Trouble in Paradise.
We like to say that there’s never been a better time for brands to be alive than right now. It’s a playground out there. New technologies. New content and experiences. Diverse consumers. Data and insights. A world that’s more design literate and creatively passionate than ever before. Marketers demanding both performance and purpose from their brands.
What could go wrong? Well, sometimes, it may feel like...everything.
“The pandemic has upended calendars, thrown media plans into disarray and forced CMOs to manage teams from afar — all while crafting messages that resonate and break through without turning off politically and culturally divided consumers.”
- AdAge
“We invested significantly in a new data platform. And we got data. Lots of it. What we’re not getting is a steady stream of insights to plow back into the business.” - Brand Manager
“We just don’t trend. Like...ever.” - Social Media Director
Despite an environment of enormous opportunity, there is no shortage of problems, watch outs, concerns and issues. BrandKeys recently updated their pre-Covid 2019 study of ‘What’s Keeping CMOs and Brand Managers Up at Night?’ It’s an extensive and very real list of current marketing goblins that’s sure to challenge many good night’s rest.
What’s Keeping CMOs and Brand Managers Up at Night?
(Q4. 2022, % change vs 2019)
- ROI and ROMI (98%, +1%)
- COVID and COVID-related employee management issues (95%, new)
- Supply chain snafus and product availability (94%, new)
- Inflation (92%, new)
- Competition from new brands (91%, new)
- Addressing innovation, AI, technology, the metaverse, and marketing automation (91%, -1%)
- Optimizing and owning CX and the customer journey (90%, new)
- Establishing trust between my brand and the consumer (90%, -5%)
- Consumer expectations regarding privacy, transparency, and CSR (90%, –)
- Deployment of predictive consumer behavior analytics and technologies (90%, +4%)
- Developing long-term/new strategies that align with corporate growth goals (88%, +8%)
- Keeping consumers engaged with my brand (86%, +11%)
- Managing agency relationships (84%, new)
- Creating relevant and engaging advertising content and storytelling (83%, -5%)
- Growing consumer expectations and the gap between consumer desire and brand delivery (83%, +1%)
- Dealing with consumer tribalism and political dogma (82%, +5%)
- Data security issues (80%, -15%)
- Dealing with consumer advocacy and social activism (80%, -5%)
- Protecting my brand’s equity (80%, +1%)
- Creating an “unlearning curve” to move away from legacy marketing metrics (79%, +4%)
- Being replaced by a Chief Revenue Officer or CFO (77%, +2%)
- Better cross-platform synergy for brand marketing (75%, –)
- Creating marketing synergy among different generational cohorts (75%, –)
Source: BrandKeys
Putting the focus on
Constrictions
What’s your problem? Really.
The reality is, a good agency partner can help clients with many of these issues by providing a unique alchemy of analytical and conceptual thinking that might not be found elsewhere.
There’s just one thing.
We find the biggest problem is often not in the general issues facing all brands — inflation, media fragmentation, effective data collection, supply chain management etc. Rather, the bigger problem more often stems from how people are perceiving and engaging your brand. Lack of familiarity, lack of trust, misperceptions, barriers, cultural disconnects, engrained beliefs. These become the real constrictions. And liberating the brand from these creates a fulcrum for effectively addressing everything else.
So...what’s your problem? What’s the core constriction that is holding your brand and business back from creating even greater value?
Every situation is different. However, constrictions are usually the case of the brand being, at once, too much of something and not enough of something else.
Explore. Be True.
Focus. Commit.
Conquering Constrictions
Conquering constrictions starts with rigorously exploring and truthfully identifying the brand’s biggest challenges.
Where to look?
We find that pain points and constrictions often emanate from five core territories: Environmental; Operational; Developmental; Cultural; Emotional. It’s not an exhaustive list. And the areas are not mutually exclusive. But that’s okay.
It’s most important to identify and focus on the one problem/opportunity area you feel is most relevant and critical to your brand and business at the moment. After all, a choice of “all the above” is no choice at all.
So...explore, be true, focus, ask the tough questions about your brand and its constrictions. By doing so, you’ve taken a big first step on the path to brand liberation.
