Promo - May 2008 - (Page 16)

guest commentary Rick Roth Magnifying Big Ideas Locally Individual markets require strategic activation “What we really need now is a global activation agency.” That’s what the CMO of a major financial services company said to me a few months back. Then, just two weeks ago, an old friend, the CEO of a giant food company, told me that if an agency could truly help drive best practices in activation and shopper marketing around the world, it would have clients lining up for the help. Interesting times. How many of us have worked on big brand campaigns that somehow lost their way when they were executed at a local level? I’ve spent many years developing idea platforms that were meant to travel across channels, cultures and geographies. The client and agency team would feel great about what it did from the center, but then we’d all too often find ourselves crossing our fingers hoping local markets would do right by the brand and right by the idea. Those were the days when I first realized the power of local brand activation. It could make a big idea even more impactful. Or it could undermine the idea’s effectiveness with off-brand activities, inconsistent brand voice all in the supposed pursuit of local business. This dynamic has been a fundamental issue for marketers over the years. Many have found ways to drive smarter, more consistent programs from one region, one channel, one neighborhood to the next. And this came by applying local wisdom and creativity to central initiatives. Today, our planet gets smaller and smaller. The Internet connects everyone everywhere. Everything can be seen. Everything can be heard. For the global brand marketer, this creates a real challenge on the one hand. But it can be leveraged into a big opportunity across markets. Historically, folks managing global brands would send “above-the-line materials” (I do hate that phrase) to local markets with very specific instructions. Everything was clear for the “above-the-line” work. But the local marketer would have the right to create programs he believed would drive his business at a street and retail level. We would all too often cringe when we saw how our efforts ultimately got translated. Marketers of global brands are learning they have a choice. Yes, they must absolutely drive business at a local level. But they don’t need to leave things to chance, and they don’t need to be reinventing work from one market to the next. Yes, they need local wisdom. But just as marketers have sought big brand ideas that can travel, they are searching for big activation concepts that worked elsewhere and can be adapted. Local brand activation and shopper marketing is taking on growing importance around the world. Global marketers want their brands to travel with one voice across traditional media. But they know they won’t win if they don’t connect where it matters most in what OgilvyAction calls “The Last Mile.” When the consumer makes a purchase decision, that’s the ultimate moment of truth for driving business and mandatory for delivering ROI. Here are a few “must do” suggestions for activating global brands at a local level. KNOW YOUR CONSUMER—KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER The days of tactical one-offs are gone. Or at least they should be. When we are caring for the health of a brand, every engagement makes either a deposit in or withdrawal from its value. We need to apply the same level of strategic thinking to our local activation plans as we do in general market planning, but with a bit of a twist. We need to focus on people’s typical days, and how we can build programs that will influence actions. We need to take the time to understand brand relationships. There are three dynamics to consider: • the brand and the consumer • the brand and the retailer • the retailer and its shopper These relationships will vary by shopping occasion, channel, consumer and culture. Understanding how consumers interact with brands and then influencing them along the path to purchase is how we turn consumers into shoppers and shoppers into buyers. Having the right media planners—people who understand consumer journeys, touch-points and media-neutral engagement—can make all the difference determining the impact of your work. MAKE THE CONNECTIONS Here’s what we’re up against. Our consumer is more barraged with messages than ever before, more empowered and more fick- 16 May 2008 / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / Promo http://WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - May 2008

Promo - May 2008 Contents Editor's Note Eyeballs All the Same... NBC Makes 'Law & Order' a Mobile Game Recession Rewards Comfort Virally Toaster on Wheels Commentary Ay Caramba! The 2008 Interactive Marketing Awards Winners How Bulletproof? Q&A: What a Ride Resource Center The Agency Center Blogging 101 Index of Advertisers

Promo - May 2008

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