Shifting the Conversation from Advertising to Marketing

The following is republished with the permission of the Association of National Advertisers. Find this and similar articles on ANA Newsstand.

By Tammy Ammon

Marketing is about connecting brands with people, but in the marketing headlines of the past 12 months, people are nowhere to be found. Rather, news feeds are filled with gloom and doom about a rapidly evolving marketing and advertising ecosystem that everyone can agree is changing, but no one can define exactly how.

But marketers need not dissolve into a puddle of tears in response to fervid change. Given that modern marketing has been around for about 150 years, there’s no reason to think that it won’t survive what is shaping up to be a monumental shift in the industry.

The overriding question is this: In a world that is constantly changing, where should marketers focus their efforts to fulfill the industry’s promise to deliver value for stakeholders and, in turn, boost the value of marketing? The answer is simple: people.

Everyone Is Exhausted

Amid the upheaval wrought by the pandemic, it’s little wonder that both marketers and their audiences are exhausted. While most folks would prefer to forget 2020, one way last year will be remembered is as the great accelerator for digital marketing.

For example, a recent McKinsey study estimated that the pandemic increased the volume of digital customer interactions to a level not expected for at least another three years, essentially fast-forwarding the all-digital-all-the-time model.

As brands try and figure out where digital advertising goes from here — ranging from how to connect with audiences to how to measure ad campaigns — they need to remember that people are overwhelmed with advertising and media messages already.

It’s estimated that most people receive anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 ads per day, according to Red Crow Marketing Inc. Not terribly shocking, since every new platform, mobile device, and online publisher just adds to the clutter for the average person. As Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer at Procter & Gamble and chairman of the ANA, told the New York Times, “We tried to change the advertising ecosystem by doing more ads, and all that did was create more noise.”

Both marketers and people may feel a bit frazzled amid the onslaught of technological change and the growing battle between Big Tech and government regulators, who are looking to protect people’s privacy online. Nevertheless, the essence of marketing — connecting with people — transcends the constant swirl of change.

Sure, technology and regulation are both critical and can’t be ignored. But they shouldn’t overshadow the needs of people. That means marketers need to get to know their audiences — and not just on an insert-first-name-here basis, but in ways that will legitimately help to inform how brands create memorable customer experiences.

It’s Not About Advertising

Marketers typically start off thinking about acquisition and how to move a person from the top of the marketing funnel through purchase. Following the close of a sale, a conversion is measured, the person is counted as a customer, and handed off to a retention or loyalty team for the next leg of their journey.

During this process, marketers think like advertisers, discussing personalization, channel mix, offer strategies, and frequency caps. Ultimately, it feels like the whole exercise is about reach.

But something different happens when a person becomes a customer. Marketers go back to being marketers — as opposed to advertisers — with a laser-like focus on the customer experience. Conversations are now about understanding customers’ needs, what are the most meaningful ways to make them fall in love with the brand, and what’s the lifetime value the organization provides?

When marketers shift from reaching and targeting to connecting and building, something special happens. Anxiety goes down and inspiration goes up. As Michael Platt, Ph.D. and biological anthropologist puts it: “Human beings are wired to connect — and we have the most complex and interesting social behavior out of all animals.”

People respond to connections. Just the word “connection” elicits positive thoughts, as opposed to “targeting,” which sounds nefarious. Nobody wants to be targeted; they want to connect with someone or something.

Data Speaks Volumes

So how do marketers connect? It would be absolutely lovely if brands could have one-on-one conversations with every single stakeholder, but this is neither practical nor realistic. What is possible is to use data to create positive interactions and customer experiences. The common language bridging marketers and people is data.

Admittedly, more data is generally available at the post-purchase stage versus the pre-purchase stage, but that doesn’t mean data can’t be used wisely at every stage. And people have come to expect it.

The greatest thing about the acceleration of digital interactions is that brands now have more data and more opportunity to connect. Even before the pandemic, a 2019 Pew Research study found 77 percent of people who had heard about personal profiles and 64 percent of adults who had seen ads based on their personal data somewhat understood what data was being used to make the ad relevant.

Marketers need to shift the questions they ask themselves at every single stage of a customer relationship, including those initial and critical meetings.

•     “How can I reach people?” should become “How can I connect with people?”
•     “What offer will drive conversion?” should become “What offer might be important to people and why?”
•     “How can a message be personalized?” should become “How can a customer experience be great?”

Big Tech, data privacy, a constantly shifting ecosystem; these are challenges that are only going to become more pronounced in the months and years ahead. In many respects, they are the catalysts driving marketing forward, even though the ride can be bumpy. But the real heart of marketing will always be people. If marketers shift their mindset — and, frequently, their language — the change can be revolutionary in the best possible way.

About Author: Tammy Ammon is the senior director of the thought leadership and storytelling practice at Acxiom, a partner in the ANA Thought Leadership Program.