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comment A BIG MOUTH
Tony Thomas
MARKETING – A COST
OR AN INVESTMENT?
Adam Joseph
Managing director, Insights manager,
The Population Herald Sun Melbourne
No one likes a big mouth – you know, that really One of the most thought-provoking presentations
annoying friend you’ve got who always talks over from last month’s Australian Marketing Institute
you and never shuts up, going off on tangents that annual conference was delivered by Kathy Hatzis,
don’t interest you. It’s like they live in their own head of marketing planning at St. George Bank.
bubble and are not in tune with how their actions Hatzis demonstrated how her department has
affect the people around them. In their own world, repositioned the role of marketing with the St.
they’re the life of the party, the centre of George senior management team over time. Key to
attention, the one without personality flaws or a this was shifting marketing to be seen as an
need to ‘adapt’. investment rather than a short-term cost which
A relationship with a person like this is could be trimmed when the going got tough.
destined to fail. It takes too much energy and hard She outlined five simple principles. The first
work to foster friends like these and what usually was to speak the language of money. When talking
starts with patience, ends in avoidance. to finance people, terms like ‘brand recognition’,
The same can be said for big-mouth brands. ‘engagement’ and ‘TARPS’ do little to convince
We all know the feeling when a repetitive, the money-minders of the direct contribution
loud-mouth brand keeps yelling at you. Going on marketing makes to the bottom line. A 10%
about stuff that really doesn’t interest you. It rise in brand awareness sounds great, but how
shows they haven’t taken the time to listen and get much money does that actually bring in this year
to know you. and next?
It’s even worse when you have an established The second principal was to position marketing
relationship with a brand and they go and do in investment terms. On this point, Tim Ambler, a
something that ruins what you had together. I was London Business School professor, defined
a Sultana Bran fan, eating it religiously every marketing as “the sourcing and harvesting of cash
morning until they came out with the “Sultana’s on flow” in his conference presentation. Shedding
the grapevine” ad a couple of years ago that made insights into the differentiation between sales and
me want to drown myself in my cereal bowl. I can’t marketing, he suggested “sales deals with the
bring myself to forgive them. Just when you feel immediate cash inflows and marketing with the
you’re really getting to know one another, they do ultimate source behind that, i.e. consumer demand”.
something that makes you feel embarrassed to The third principal Hatzis adopted was setting
know them. up common ROI measurements for all major
Brands should take a lead from our own marketing campaigns. Financial benefits were
personal relationships. The traits that humans assigned to elements typically perceived as
possess in developing long-lasting relationships “intangibles” and these results were published
provide a good foundation for marketers to think internally across all departments involved in the
about. Human relationships get better over time planning and delivery of customer programs.
because you get to know one another intimately. A Principal four was using brand valuations by
strong brand relationship should do the same. But referencing league ladders and other work by
it requires brands to get off their pedestal, listen experts Brand Finance. St. George must be one of
and get to know you. When a brand stays true to the few Australian companies to report brand
itself while adapting to its consumers, it creates a equity value in their annual results.
more personal connection that makes every Principal five was talking about marketing
consumer feel special. And isn’t that exactly what investment outcomes and the contribution
every marketer tries to achieve? campaigns made to incremental profits. This was
I get the feeling that we’re going to refer to the more meaningful for most stakeholders than just
brand guidelines or ‘brand bible’ less and less in the talking about outcomes in terms of brand, loyalty
future as brands become more accessible and or that old-school marketing favourite, “number of
adaptable to their surroundings. beautiful ads produced”.
It’s not surprising that we’re seeing the This was a great case study of what Ambler
TO MAKE A humanisation of brands because people love referred to as “marketing marketing” – promoting
brands which show more of a human side. our profession to finance-savvy senior
COMMENT EMAIL For a discussion on my column, go to management executives and the wider Australian
EDITORIAL@BANDT.COM.AU fromthepopulation.blogspot.com financial community.
16 BANDT.COM.AU NOVEMBER 21 2008