5

AXIOMS OF MODERN BRAND MANAGEMENT FROM JACK MORTON

BRAND BRILLIANT

WAYS TO BE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
5 WAYS TO BE BRAND BRILLIANT summarizes five core beliefs we have

here at Jack Morton about building brands now:

#1  CONVICTION FUELS CONVERSION

 Dont start with awareness as a goal; start by getting people to interact with your brand
#2

IDEAS MATTER MORE THAN MEDIA

#3

A great brand idea should translate across media

PEOPLE ARE OKAY WITH COMPLEXITY (AS LONG AS YOU MAKE IT EASY) 

 Consumers crave brand content and context; you have to make it relevant and resonant
#4

AUTHENTICITY MAKES YOU VISIBLE (THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE) 

 Instead of taking a badge approach to sponsorships, what about a build approach?

#5

PEOPLE POWER MARKETING 

 To fuel effective marketing, you need to brand2everyone

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 4 Axiom #1 Conviction fuels conversion 5 Axiom #2 Ideas matter more than media 7 Axiom #3 People are okay with complexity (as long as you make it easy) 9 Axiom #4 Authenticity makes you visible (the opposite is true) 11 Axiom #5 People power marketing 12 Talk to Jack 14 About Jack Morton 15

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INTRODUCTION
Josh McCall

Here at Jack Morton, we like big ideas and we like talking about them as much as any other agency. More so, perhaps, because we come at this field from a unique point of view that of a brand experience agency. We have a way of seeing the world that isnt quite in line with conventional wisdom and traditionally conceived marketing. We feel pretty passionately so we spend a lot of time engaged in conversation with clients, colleagues and peers, sharing what we consider to be core truths about how to build brands today. Weve gathered five of what we consider the most important of these axioms in the pages that follow. Ive spent enough time with marketing and brand people to be a little nervous about offering them advice on how to be brilliant it feels a bit presumptuous. But we want to provoke a conversation. Were comfortable with debate. We dont claim to know or do everything (notice weve titled this 5 WAYS TO BE BRAND BRILLIANT, not the five only ways to be brand brilliant) but were serious about having the conversation. So please do tell us: What do you think? Do you agree? Wed like to know.

Were comfortable with debate. We dont claim to know or do everything but were serious about having the conversation.

Josh McCall Chairman & CEO of Jack Morton Worldwide

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AXIOM #1

CONVICTION FUELS CONVERSION

Dont start with awareness as a goal; start by getting people to interact with your brand.
The oldest chestnut in the marketing book is the metaphor of a funnel to describe how consumers are reached, influenced and ultimately converted to customers. According to this model, mass matters most: marketers should start by creating awareness on as broad a scale as they can afford (and its expensive to buy through traditional media). They then push likely buyers into an ever narrower funnel, moving them to positive opinions, consideration and ultimately purchase. We in the brand experience space struggle with the funnel metaphor because were not so obviously about mass impact: were about getting a small but important group to engage deeply with a brand. Thats what experience does well. If you subscribe to the funnel worldview, its harder to justify honing in so narrowly. But heres the thing: very wise people have concluded that the funnel model isnt accurate. In a study of over 20,000 consumers across five industries and three continents, McKinsey concluded that their decision-making process is circular. Rather than narrowing into a funnel, consumers may actually add brands to their consideration set as they move through the
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process based on, for example, advice they actively seek out from trusted friends. And once theyre customers, its actual experience with the brand say, customer service that in large part determines future purchase. Ultimately, McKinsey concluded, marketers should focus less on the two ends of the funnel (awareness and loyalty) and more on the whole landscape of touchpoints and experiences that influence purchase. If theyre not part of the consideration set, if theyre not part of the conversation, they should (to paraphrase Don Draper) create disruptions that change the conversation.

AXIOM #1 CONVICTION FUELS CONVERSION

THE

OLD
METAPHOR

THE WAY

FORWARD

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AXIOM #1 CONVICTION FUELS CONVERSION

So, as it turns out, brand experience is actually very well-suited to a post-funnel world. Rather than spreading a thin layer of awareness across a broad population, engaging fewer people more deeply does two things brilliantly:
1.  Provide direct interaction with the brand that fuels

real conviction and conversion. This is especially relevant for well-known brands that have fallen out of the consideration set; getting people to touch and feel your brand here and now is a way to make it relevant here and now. A circular journey means brands can opportunistically jump into the consideration set.
2.  Inspire people to talk about your brand. According

Brand experience drives conviction and conviction converts triers into buyers and believers. Even if this happens on a relatively small scale, in industries with high-consideration products (like cars or consumer electronics) higher conversion rates rapidly add up to significant ROI for brand experience. But even in low-consideration sectors, brand experience can achieve mass impact as well. We use the phrase experienced by few, witnessed by many to describe the phenomenon of how a truly unique experience can captivate the attention of the worlds media and generate earned media coverage on a mass scale.

to our own research, the influence of word of mouth is enormous. Across geographies there is no more highly valued source of information about brands than people you know giving you advice and most people say theyll only talk about brands theyve actually experienced.

