Guest Blogger Tom Simons: Recalibrating Strategies for an "Accountability Economy"
It's a matter of perspective: we are in a recession, or we have found ourselves within the longest and most unpredictable of sales cycles.
If you determine that we are in a recessionary environment, you cut way back, you bunker up and hunker down. You continue to ride it out, no matter how long "it" is going to take.
But if you acknowledge that business is being done -- albeit to a different rhythm than it was two years ago -- you reset to a "New Normal." The conditions of two years ago and the growth that led up to this challenging economy are gone forever. Good things will not come to those who wait for their return. On the other hand, good business will come to those who recalibrate marketing strategies and develop new models for the new normal.
Generating demand in an environment in which there is little/no appetite for spending is not a practical objective. If advertising is the business of creating desire and generating demand, is it now a waste of money? In the new normal, advertising is one of a number of tools in the marketer's belt that can engage audiences during this extended sales cycle. It's much more about cultivating demand until the appetite for spending restores.
Is industry expertise worth a premium in the new normal? Every vertical market has its own behavioral characteristics, of course. But can anyone afford to continue to greet these differences with market generalism? In the new normal, domain expertise is a premium, particularly outside the CPG sector. Audience segment insights that come with deep industry knowledge save time, avoid waste, and provide competitive advantage. What's more, many industry sectors are governed by strict, detailed marketing regulation. Consistent, dependable, crisp compliance is mandatory. Missteps or hesitation must be avoided at all costs.
What should marketers be buying? What are the smartest marketing investment opportunities? Value plays? Data? Speed? Infrastructure? Digital plumbing? The answer varies by objective and audience segment. It used to be that an ad was the answer to every marketing problem. More recently, an online strategy was the answer to every marketing challenge. It is no longer discipline-centric. Success in the new normal begins with a full reckoning of the desired outcome, then it moves into the best possible means to accomplish the objective.
Recession notwithstanding, we have entered the Accountability Economy. The marketing budget must be viewed as an investment instrument that pays unambiguous, predictable business dividends. Agencies that are successful in the new normal with have developed new low-cost production models and friction-free delivery systems. Spending efficiency and effectiveness are the two key measures in the new normal, replacing anachronistic, soft luggage, self-referential measurement of campaign metrics. If the CMO doesn't take the initiative to demand this of the agency, the CFO will insist the next CMO does.
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About the Author: Tom Simons is CEO and Chief Creative Officer of PARTNERS+simons. He blogs at ART + science.
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- Guest Blogger Tom Simons: Recalibrating Strategies for an "Accountability Economy"
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