Six major ‘truths' to change way marketers do business

In South Africa to update the local Draftfcb offices and partners on global initiatives, Fassnacht listed these truths as:

1. The world is changing…but not everything
2. The complexity in marketing is increasing
3. Engagement time for consumers is getting shorter and shorter
4. Data intelligence will become more and more center-stage in marketing
5. Listening is the first step to telling engaging stories
6. Practicing the ‘Art and Science of Marketing' is vital

Fassnacht's research confirmed what many have come to expect; that is, that several media types will be negatively impacted as consumer media preferences change. He predicts the internet, television, outdoor and cinema advertising will each gain share during 2011 but that radio, magazines and newspapers will lose.

More importantly, the figures highlight several areas of opportunities for marketers and brand managers. Fassnacht suggests that, during 2011, spend will increase for internet advertising in the USA, Japan, the UK and France and on television advertising in South Africa, India and Brazil. However, the biggest winners on Fassnacht's Top 10 list is China where spend will increase on television, internet and outdoor advertising.

Seven of Fassnacht's Top 10 Losers come from just two countries: newspapers, TV, radio and magazines in the USA; and newspapers, magazines and TV in Japan. Imagine the pressure on marketers there to embrace change.

“While the world is changing, it is not doing so to a great extent. This means that marketers must focus on top opportunities in changing the marketing game; that TV remains very important but print is slowly dying; and that internet searches are more important than most believe.

“Furthermore, because the complexity in marketing is increasing giving rise to more and more communication vehicles and micro segmentation when it comes to consumer fragmentation, marketers need to learn how to identify the complexities in their spaces; build clear plans, put together crack-shot teams and execute against their plans; and figure out how to do all of this faster."

Using researchers in London and Chicago, Draftfcb investigated just how long consumers are prepared to pay attention to advertising messages. This highlighted that less than 40% of all marketing communication ‘matters' to consumers; that is, they regard 60% or more of it as not having any bearing on their lives and refuse to engage with it. In addition, given the fast pace at which consumers live their lives, marketers have just 6.5 seconds to convince consumers that the piece of communication deserves their attention.

“This means,” says Fassnacht, “that you need to truly understand what matters to your target audience, and then you have to build strategies and programmes that break through all their barriers in those 6.5 seconds.

“Allied to this is that data intelligence is more critical than ever before... at a time in our marketing history when we have never before had so much access to so many different types of data. This is a highly confusing state for marketers. The lesson here is to - carefully - use this data to find fewer insights by being broad, then defining your sights and narrowing them, and making data sexy so that they it not portrayed as dry graphs but rather exciting insights; which is what Rita Larisma is doing at Draftfcb Johannesburg.”

Fassnacht also points out that technology is changing the way we listen to our consumers, and that we need to listen to what they are saying in order to develop relevant brand stories that engage their interest.

“There is no one way of listening, but Draftfcb's proprietary search-string analysis tool visualises related search query data to reveal consumer perceptions of a market category and its brands. In fact, we have come to appreciate that it takes 1 000 hours of listening to give us the insights we need to maximise our message in those all important 6.5 seconds.

“Finally, these changes in technology, changes in media and changes in research technologies have resulted in the need for a changing skills set at an agency level. Today's marketer and agency employee needs to be able to understand the data as well as interpret it in a creative manner.

“In other words, we need artists and scientists - at least one artist for every scientist, and one scientist for every artist. And they must get along really well or we risk missing the 6.5-second consumer attention span boat. Or we need to encourage and train a new breed of person, the artscientist.

“All these add up to the ultimate truth, and one that I am eagerly awaiting on both a personal and professional level.

“That ultimate truth is that being involved in the marketing industry has never been more exciting. Of course, it holds many challenges and pitfalls, but these only serve to stimulate me - and Draftfcb as an agency group - to strive for better and smarter solutions utilising better technologies and more creative approaches.”