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AXIOM #2

IDEAS MATTER MORE THAN MEDIA

A great brand idea should translate across media.
Clients have always hired agencies for ideas thats what they need most and we do best. They know their business; we have ideas. One of the most exciting things about whats happening in the world of marketing today is that clients are increasingly likely to buy great ideas with a refreshing disregard for media as it used to be defined. They want great ideas and they recognize that ideas come from everywhere (not just from the agencies that are called, somewhat redundantly, creative). They want ideas to be able to translate and transcend media; ideas dont always get born as an ad that then turns into an activation. As a brand experience agency, we are particularly passionate about generating owned media ideas. Now, peoples eyes can start to glaze over when we talk about defining owned media, but perhaps thats because it has a bad rep from years of being an afterthought the thing you turn to once your paid media budget was all used up. We like the definition provided by Bob Greenberg and Barry Wacksman of R/GA: When a brand creates its own media properties that consumers use over and over again, such as a popular video on YouTube or a popular digital platform like Nike+, this is owned media. When consumers share these media properties with each other as when one person passes along a viral link to another, or blogs or tweets about a brand, or likes a brand on Facebook this is earned media. According to this definition, owned media is an idea, a story or experience thats created by the brand, and earned media is when people recommend and share that same experience with others. Whats important about owned media isnt what it looks like or the form it takes. Whats important is that its so inspiring that its shared with others. According to this definition, owned media could be something you see on YouTube or it could be customer service thats so great you tell others about it. Some of our favorites started out as experiences in the real world that took on a life of their own online: think of Cokes brilliant Happiness Machine (which was born out of a digital agencys brainstorming).

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AXIOM #2 IDEAS MATTER MORE THAN MEDIA

For us, its the idea thats special for brands and for people, not media and we feel vindicated by a couple of phenomena in the world today. The first comes from the world of marketing, where the most prestigious awards (such as the Cannes Titanium prize) reward ideas regardless of media. The second and ultimately more important phenomenon comes from consumers themselves, who in a recent study overwhelming told us that given all the clutter and noise in the world today, if a brand wants to get my attention it has to do something special. An owned media idea that a brand can leverage across media thats special. Great owned media ideas create special moments that capture peoples attention, or invent reasons to connect with your brand.

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AXIOM #3

PEOPLE ARE OKAY WITH COMPLEXITY (AS LONG AS YOU MAKE IT EASY)
Consumers crave brand content and context; you have to make it relevant and resonant.
Many of us can feel at times that were drowning in information: all those unanswered emails and unopened pieces of mail, all the ads we skip and brand-driven SMS messages we delete while cursing and mentally tallying up the bill. This sensation of information overload comes when were faced with content we havent asked for or that interrupts us without showing relevance. We may cite that statistic reported in the New York Times, that the typical western city-dweller is exposed to over 5,000 media messages daily. Exhausted yet? Lest we project that sense of being overwhelmed on the people were trying to reach, lets remember what the research actually shows. In fact, people really want and crave information about brands and products. They just want it on their terms, with content and context that suit their needs.

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AXIOM #3 PEOPLE ARE OKAY WITH COMPLEXITY (AS LONG AS YOU MAKE IT EASY)

According to research conducted by Jack Morton:  7% of consumers say that information is my friend; 8 information turns them from passive targets to active participants in the brand dialogue nformation about brands makes people feel I empowered and in control (and women are slightly more likely to claim this empowerment, despite being likely to note that there are more competing sources of information available)  he top sources of information most likely to drive T purchase arent passive awareness vehicles such as traditional advertising; theyre more active engagementdriven sources like advice sought from or given by friends and family  fter purchase, people continue to seek out relevant A information from brands and friends: to stay current on features, to save money, to be better consumers and to defect to a better alternative if their current brand doesnt keep them engaged

The trick is to make even complex information accessible and relevant. Face-to-face brand experiences connecting people who have an interest in the brand with people who can speak on its behalf whether paid company staff or inspired advocates provide a terrific platform for content and context. But so do great stories well told. A favorite recent example is Chipotles Back to the Start video, which started out online before being deployed as the brands firstever national US ad, sparking robust dialogue about a very complex subject along the way.

