Nancy Pekala is AMA's Director of Online Content and Editor of Marketing Matters.
Innovate, listen and deliver on your brand promise.
These are the key elements of a winning marketing strategy during today’s challenging economic times. Some of the most intriguing insights about the state of the marketing industry were offered up during Mplanet 2009 by three of the conference’s high-profile keynote presenters.
Anne Mulcahy, Chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation; John Hayes, Global CMO of American Express; and Mary Dillon, EVP and Global CMO of McDonald’s all addressed the importance of branding in today’s market and the significant shift that is taking place in customer behavior. Following are some important take-aways from each of their presentations:
Anne Mulcahy, Chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation
How can marketers make sure their message is being heard in an age of information overload? In her presentation, “Getting Heard in a Sea of Information,” Anne Mulcahy stressed the importance of consistency, clarity, communication with customers and strengthening your brand.
“We're in the era of information overload,” Mulcahy said. “The hurricane of information has become a tsunami with a lot of the tried and true tools under scrutiny including TV ads. There are daily questions about combating false claims on the blogosphere and how you're dealing with social media.”
Mulcahy cited a number of relevant statistics including the fact that Blackberry owners check their e-mail on average 50 times a day and that there continues to be thousands of blog posts created every hour.
The Xerox Chairman also stressed the need to establish customer trust in a market that’s characterized by constant change.
“Brands are more than just a logo,” Mulcahy suggested. “They reside in the hearts of customers, how people think about us, what they say about you and how they feel about you.”
It’s time once again for marketers to listen closely to their customers. “Get as close to your customers as possible,” Mulcahy advised. “If you don’t, the downside can be deeply devastating.”
She also cautioned that now is not the time for complacency. More than ever, research, innovation and creative approaches are what is needed. “The enemy of great is good,” Mulcahy said. She added that at Xerox, “very satisfied” customers are six times more likely to return than those who are merely “satisfied”.
John Hayes, Global CMO, American Express
In his keynote presentation, “Making Your Brand Voice Heard,” John Hayes, Global CMO, American Express, echoed the need for marketers to focus not only on listening to their customers but to step outside their comfort zone when it comes to communication.
"The consumer is going through a massive shift in their behavior,” Hayes said. “People are redefining what's possible, what's real and what's next. Consumers today need to be heard and understood - and this generation of marketers must courageously step outside communication that is comfortable and continually adapt to consumers’ needs.” 
Hayes also told the group of Mplanet attendees that "Our generation of marketers has the opportunity - no, make that the responsibility - to help lead our country back on the road to economic recovery. We create hope. We create a better tomorrow."
In offering advice to the group of marketers on how they can thrive amidst uncertainty, Hayes offered up the following set of guidelines for building brand:
- Establish "customer listening posts" and visit them daily. Actively listen to customers to determine what they need and want. Companies need to create processes whereby customers can voice their opinions and be willing to engage with customers online. For example, Hayes noted that he made a point of personally sitting down with financial bloggers.
- Move beyond your comfort zone. In tough times, resist the urge to hunker down and stick with the tried and true. Instead, seek out opportunity and take steps to keep moving forward.
- Innovate constantly. The marketer that stops innovating in tough times is "carving their brand's own tombstone." Companies that build the infrastructure to respond to changing customer behavior quickly will reap the rewards from customers who will be looking to award their hard-earned dollars to those brands which provide them with the greatest value and understand their needs.
- Be equal parts consumer advocate and visionary. Hayes reminded marketers of their role to “be the voice of hope and deliver on the promise of a brighter future.” He stressed that “Companies that aren't taking the time to truly understand their customers and their needs are heading for a world of hurt. But being a visionary is the difference-maker. During tough times, there is enough bad news -- the consumer knows and lives that every day. As a brand marketer though, you can help the consumer see beyond the near term crunch, provide assurances, and demonstrate a real commitment to helping people survive, thrive and come out the other side. In other words, nobody knows better where we are today than the consumer; it is the brand's obligation to help the consumer see where they can be tomorrow.”
Comparing present-day economic hurdles to those of earlier generations, the American Express CMO offered his three-step plan for managing through the economic recession: 1) Revise current business models to match the market’s size; 2) Become a zealot when it comes to increasing market share; and 3) Become an agent of hope and confidence in the marketplace.
“The only one who knows where we are is the consumer,” Hayes acknowledged. “Listening in today’s world is the most powerful selling tool because people want to be heard. Marketing needs to be a dialogue, not a monologue.”
Mary Dillon, EVP and Global CMO, McDonald's
Mary Dillon, EVP and Global CMO of McDonald’s, hammered home the need for integrity when it comes to brand promise. By focusing on the promise, Dillon said, "We put a stake in the ground and we crystallized what we stand for. Your brand promise needs to be a part of your company's DNA so that it's genuine, but also it must be aspirational. It's your brand on its very best day. Think about your brand promise as a beacon that guides your actions."
In her keynote presentation, “Building a Strategic Advantage in Global Markets”, shared insights gained from the Global Moms Panel, including the U.S. version called Mom’s Quality Correspondents, where mothers provide honest feedback about McDonald’s products.
“They're blogging externally about their experience with the brand,” Dillon explained. “They've been a pretty big advocate of what we're doing and pushing us harder to provide more fruits and vegetables and finding ways so that kids can make those choices and mom doesn't have to be the bad guy. Because a lot about going to McDonalds is the treat, it's about the fun. They've not held back when they're not happy about something.”
When asked about McDonald’s social network strategy, Dillon admitted that the corporation did not view social media as a top priority because of the market stronghold McDonalds maintains throughout the world. However, she agreed that there is potential to enhance the McDonald’s brand image through social networks and forums.
“We're not there yet,” Dillon acknowledged. “Social media for the future is a big opportunity for us and one that we haven't really tapped into, but we will. We know that by using social media, not by trying to sway it, but to let it evolve, more people will know about our food and our ingredients. There's a powerful opportunity for us to convey that more authentically to people in the future. It’s a matter of getting more expertise and time investment.”
Related Documents:
Mplanet 2009 Image Gallery