Constriction Territories
1
Environmental
How are changing regulations, economic forces, digital privacy, environmental issues, health and social events creating and accelerating constrictions for your brand?
Are difficult times actually presenting excellent opportunities to connect with emerging consumer beliefs and behaviors?
Peloton, Netflix, Zoom and Doordash became a home survival kit during the pandemic. Fashion brand Youzey leveraged the moment to launch a successful new accessory brand. Meta pivoted from regulation and privacy scrutiny to define an entirely different brand trajectory. Ford rejected government funding and restructured during the Great Recession, re-emerging much stronger as a result. Proof helped CES and tech lovers celebrate the power of “being in it” and the chance to once again attend the greatest tech show on earth live in 2023.
2
Operational
Are KPIs and other performance data such as Net Promoter Score, Churn Rates and Customer Reviews telling you that a recommitment to customer experience is vital? Is your pricing too high? Is distribution too narrow?
Conversely, is your brand experience better than competitors and able to serve as a differentiator?
Delivering exceptional CX in certain categories like air travel and broadband is difficult and brands such as Spirit and Comcast seem to perennially be on the hot seat. Others, like Publix, USAA and Allbirds have placed service at their core and use it as a strong differentiator. Proof B2B client Mouser Electronics is similar. While Mouser’s technology components are commodities, its dedicated and sharp employees are anything but. What to do when once good service goes off the rails and becomes a major constriction? Call time out. Restructure. Recommit. As Starbucks and Domino’s famously did.
3
Developmental
Are you growing? Are you really growing? Are you building both profitable revenue and positive reputation? Are you attracting new customers, or barely satisfying a shrinking pool of the old ones? Are you innovating? Are your products performing? Are the values and vision that started the business still there and inspiring employees and customers today? Are you outthinking competitors? Are you evolving? Are you getting too big?
Very often, constrictions come directly from the dynamics surrounding growth. Some brands find it hard to even get off the launch pad. Competition, engrained behaviors, poor planning can kill the dream. The XFL is an example. Others, like wework, gain enormous initial traction then fumble. Continuous innovation is critical to growth, something that Xerox and Nokia never achieved. Pivoting, evolving is also key as Target, Burberry, Slack and others have shown. With Proof, Travel Texas evolved its brand platform from simply proclaiming Texas is different, to inviting travelers to discover their own adventures in a place that has tons of them.
4
Cultural
Is your brand plugged in and in touch? Or, are you drifting? Are you sensitive to the values, issues, trends and desires of a population that’s more diverse than ever before and changing constantly? Are you creating opportunities to connect and build deeper relationships with people? Is the vision and purpose of the brand clear? Is it resonating? What data and metrics are you using to determine all this? How do you know they’re right?
Brands like Trader Joes, Pepsi, The Cleveland Guardians and the Washington Commanders have changed their branding and marketing to be more aware and appropriate. Conversely, brands like Kith and Stussy have been fueled by culture for years. Brand purpose is incredibly powerful as Patagonia and Coolhaus know well. So is connecting with specific segments of consumers as Dove has done with women and beauty. For Apothic wines, Proof connected deeply with Millennials by building an entire world of mystery and intrigue, just for them.
5
Emotional
There’s share of market and then then there’s share of heart. Share of joy. Share of curiosity. Share of interest. Great marketers know the power of this, particularly since most purchase decisions are emotionally, not rationally driven. So where does your brand stand? Loved? Only liked? Merely tolerated? Once beloved and now declining? What is sentiment data saying? How are brand affinity KPIs trending? What is your gut telling you when you see customers engage with you? Why are they not engaging?
Beloved brands stand out. DQ and Chic-fil-A make us crave for them. Lego and Disney fuel our imaginations. TJ Maxx and Buc-Ee’s put smiles on our faces just thinking of going there. Tik Tok and Instagram entertain us and endlessly draw us in. Geico and Old Spice make us laugh. For Champion Energy, Proof leveraged the power of humor to break through and create an emotional connection in a crowded, low-involvement and rational category.
