When predictions were made about the “modern technological age” in which we now live, the main projection was that technology was the key enabler to having more free time. As with most predictions this hasn’t happened (flying cars etc), and about having more time, it’s more likely most people feel they have less free time.
Power remains the most elusive of traits; but this year’s Power 100 is based on the most simple of premises; the power of a good idea. When Marc Mathieu, senior vice president of marketing at Unilever called for a ‘more magic less logic’ approach to marketing he articulated the concerns of many in the industry about the growth of risk-adverse ‘marketing by numbers’ focus on ROI at all costs.
In previous decade power might have been all about who sits higher on the corporate hierarchy, who reports into who, or even who has the longest most complicated job title. However, in the digital age where brands are facing up to an unprecedented pace of change smart businesses are embracing the ‘Ideaocracy’ where good ideas, not corporate hierarchy dictate business success. Where strong companies get behind an idea, not a job title.
In line with this change the Power 100 has also changed, with 45 new entrants. This year there was only one director of social media marketing in the Power 100. (Musa Tariq, director of social media marketing at Burberry.) But as social business and collaborative consumption continues to drive brands forward this trend is only set to accelerate further.
This year’s Power 100 also celebrates marketers whose influence is felt outside of the companies they work for. Marketers like Aviva’s Amanda Mackenzie, who are generous with their knowledge, their time and their mentoring of those coming up the ladder behind them.
While the industry is facing up to unprecedented change the continued strength of individuals who can not only shine outwards; but inspire and support their colleagues behind the scenes remains vital.
This year, in the spirit of sharing we want to turn the Power 100 over to you. If you follow this link Bit.ly/Marketing100 you can create and share your own list. We would love to hear what you think.
Power 100 in numbers
45 Number of New Entrants
27 Number of Female Marketers
13 Number of Tech Brands
6 Number of Automotive Brands
100’s Number of Cups of Coffee consumed whilst putting the Power 100 together
So the Football League is in talks with Capital One about the US financial giant becoming the new title sponsor of the League Cup.
The Capital One Cup!
It doesn’t sound too bad to me (remember the Rumbelows Cup?); kind of pithy, like a big money American horse race or a prestigious round-the-world sailing contest. Read More
I had cause to visit my local WH Smith in Wood Green, North London, on Saturday. Disappointed at not finding some quality paper DL envelopes (very strange for a supposed top stationer) I trudged to the checkout with an inferior pack. I counted only three members of staff including the manager on the shop floor, and whilst the store was almost empty (it was near closing time) it occurred to me whilst waiting in the queue how easy shoplifters must find it, as the usual security guard wasn’t in evidence. I negotiated the convoluted path up to the tills – a ‘gauntlet of confectionary’ – to be served by the over-stressed, but very pleasant, young, female manager. Read More
This post is provided by Mhairi McEwan, Co-Founder & CEO at Brand Learning, global experts in transforming Marketing Capabilities.
“Marketing is dead!” Makes you sit up and take notice, doesn’t it? I guess that was exactly the reaction that Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi Worldwide was aiming for when he addressed The IoD’s Annual Conference last week. If you missed his speech, here’s a short summary.
Kevin clearly has an adman’s instinctive understanding of what makes for a grabbing headline. His hook was cleverly designed to cause a stir, and as an ex client for many years with Gillette, P&G and Pepsi he knows what he’s talking about. Yet, after 15 years on the agency side is he underplaying the harsh operational realities of organisations struggling to manage tight resources in our unforgiving recessionary world? Read More
Ask the average Manchester United fan what he thinks about AON, and he’ll probably say: “South American midfielder, plenty of pace and definitely one for the future. Love to see him in tandem with Cleverley, but I bet City end up getting him.”
AON is the giant US insurance brand and Man Utd’s shirt sponsor, its name emblazoned across the chests of Scholes, Rooney et al on match days.
It is – in the UK at least – a boring faceless brand, not too dissimilar to its predecessor AIG, another American insurance brand, which, like AON, believed the Man Utd shirt sponsorship deal would prove the golden ticket to rich pickings in the Asian market.
Man Utd claims to have 330 million supports globally, with more than five times as many supporters in India as in the UK, while also having superstar status in China.
You can see AON’s thinking!
