Marketing

Navigating the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) landscape has become difficult. It’s not just the consumer path-to-purchase that’s grown in complexity. The playing field for manufacturers and retailers has evolved as well. Notably, for the first time since 2009, the total number of brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. has declined. As we’ll review a little later, this hasn’t affected all channels to the same extent, but it does highlight the importance of handling product assortment and distribution with utmost efficiency.

The imperative to compete on the basis of customer experience is heightening the job security risks of chief marketing officers who are struggling to keep up with new digitally driven ways to engage, satisfy and enrich the experience of more mobile, savvy and fickle consumers.

How much time do American consumers spend each day with their multimedia devices, tablets, computers, AM/FM radio, TV, or their smartphones?  By Pierre Bouvard

The fast-moving-consumer-goods industry has a long history of generating reliable growth through mass brands. But the model that fueled industry success now faces great pressure as consumer behaviors shift and the channel landscape changes. To win in the coming decades, FMCGs need to reduce their reliance on mass brands and offline mass channels and embrace an agile operating model focused on brand relevance rather than synergies.

Yes, the 72-million strong Millennial generation is coming into their own and are starting to buy stuff. Enamored marketers are salivating (or running scared) at the prospect of serving them.  Older marketers, and students of consumerism, remember the defining impact of the last mega-generational cohort, the Baby Boomers; how they shaped consumer trends, created categories of products and services, and generally made or broke one’s business success.  By Stephen Palacios, Principal, Ahzul

To really understand the attitudinal power of brands we need to look beyond the absolute scores and instead examine relative strengths and weaknesses. If more people say good things about a brand than claim to use it then that difference represents an opportunity to grow, provided that association has a positive relationship with business outcomes.   by Nigel Hollis

Despite the headlines about digital disruption in financial services, big banks are actually holding their own. Globally, financial-services revenues have grown 4 percent annually over the past ten years (thanks largely to growth in emerging markets), and fintech start-ups and large tech companies have so far captured only tiny slivers of market share.

According to a new study from the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, news coverage about inaccurate, questionable and false digital media reporting measures have already caused 21 percent of marketers to pull back on advertising spend. More than 70 percent of brand leaders admit that negative news headlines have had an impact on budgets.

We are at a time of unprecedented commercial opportunity in global sports. Barriers to entry have never been lower. More markets around the world than ever before are receptive to the power of sports. It’s never been easier to reach millions—even billions—of fans.

The other week I was involved in a little email exchange with my colleagues about the power of social influence. As usual I was getting boxed into the Luddite corner until I realize that what was worrying me was the apparent assumption that social influence was universal and all powerful. If so, I beg to differ.  by Nigel Hollis

Are big media companies ready for another big wave of disruption? They’d better be. The direct-brand revolution is starting, and it might not be pretty for large incumbent players in the media industry.

When researching Brand Premium I interviewed a well-respected agency planner who told me that the most effective marketing campaigns traded on people’s anxieties and insecurities. I am not convinced their assertion is true but in today’s turbulent times perhaps brands should have a responsibility to accentuate the positive not add to the negative?  by Nigel Hollis

Recent studies have highlighted a growing opportunity to increase DTC activity and potentially save many more lives among U.S. Hispanics.

As many consumer businesses struggle to deal with the pace of change, the beauty sector shows the way.  After many decades of stable outperformance, the fast-moving consumer-goods (FMCG) sector is at a crossroads. Consumer preferences have upended the long-standing FMCG marketing playbook, while digital technologies are revolutionizing the way consumers engage with brands and shop. In this context, many FMCG companies are getting serious about change.

With the departure of Sir Martin Sorrell  — or SMS, as he is lovingly called — many are now predicting the end of WPP and of agency holding companies in general, along with the business model of the tailor-made, client-specific, integrated agency offering.

Time is running out on personalized marketing as a means of continually raising the return on investment of campaigns. For the past few years, many marketers have used advanced data analytics to identify the right customers and increase their ROI, but now these practices, while still valuable, are reaching a plateau.

In an increasingly competitive and disjointed brand landscape, where the influence of ‘private label’ and ‘direct’ brands continues to expand, how can established brands best achieve the recognition they need?  by Martin Guerrieria

Developing a great strategy starts with changing the dynamics in your strategy room. Here’s how.

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has announced the launch of the CMO Growth Council in partnership with the ANA’s CMO Masters Circle.

Back in January, Edward Kim Vice President, Strategy, Nielsen Catalina Solutions, presented “Five Keys to Advertising Effectiveness”. The presentation reported on the findings of over 500 studies of CPG brands conducted during 2016-2017 that sought to understand the sales contribution of five key drivers of effective advertising, including a comparison of TV versus digital.  by Nigel Hollis