Coca-Cola Advertising
It has been well documented that great brands do not necessarily contract spending in an economic downturn and that the brands which seize the opportunity and continue to invest tend to ride through unscathed. As a result of this they create an ever-more powerful brand (one that is turned to in troubled times) and which is valued even more when the economy bounces back.
Where will marketers choose to spend their marketing budgets in 2012 and beyond?
With the squeeze well and truly upon UK and European businesses and even the most esteemed economists unable to predict our economic fate in 2012, how will this influence marketing spend? Overlay this with a real shift in investment from paid to own and earned media properties and 2012 could be caught in a crossfire of step-change in marketing investment, in which the strong and brave rise triumphantly (potentially Coca-Cola and Unilever brands) and the weak and fearful fall apart.
Will investment in CONTENT shine through in 2012?
My burning question is: Will marketers finally soften financial controllers who demand hard ROI metrics against all marketing activity? In my opinion, the true value of investment in content (or content curation) within the marketing mix cannot be understated, but it is still a tricky investment in terms of clear definable metrics.
Connecting with a time-poor, on-the-move consumer
Consumers are flooded or, in most cases, bamboozled (I love that word) with stuff (advice, information, gimmicks, offers, etc) and it is all competing for our time and attention (of which we have increasingly less of). Juggling this alongside life’s challenges is tough going – and who has the time to wade though it all these days?
Relationships will matter
Brands that are able to provide us with a solution (and not simply a product), a positive desired experience, to filter out the clutter and complexities in our world, and provide us with solutions to any one of life’s problems (whether it be “what on earth am l going to cook tonight” or “what can I do to entertain myself?”) will be welcomed into our busy lives – delivering a deeper connection and in doing this will achieve a greater sense of ‘social capital’ for that brand. (Social capital is a central idea that “social networks are a valuable asset” and interaction enables people to build communities, to commit themselves to each other – see http://www.infed.org/biblio/social_capital.htm)
Content Curation and Customer Experience will reign supreme
The best example to highlight here is Coca-Cola’s marketing mission statement, Content 2020, developed by Coca-Cola’s Jonathan Mildenhall, VP Global Advertising Strategy and Creative Excellence. Coca-Cola’s Content 2020 strategy clearly demonstrates this leading global brand’s marketing future rests on the ideals of content marketing. A lovely strap – Moving from Creative Excellence to Content Excellence.
This investment is linked to three key drivers:
1- The need to double the size of the business
2- Accepting the wider distribution of creativity (crowd-sourcing creativity)
3- Understanding the distribution of technology – the on-demand society and forging important relationships with tech companies (such as Google).
Most importantly, it recognises the power of storytelling.
I urge every marketer to watch both of their videos:
Coca-Cola’s strategic vision
Coca-Cola’s definition of content
Coke Advertising
