They look at customers only through the lens of existing products.”
True, but what compounds the problem is that international marketers must learn to look through the lens of the country markets they operate in. Rolling out campaigns globally without a local or regional presence simply doesn’t work. In some cases it can be disastrous.
So yes, the FT’s report is correct when it says that consumer cynicism for overblown marketing claims runs deep, and that marketing departments must strive for “share of heart” from loyal customers, who, it is hoped, will become their most vocal fans. This is indeed preferable to continual, and often unsuccessful, striving for ever greater “share of wallet.”
But in our attempts to place marketing at the heart of the business, at the centre of a brand’s strategy, we forget that our centre of gravity will change according to our locality. In many cases, brands are still clinging to an outdated structure which has remained the same since the 60’s.
A chief compensation officer may well help us in our efforts, but marketers have other, compelling options in front of them. The creation of a centralised creative department, distributed internationally via the new breed of technologically-savvy implementation specialists, can offer the efficiencies and brand control that are sorely lacking in today’s world.
Tags: Global Brand
March 6th, 2010 at 12:45 am
I’ve always thought the best in class agencies should demonstrate their value by leading a strategic analysis of the brand’s global marketplace with the Global Marketing folks from headquarters together with their Regional Marketing colleagues, build consensus on “where they are” and “where they want to be” and then build strategies and a core brand that can get them there. The core brand needs to articulate the essence of the brand’s promise and personality, but needs to adapt to the region/country/locality sensibilities & culture