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AXIOM #4

AUTHENTICITY MAKES YOU VISIBLE (THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE)

Instead of taking a badge approach to sponsorships, what about a build approach?
Its a safe bet that youve ignored billions of dollars of poorly spent sponsorship dollars. You didnt do it maliciously. Its just that there are far too many brands that spend richly for the right to display their logo as a badge atop properties that arent really authentically connected to who they are. The brands that take this badge approach to sponsorship are very easy to ignore (and its an expensive oversight). Brands that take a build approach to sponsorship are braver. Possibly they invent something that doesnt exist thats needed in the community a need that they can uniquely fill. They see a white space for an experience that would be valued and they fill that space by creating an experience thats new, thats their own. At best, this unique experience shines a spotlight on the unique value they offer customers. For example, Chevy received high marks at SXSW 2012 for providing attendees a service that was truly needed free rides around Austin during the frenetic and crowded conference and that also showcased its vehicles in a very compelling, engaging way (see Axiom 1). But even if theyre signing on to an existing property instead of creating their own, brands that take a build approach
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to sponsorship treat it as more of a collaboration than a transaction. They dont just tick a box and gain the exclusive slot for their sector. They look for the authentic intersection of shared passions and values for the property, the fans and their own brand, and build from there. Ultimately, authenticity is very hard to ignore. Love it or hate it, it does get noticed. Sadly, the opposite is also true.

AXIOM #5

PEOPLE POWER MARKETING

To fuel effective marketing, you need to brand2everyone
We often say its time to stop thinking B2C versus B2B and start thinking B2E: brand to everyone. Thats because people dont think of themselves under the rubric of a category: they just want to know who you are, what you stand for and how you can help them. Its true of end users, its true of business audiences and its true of the people that deliver brands and products to customers. All of them expect marketers to give them their very best pitch. In that sense, everyone is a consumer. Unfortunately not all audiences are treated as equals. Internal audiences staff, salespeople, customer service, retail or channel partners employees are often an afterthought or not thought of at all. We think theyre fundamental, because their behaviors influence purchase in ways that may be visible or invisible, but are always meaningful to the business. To name just one example, theres a lot of talk about shopper marketing right now. People a companys own staff, their salespeople, their customer service, their retail or channel partners employees have a role in helping shoppers make the right choice at the moment of truth. Our own research with consumers in Brazil, China, India and the US showed that over half (51%) of people say they change their minds when they arrive in-store, already prepared to buy a product. A stunning 62% of the time they change their minds not because of price but because of interactions with staff in-store or information they receive in the store. Its worth repeating: more often than not, the in-store experience trumps price in swaying customers from one brand to another.

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AXIOM #5 PEOPLE POWER MARKETING

How can brands maximize the opportunity to engage people to deliver a great brand experience? As a start, they can prioritize programs that prioritize internal and business audiences. They can also elevate the content, design and marketing savvy for these campaigns: if brands expect their retail partners staff to get excited about their products, they have to work to make their products exciting (just like they do in their consumer advertising).

With all our understandable excitement about technology and media platforms today, we tend to forget that a lot of the marketing that matters is actually delivered or influenced by people. The better marketers can equip people to influence other people, the more successful theyll be.

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THIS IS JUST PART OF THE CONVERSATION.

HERE ARE A FEW WAYS TO

CONTACT
Liz Bigham

TALK TO JACK

+1 212 401 7212

liz_bigham@jackmorton.com
Tweet: @jackmorton Join the dialogue on Facebook Comment on our blog about brands and experiences

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JACK MORTON WORLDWIDE IS A GLOBAL BRAND EXPERIENCE AGENCY WITH OFFICES ON FIVE CONTINENTS. OUR AGENCY CULTURE PROMOTES BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS ABOUT HOW EXPERIENCES CONNECT BRANDS AND PEOPLE IN PERSON, ONLINE, AT RETAIL AND THROUGH THE POWER OF DIGITAL AND WORD OF MOUTH INFLUENCE. WE WORK WITH BOTH BTOC AND BTOB CLIENTS TO CREATE POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE EXPERIENCES THAT ENGAGE CUSTOMERS AND CONSUMERS, LAUNCH PRODUCTS, ALIGN EMPLOYEES AND BUILD STRONG EXPERIENCE BRANDS. RANKED AT THE TOP OF OUR FIELD, WEVE EARNED OVER 40 AWARDS FOR CREATIVITY, EXECUTION AND EFFECTIVENESS LAST YEAR, INCLUDING BEST NEW PRODUCT INTRO, BEST MEDIA EVENT AND EMPLOYEE CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR. JACK MORTON IS PART OF THE INTERPUBLIC GROUP OF COMPANIES, INC. (NYSE: IPG).

Jack Morton Worldwide 2012