The first two days of the ANA Masters of Marketing conference raised the question, "How do we reconcile the desire to do good with the need to make money?" The sessions of the final day brought some relevant insights on this elusive connection, but also underscored that there is still a ways to go in closing this loop.
- "Determined people working together can accomplish anything." Wise words from UPS founder Jim Casey inspired today's CMO Kevin Warren when taking on the task of restoring relevance to the SMB community. Connecting the unstoppable reality of UPS' reliability to the unstoppable nature of the SMB entrepreneurial spirit created an authentic connection to this previously underserved audience that delivered results in engagement and brand relevance.
- Deloitte's Suzanne Kounkel opened by showing the company's history of barrier breaking, particularly in the area of gender. More recently, she noted that the company has pivoted from inclusion to equity across not just gender but all cultural segments. The company took on external and internal commitments from air travel to water bottle consumption. They have institutionalized leadership orchestration and a portfolio of measurement to achieve the ambitious agenda. "Things we measure are the things we get done." As a B2B enterprise, they also help their clients define their DEI journeys.
- Ally's Andrea Brimmer runs marketing for a service that truly has technology at its core. Yet her POV was unexpected and refreshing: She said that data doesn't always tell the whole true story and needs to be tempered with human observation. She called for marketers to evolve from "data driven" to data inspired or informed.
- AIMM's Lisette Arsuaga noted that procurement often brings minority suppliers forward as candidates, but marketing doesn't consistently engage them. The "certification" process is difficult for small publishers and lack of certification can be an inhibitor to engagement. AIMM co-founder Carlos Santiago called on the industry to re-define the critical measurement from efficiency to quality of connection. AIMM research shows minority media represents just under 7% of available outlets: 80% are either Black- or Hispanic-owned. Radio is the No. 1 media platform among minority businesses, but the medium only commands a bit over 5% of total ad spend. So, these suppliers may often be competing within a small piece of the pie.
- Sustainability is a less discussed aspect of "doing right," but the 16% of brands that are considered truly sustainable are capturing 55% of marketplace growth, reported Brian Beck of Sustainable Brands. Brands need to find their legitimate focus and not be guilty of "greenwashing" or "purpose washing" -- simply rushing in to look responsible without doing the hard work of finding their credible sustainability focus. That focus comes from a discovery process that exposes your sustainability SWAT -- the intersection of want, need and offering.
Quotable Quotes of the day
- "It's a tricky time to be a CMO" -- Suzanne Kounkel, Deloitte on CMO turnover being at its highest since 2009
- "Think like a human" -- Ally's Andrea Brimmer's single piece of advice
- "Time to walk the talk" -- AIMM's Lisette Arsuago
- "I love when 'old school' meets 'new cool'" -- Kevin Warren on restaging UPS in a new light
Bob Liodice closed the conference by voicing the observation that many of us here in person felt that "we are an industry that is in need of collaboration. We know there is a need for that face-to-face contact and to pursue our agenda in a connected way."
I look forward to seeing the continued resurgence of this critical thought leadership venue next year.
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