IT DEPENDS...
Almost always. There is no one-size-fits-all in marketing and advertising; one cannot expect unique output if the input is so rule-booked, dogmatic and formulaic. Read on…
This newsletter, focussed on writing about guiding principles and marketing fundamentals is something that was borne 2 & 1/2 years ago out of the want to help reset common sense in our profession. Because I felt a burgeoning of short termism, pithy nonsense.
But I hate to break it to you, the reality of driving marketing success is at times often a lot more dull and process driven, without shortcuts, but a process of hopefully enlightenment and insight, and tailored output.
As I have always written, there are seldom laws and one way to do things, but there are apparent facts and truisms and fundamentals that when done properly increase your odds, and are clear when you oversee years of client work, academic study and industry research. I have always tried to shine a light on some of this, and share balance, thinking and my own injected experience into things. I hope you feel the same too and recognise this. But this cross functional, experienced eye will land on a truth; It Depends. More on that shortly.
First - The 2 new Horsemen of the industry apocalypse
But I have serious issues resurfacing again that are starting to really irritate. A couple of things have really proliferated as the status quo since I first fired this up at the beginning of 2022 :
The growth, obsession and (incorrect) adoption of Generative AI.
The gamification of social media algorithms that reward the outrageous.
With the first one, Gen AI (not just AI, that has been behind the scenes for years) has come about as the big trend that has infested literally every bit of marketing conversation, advice, panel, you name it. With this has risen a new wave of cocksure ‘prompt engineers’ and ‘cheat codes’ on how to maximise your generated output, whether it be ChatGPT or one of those other Dall-E things. I am not against Gen AI, I embrace it now as a cornerstone of the status quo, and there are some great use cases (as well as naff ones) and I seek a balanced view on it, but it is just a tool! My issue is with the commentary around it; the question must be begged, how can we have experts on things that are so new and still evolving?
The second, which has both informed the content of the first point and enabled the grifters to multiply their overconfident teachings, is the algorithm gaming. Seeing most posts along the well spaced lines of
This is a thing…
I am going to say it, as nobody else has...
You shouldn’t do this [thing].
End. Of.
Insert some emojis
When I was younger [story]
Then [lesson]
We should be thinking [xxx]
Without fail do this ABC
Agree?
…or some other similar diatribe. This formulaic output dominates my feed, as sadly, the posts that do this get the most ‘engagement’ or ‘likes’, and when people see others ‘doing well on LinkedIn’ they naturally imitate. The algo rewards. Rinse & repeat.
The main, insidious uprising in the social media sphere (including my own instagram reels which I preserve for dogs, food, sport and travel) is the clickbaity hustle-bro content of promising to increase your ROAS / other arbitrary success metric 10 billion % if you follow my x step plan reduced to £99 today from £579. Or download my cheatsheet for free now etc.
I understand the beguiling nature of this for the less experienced business owner or marketeer, and I’ve no doubt the purveyors of such wisdom genuinely got those huge results, but this is not 100% sustainable advice for all, as there’s rarely a one-size fits-all approach.
REMEMBER - it ALWAYS (pretty much) Depends
Thinking about the 4 Ps we have discussed on marketing over the years - Product, Price, Place & Promotion.
No 2 marketing strategies or media plans should be the same, as the research should inform a position of differentiation across these areas.
Promotion is the biggest one that everyone talks about of course but the other 3 Ps alone warrant huge consideration…
Price - just because they are more expensive, doesn’t mean you have to compete, it depends on your product.
Just because they discount, doesn’t mean you have to partake in that sale event too, it depends on your brand positioning.
Product - just because they have all those features, does not mean you need to. It depends on various things, but more pertinently, the customer need.
Just because they have launched a market first innovation, does not mean you have to. It depends on the funding, the addressable market, the hubris of leadership, the reality and perception of brand amongst buyers.
Place - Just because their commerce story is online only and they say the high street is dead, does not mean you shouldn’t embrace yours. It depends, on the Product, the Price, the business model, the need for experiential work, tactility of product etc.
Just because they advertise at a trade fair you think you should be at, does not mean you should too. It depends on the business; they may be afraid to save face and go every year, but if you get better return, and want to invest in customer experience, you may not.
Promotion = stand out, be distinctive, create memory and sell
We know all of this by now, but as often the most visible part, this is where the sheep factor, the copying, imitation and ‘inspiration’ come from, as it is the visible part of the brand iceberg. The ad format of the competitor lights a fire under the marketer and they panic and jump on it. Forgetting the key facets of differentiation and customer orientation.
Just because a platform recommends advertising on it, does not mean you should. It is invariably the tail wagging the dog, that is their strategy to get you to spend. It depends on your strategy, where the audience are, your campaign and business objectives, and if they can be reached efficiently.
Just because your competitor is Using TikTok and seems fresh and interesting, does not mean you should. It depends on the brand, the tone of voice, the focus on audience.
Just because the over confident crypto bro growth hacker told you that print and TV are dead mediums, absolutely does not mean they are. It likely means that they are doubling down on their pitch of the opposite. Of course, it depends what you want to do and what your data is telling you.
And just because you are (one of my favourites) getting told that your customers are more valuable and a third of your customers are from retention or CRM, does absolutely NOT mean that is the case for you. Like I said recently talking about loyalty, long term customers in B2B, airlines and Engineering is fine, but majority of goods are light buyer categories so acquisition should be a focus. It really really does depend.
Note : Another thing underpinning this on a wider business level is some businesses are small, perfectly formed, cash rich and are focusses on profitable growth. Whereas others can be more profligate and get into debt to acquire customers as they may have a volume target to achieve the next series of funding, as an example.
You don’t need to be Einstein (or Not)
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"
Often attributed to Albert Einstein, although apparently it was a novelist Rita Mae Brown who said this too. Classic misattribution the internet loves, and another great example of social proof of things said, spreading like wildfire, that only become the truth. Endemic of our fake news era for sure. There is something in this and adds to my point of dangerous dogma.
But going back to the quote, whoever quipped, it is true. Obviously madness to expect one to do the same thing over and over and expect change. So why aren’t people more sceptical when it comes to doing anything that someone else has done, and expecting it to work for them exactly, or worse, to imitate?
BOTTOM LINE : Why does It Depend? Because of the need for Difference
No need to recite all the best things to do here, but never forget good marketing comes from an understanding of your customer, where they are, what their preferences are, what they consume, and showing up with the right product in the right place with the right message at the right time, to solve their problem. To cut through and be the ones to solve their problem, you need to have shown a true understanding of the above, and with the right creative and comms, you can stand out. Be different. Differentiate. Be distinctive. Zag when others zig.
If you do all the things that others have done, won’t you merely just zig with the rest?
Remember what you are trying to do, consider all the levers, that are all very dependent on the brand, the customer and your business, and deliver your marketing accordingly, with the goal of creating memory and association with your brand. So when the time comes to buy, you are front of mind. And if you are truly different at this point, why would you want to consume or even proffer a rulebook that would work for everyone? As you were!
Hope you read and use this. It depends though, some of you are busy with kids breaking up from school, or en-route to your holiday. I myself will take August off as I focus on other things. Enjoy your summer!
SA
P.S. I really hope you are getting a semblance of value out of this. If so, and you think any other marketer or business owner would, feel free to share/forward this to them. Also, follow me on LinkedIn, The place formerly known as Twitter, or even my company page. If you want to discuss anything, you need some marketing advice, or you just want to discuss something I’ve said, drop me a line. Thanks and happy reading/marketing!