Starcom's John Sheehy Keys to Unlocking Transformation and Growth

Expert in driving the design of compelling customer experiences Sheehy has dedicated his career to helping brands such as CocaCola Kellogg39s and PampampG tackle the challenges wrought from the convergence of creativity media and technology while staying connected to their customersIn a conversation with MediaVillage Sheehy talks about the most profound shifts in the advertising marketing and media industry over the past 30 years and the impact they have today the importance of staying human while embracing data and the reasoning behind focusing not just on customer experiences but also on the human experience He also reveals the biggest mistakes brands are making on their transformation journeys and what they should do insteadConlon What are the three most profound changes you39ve seen over the past 30 yearsSheehy I39ll look at the first from the perspective of our business Everything comes back to fundamentals amp8212 how we39re trying to create target and engage with audiences And certainly how we39re trying to measure that activity to find out if it39s working Even in the last 10 years we39ve seen a profound shift Back in 2010 and 2011 85 percent of our dollars were going through traditional pipes TV print radio outofhome At the same time we set ourselves up for shifting to a 5050 traditionaldigital model We were purposely trying to move based on where the dollars were going amp8230 to help solve our client39s problemsFast forward to 2015 and sure enough about 50 percent of our revenue was going through search and social amp8230 programmatic was taking hold and the way we were engaging the consumer changedNow we39re looking at data and how we39re leveraging data differently We39re looking at dynamic content and making sure that we39re getting the relevant message out there And we39re looking at commerce as it plays a more important role in terms of delivering those experiencesThe second one then is talent The skillsets needed to succeed in our industry have evolved and continue to change The skillsets of tomorrow are certainly different from the skillsets of today So the way we bring in and develop talent has changed as well even career pathing has become much more dynamicThird is clients The way we39re helping our clients and trying to solve their problem is more diverse and dynamic We39re building our capabilities and our models to better deliver against their changing models That goes from investing their dollars to creating their experience to looking at ways they can be more effective and efficient as their categories and brands are being disruptedConlon In an age obsessed with data how can brands stay humanSheehy Data is an accelerator for creating human connections We39ve had data since the beginning of this industry but as we get access to more and more data it has to serve as an accelerator that can drive a better outcome for clients and certainly for the consumerThe only way that you can do that is to leverage data to be more insightful to be better at crafting audiences and activating them in a smart relevant meaningful way and to be able to optimize to their experience amp8212 not just to a client outcome amp8212 that39s going to make that whole journey relevant for them It39s that simple and it39s that hardConlon Starcom notably said people are messy and unpredictable Why is it important for brands and marketers to embrace those attributesSheehy The answer is pretty simple Just pick a category and a brand in that category and you39ll see what39s happening No one predicted what39s happening in the food category with changes in dietary needs and preferences Look at the hotel business with Airbnb At the heart of that is the messy consumer empowered by technology who39s unpredictable with needs that are continually evolvingamp160 Someone39s finding a way to deliver on these everchanging needs better than what was out there beforeThat39s the challenge for brands You can39t force consumers into your old behaviors You have to understand where they39re going And that might mean you have to innovate with something brand new versus trying to fit something that39s been around into those new expectations That39s a struggle That39s where we use data and human experience to understand the tension between what a brand needs and what the consumer wants How do we create a meaningful experience and deliver not just business results but also the human outcomesAnd that39s at the core of what Starcom39s about amp8212 trying to understand those messy paths in a predictive wayConlon Starcom defines itself as the human experience company How does the human experience dovetail with digital transformationSheehy Starcom as the human experience company is about technology and creativity coming together to create experiences that again match up against what people want and brands need And then it39s being able to measure and deliver against business outcomes such as sales as well as the human outcome amp8212 the emotional solutionWe39re doing more and more with the science of that We39re working with organizations like Forrester to be able to quantify why these experiences matter and to be able to put a value against the importance of creating experiences as opposed to laying down investment or delivering media plans It39s part of our shift towards being a business partner not just a media partner for clientsConlon What are some of the biggest mistakes that brands make on their digital transformation journey Sheehy Different brands are at different stages of their journey Some are on the leading edge some are playing catch up The biggest mistake is even if you39re catching up not seeing yourselves as a leader in this area not having a shared vision Laggards are putting a metric goal of quotWe will have X percent of our dollars going in this categoryquot as opposed to quotWhat39s the experience we39re trying to createquot Beverage marketers need to understand why consumers are going to drink White Claw instead of more beer for example That39s a dynamic that shifts almost overnightSimilarly another big mistake is not being close to your consumer really looking those insights and managing the experience based on that as opposed to artificial goals of quotWe39re going to spend 50 percent in programmaticquot or quotWe39re going to do X amount in this categoryquot That never gets the energy that39s needed to create the real talent transformation that39s essential to keep up with this changing consumerConlon What can agency leaders do to help clients navigate through these challenges Similarly what can chief marketers do to help their teams manage through all the changeSheehy Call it old school but I think more and more people need to have a greater focus on consumer and category dynamics Sticking to those fundamentals is absolutely where more time needs to be spentGI Joe says quotKnowing39s half the battlequot That39s important as is activation and agility So strategy is one part delivering the results and the activation is another critical part My advice is to be more agile and to be quicker to action especially given the change that we39re seeingAlso think through the use case first Think through the where and why before you jump into digital business transformation The use case allows you to better focus and prioritize because you can39t do everything at once And it allows you to build momentum through successes which builds muscle fasterAnd finally if you don39t see what39s coming up on the horizon and get excited about it you39re never going to get there You should already be looking toward what else can data do for you how you can be more agile in deliver messaging in a relevant way and how you39re going to measure those things and optimize them in real time These are the challenges of tomorrow that we in marketing have to solve today and that39s a pretty exciting place to beClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Starcom's John Sheehy Keys to Unlocking Transformation and Growth

Author

Publish date

Channel

Ginger Conlon

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

More Videos:

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Starcom's John Sheehy Keys to Unlocking Transformation and Growth

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Ginger Conlon

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

Cookies