2009 presentation to the Merage School of Business.

1. WHAT GREAT
MARKETERS DO WELL
Presentation to the Merage School of Business -
University of California Irvine
David Murphy
Co-President
Exec. Director – Brand Innovation
Barrie D’Rozario Murphy

2. MY MENTORS

3. THE MARKETER’S
IMPERATIVE
“If you don’t like change,
you’ll like irrelevance
even less.”
Tom Peters

4. THE MARKETER’S
IMPERATIVE
“Those who live by the sword
will be shot by those
who don’t.”
Gary Hamel

5. THE MARKETER’S
IMPERATIVE
“They couldn’t hit an elephant
at this dist----”
The last words of
Union General John Sedgwick

6. WHAT CHANGE
LEAVES IN ITS WAKE.

7. DISRUPTIVE FORCES:
CONVENIENCE

8. DISRUPTIVE FORCES:
EXPERIENCES

9. DISRUPTIVE FORCES:
FUNCTIONALITY

10. DISRUPTIVE FORCES:
DESIGN

11. DISRUPTIVE FORCES:
PRICE

12. DISRUPTIVE FORCES:
COMMUNITIES

13. WHAT GREAT
MARKETERS DO WELL
• STRATEGY: • EXECUTION:
– Brand literacy – Thoughtful
– Consumer intimacy interactions
– Relevant – Test and learn
differentiation – Design
– Storytelling – Context
– Innovation – Alignment
– Courage

14. BRAND LITERACY
Brands provide a source of margin,
repeat business and growth.

15. BRAND LITERACY
A brand is formed through an
empathetic relationship with customers.
Emotionally led.
Rationally justified.

16. BRAND LITERACY
Great brands possess a clear sense
of true north.
Who they are
What they value
Where they’re heading

17. BRAND LITERACY
Brand equity is not a static metric --
it is the relationship between
different dynamics.
Differentiation
Relevance
Esteem
Knowledge

18. Example: B.A.V.
D_E R E K
Leadership
(DifferentiationE / Relevance)
D_E R E K
Niche or
Brand Strength
Unrealized
Potential D_E R E K
Declining
D_E R E K
D_E R E K
New, Unfocused or
Commodity or
Unknown
Eroded
Brand Stature
(Esteem / Knowledge)

19. WHAT GREAT
MARKETERS DO WELL
• STRATEGY: • EXECUTION:
– Brand literacy – Thoughtful
– Consumer intimacy interactions
– Relevant – Test and learn
differentiation – Design
– Storytelling – Context
– Innovation – Alignment
– Courage

20. CUSTOMER INTIMACY
There is no such thing as
“the customer.”
Segments
Needs
Usage
Values

21. CUSTOMER INTIMACY
Traditional market
research often misses
the mark.
Focus groups lie.
Quantitative lacks nuance.
Awareness, satisfaction, etc. are
tired measures.

22. CUSTOMER INTIMACY
The best research yields insights,
not data.
Category ideal vs. brand
Personification
Values
Loyalty drivers
Unarticulated needs

23. CUSTOMER INTIMACY
Great marketers are
“commercial anthropologists.”
Observe with open mind
Interact
Talk
Understand
Connect the dots

24. Tundra launch
Extensive observational research to help design the truck. Engineers visited junk yards
to learn why trucks fail; construction sites to see how workers use their trucks; saddle
shops attention to detail; NASCAR, rodeos, etc to understand the culture.

25. USP: The 1/2 ton
Build the truck
Truck with 3/4 ton guts
where real trucks
are built.
Segment ideal customer profile:
“where life is tough
and the work is tougher.”
Win the barstool Choose iconography Be a part
debate. that conveys USP. of their world

26. WHAT GREAT
MARKETERS DO WELL
• STRATEGY: • EXECUTION:
– Brand literacy – Thoughtful
– Consumer intimacy interactions
– Relevant – Test and learn
differentiation – Design
– Storytelling – Context
– Innovation – Alignment
– Courage

27. RELEVANT
DIFFERENTIATION
A relevant and differentiated
proposition is the basis of
enduring brands.
Important, un-met needs
Grounded in the truth of the product

28. example
Desired benefit
Innovate Strategic
focus
Brand Brand
weakness strength
Improve Maintain
Expected benefit

29. examples
Ladies and
Accessible gentlemen Save 15%. Commercialize
design serving ladies innovations
and gentlemen.

30. WHAT GREAT
MARKETERS DO WELL
• STRATEGY: • EXECUTION:
– Brand literacy – Thoughtful
– Consumer intimacy interactions
– Relevant – Test and learn
differentiation – Design
– Storytelling – Context
– Innovation – Alignment
– Courage

31. STORYTELLING
Great brands tell great stories.
They are an inspiring protagonist in a
compelling brand narrative.
Empathetic protagonist
Equally clear about its antagonist
Sense of journey
Powerful archetypes

32. examples
An authority-defying rebel
uniting a community in a
crusade against fear.
A free thinker liberating the
world from beige conformity.
An advocate of women’s
self-esteem battling
against the falsehood
of media-defined beauty.