No doubt the AIG and AON brands will have little resonance with the millions of Man Utd’s fans, except knowing that hefty sponsorship deals of this ilk –AON pay around £20m a year as shirt sponsor- helps fund the club’s next star player.
And should they care? Or more critically, should the bosses at Man United (the club is owned by the American Glazer family) care about the name of its chief sponsor?
Well, the received wisdom is that football clubs’ commercial executives are pretty much blinkered in that they look to strike the best financial deal possible for the club: the more money they can eke out of sponsors, the better the players they can afford to buy.
This is fair enough, but there is, I’ve been told, a school of thought within Man Utd that the club should opt for a more consumer-facing brand, should AON not renew its shirt sponsorship.
Man Utd is now in the market looking at its options - as soon will be Liverpool (Standard Chartered) and Chelsea (Samsung) – ahead of the 2013/2014 end of the AON deal.
So what would be the benefit to Man Utd to opt for a big-ticket, consumer-facing brand recognised by fans?
I would argue a big consumer-facing brand (Vodafone have been a previous Man Utd shirt sponsor) would confer numerous benefits beyond the dollars of AIG.
Make no mistake about it, one of the biggest gripes Man Utd fans make is that the club is shifting away from them, a global, corporate, money-making machine which every year becomes a little less Mancunian.
Say, hypothetically, Kellogg’s would be the next shirt sponsor- the benefits for the pair would appear numerous.
For Man Utd, the Kellogg’s name would grease wheels in the lucrative US market, and, to a lesser extent, in Latin America and Asia; the pair could work on healthy eating/sporting initiatives in UK schools and beyond; Man Utd’s stock would get a boost in its native Manchester, as Kellogg’s UK HQ is within spitting distance of Old Trafford, and season tickets holders and club member numbers could be lifted by the inducement of enticing special offers on Kellogg products.
(Such inducements are what Reading shirt-sponsor Waitrose does to great effect)
For Kellogg’s, there could be a flurry of advertising/promotional opportunities ( Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney have always had a penchant for tarts, so why not Kellogg’s Pop Tarts?); and its brand will be showcased on some of the most famous football players on the planet in front of millions on a weekly basis.
But despite this, the chances of Kellogg’s being the next Man Utd sponsor are about as likely as an empty seat in the boozers in Manchester tonight, as Man Utd take on city rivals Manchester City in a title decider.
Kellogg’s is an existing sponsor of the US Olympic team, but to my knowledge has no current plans to leverage its brand onto a football giant.
Besides, it is unlikely that even the mighty Kellogg’s would be willing to cough up the astronomical sums willing to be paid out by these US insurance companies as they look to suck up Asian customers by jumping on the Man Utd brand.
And money is likely to be the deciding factor.
How much can your company benefit from a timely rebranding and revitalization? When considering this question, one must keep in mind that rebranding does not necessarily address the wants and needs of the company directly, but rather speaks to the wants and needs of that company’s current and prospective customers.
Therefore, the important factors to consider when assessing the value of a rebrand include equity measurement; market differentiation and accessibility; brand awareness, relevance and vitality; and consumer personality, preference, usage, associations, and emotional connectivity. If your company can improve relationship to its customer base in any or all of these key areas, you may want to think seriously about revitalization. Read More
Character is what you do when you think nobody is watching.
When Barclays knows we’re watching, it often talks CSR.
For example, from a recent news story about its Spaces for Sport initiative:
Citizenship at Barclays is about three things: how we contribute to growth in the real economy; the way we do business; and supporting our communities through investment programmes and the direct efforts of our employees. Read More
The Olympics is a corporate whorefest that has sold out to global greenwashers and sinister branded-Childcatchers forcefeeding our kids burgers, sweets and fizzy pop.
An unintended feature of Locog’s PR campaign is that each date in the ‘Days to Go’ calendar brings with it a news hook allowing the media to give corporate sponsorship a kicking. Some of this is justified, reasoned criticism and essential if sports rights holders are to be held to account. Some of it is just troll baiting. Read More
Health is a multi-million dollar industry and a relevant issue for both consumers and manufacturers. Trends show that obesity is rising, as is diabetes and heart disease – yet we also see that awareness of these issues is rising as are gym memberships.
Haymarket © 1957 – 2012