33. WHAT GREAT
MARKETERS DO WELL
• STRATEGY: • EXECUTION:
– Brand literacy – Thoughtful
– Consumer intimacy interactions
– Relevant – Test and learn
differentiation – Design
– Storytelling – Context
– Innovation – Alignment
– Courage

34. INNOVATION
Strategic innovation should solve real,
unarticulated customer needs.
Analyze customers
Observe them
Be inspired by them
But don’t take orders
Slavish adherence to research would have
led Henry Ford to build a faster horse.

35. INNOVATION
Often a mash-up of disparate
insights and technologies.
Latchkey kids + Microwaves
Running + Music
Unserved rental market +
cheaper locations
Techno-stress + affluence
Senior market + cell phones
“We” generation + web

36. INNOVATION
They are underpinned by rigorous
analytics -- a business case that
drives fresh thinking.
Demand segments
Price premiums
Assess real world trade-offs
Conjoint analysis

37. WHAT GREAT
MARKETERS DO WELL
• STRATEGY: • EXECUTION:
– Brand literacy – Thoughtful
– Consumer intimacy interactions
– Relevant – Test and learn
differentiation – Design
– Storytelling – Context
– Innovation – Alignment
– Courage

38. THOUGHTFUL
INTERACTIONS
Every interaction matters.
Product performance
Customer service
Packaging
Retail display
Website
Distribution
Advertising

39. WHAT GREAT
MARKETERS DO WELL
• STRATEGY: • EXECUTION:
– Brand literacy – Thoughtful
– Consumer intimacy interactions
– Relevant – Test and learn
differentiation – Design
– Storytelling – Context
– Innovation – Alignment
– Courage

40. TEST AND LEARN
Great marketers build
learning cultures.
Kaizen
Celebrate learning from failure

41. TEST AND LEARN
Dismal launch Major success

42. WHAT GREAT
MARKETERS DO WELL
• STRATEGY: • EXECUTION:
– Brand literacy – Thoughtful
– Consumer intimacy interactions
– Relevant – Test and learn
differentiation – Design
– Storytelling – Context
– Innovation – Alignment
– Courage

43. DESIGN
Design is not an image.
It is a business strategy.

44. DESIGN
Design thinking is a critical
business discipline.
Forces customer orientation.
Focus on possibilities.
Question everything.
Embrace restraints.
Reductive thinking.

45. DESIGN
Designed a new banking
experience.
Created the “third place”
Transformed financial products into
tangible, packaged items.
Coffee bar by window to convey
welcoming environment
Money bar -- not cashier.
Self-guided video presentations
Doubled customer base in one year.

46. WHAT GREAT
MARKETERS DO WELL
• STRATEGY: • EXECUTION:
– Brand literacy – Thoughtful
– Consumer intimacy interactions
– Relevant – Test and learn
differentiation – Design
– Storytelling – Context
– Innovation – Alignment
– Courage

47. CONTEXT
Context is a powerful, unspoken
message. Brand associations can
shape brand meaning.
Media
Distribution
Alliances
Customers

48. CONTEXT
Helpful context:
YARIS advertising
on mobile phones.

49. CONTEXT
Damaging context:
Jaguar X-type
Jaguar at Hertz

50. WHAT GREAT
MARKETERS DO WELL
• STRATEGY: • EXECUTION:
– Brand literacy – Thoughtful
– Consumer intimacy interactions
– Relevant – Test and learn
differentiation – Design
– Storytelling – Context
– Innovation – Alignment
– Courage

51. ALIGNMENT
The most effective and enduring
marketing strategies are fully aligned with
the company’s value chain.
USP is not an ad strategy
Grounded in a unique business model
Activities complement and reinforce
Strategy connected to the balance sheet

52. ALIGNMENT
“We’ll pick you up.” “Designed for all.”
Enabled by lower cost Expressed through
structure iconic advertising
Driven by lower off- Manifested by unique
airport real estate merchandising strategy
Inspired by idea to Inspired by idea to find
service replacement sweet spot between
car market. Walmart and Macys.

53. WHAT GREAT
MARKETERS DO WELL
• STRATEGY: • EXECUTION:
– Brand literacy – Thoughtful
– Consumer intimacy interactions
– Relevant – Test and learn
differentiation – Design
– Storytelling – Context
– Innovation – Alignment
– Courage

54. COURAGE
Do you have the courage?
To follow customers into territories that are not obvious?
To provoke the system -- challenge your management?
To weather public scrutiny at all times?
To be different?

55. SHARE YOUR POV
wikibranding.net
@wikibranding
david murphy
david.murphy@bdm.net