Advertising: What business are we in?

What gives Adweek the right to call Ryan Reynolds a 2020 Brand Visionary. Sure, the guy is a talented actor and an all-around great human (he is Canadian after all), but a Brand Visionary?

When you look at the other nominated people's names, Mr. Reynolds is the only traditional non-marketer. The 2020 Brand Genius Award winners, as chosen by Adweek's senior editors and industry "experts," can be seen in the above link.

Kudos to those talented folk. I have been fortunate enough to work with or meet several of them and work on their brands.

What are we missing?

Back to Ryan Reynolds. How did he get his name on the list? What is he doing that most marketers are not? 

To quote Adweek: As an owner of Aviation Gin, Reynolds has led the creative direction with a flair for hijacking the zeitgeist. From his "contextual advertising" triple play that brilliantly put an Aviation Gin ad within the Netflix movie trailer for 6 Underground within a Samsung ad, to short-circuiting "Peloton Wife," to giving away three free months of Mint Mobile to new customers rather than pay for a Super Bowl ad, to the sale of Aviation Gin to Diageo for a whopping $600 million, it's clear the actor, producer and entrepreneur is a true Brand Visionary.

Dissecting this, I see:

1. He is willing to take risks and be courageous. But his risks are measured and place the customer first. (Mint.)
2. He is willing to let his personality shine and give the brand a strong personality (Peleton Wife.)

Reynolds (and probably his creative partner George Dewy) have realized that they are in the customer business, not the advertising business - advertising is an output of the customer business. 

When you think customer-first, risks are no longer risks; you're merely following your customers.

(And when you follow your customers, there are substantial benefits, like selling a gin company for a few bucks.)

Why don't other brands act the same?

A lot of it has to do with who holds the money (media), a lot of it has to be with layers, bureaucracy, and, to be honest, most has to do with people fearing change.

Advertising agencies are focused on ads and revenue. Not customers. And they are fearful of change.

When brands and companies act differently, the results speak for themselves. Let's look at Burger King (RBI). Since 2014 (when Fernando Machado joined) to pre-COVID, RBI's (who owns Burger King) stock moved from ~$27 to ~$79. In terms of total sales, BK did double-digit or high single-digit every year since 2014 (vs. low single-digit before). How's that for Return on Courage?

When I say advertising is layered, cumbersome, and heavy. I don't mean there are too many people involved. I mean, there are too many people doing the wrong thing and not taking care of customers and their changing behaviors and desires. 

Amazon taught me Span of Control. It flattens the org structure and makes sure that ideas and Innovation rise to the surface quickly (and not go 15 rounds before a decision is made). And flat orgs also mean you have the right people doing the right thing, and not shuffling papers. 

The need to change is more critical now more than ever before.

The life expectancy of a Fortune 500 brand today is 12 years (down from about 70 years). And 9000 brands are expected to hit the Fortune 500 list in the next six decades.

Advertising and marketing have fallen in love with itself and What it does - rather than Why it does it.

• We think profit over people (including customers). 
• We have placed transactions over experiences.
• We worry about our quarterly results, rather than those of our clients.

You see, when you place your customer first, your results take care of themselves. (Or when leaders place their teams first, the ideas will come naturally.)

Listen up.

The need to create an infrastructure created to listen to customers is difficult, but worth it. From my Amazon experience, I appreciated how fast things are changing from one day to the next. Twelve months back, could you imagine the surge in online commerce? Can you imagine what will happen in 2021? And now think about 2026? More has changed in a year than changed in the previous 10.

We need to think and be agile.

Many think change is hard. Yet, if you are following customers at your core, are you transforming or just adapting how you talk to customers?

If you follow customers, Innovation and Transformation becomes second nature. 

We are in the customer business.

We are in the end-customer business; we execute via brands and advertising. It's pretty simple.

Brands need to have the courage and look at what they are really focused on. If you're focused on products or revenue too much, you lose sight of your customer. Place Audience and Insights at the center of all teams, and work on constant feedback and information loops.

I like principles, and here are five to be a customer-led marketing and advertising business.

1. A Culture of Innovation. The World Economic Forum produces a forecasted list of the top skills for years to come. Here's there list for 2022. 1. Innovation. 2. Complex Problem-Solving. 3. Creativity. 4. Leadership. 5.Critical Thinking. (Build a team that fosters a culture of innovative thinkers that put your customer first.)
2. Make your Customer the Foundation of the Business. Focus on where they are today, but more importantly, focus on where they are going tomorrow. By focus on the customers' next steps, you'll get a tailwind into the future. If you understand the customer, you'll empathize with them. Understanding and Empathy are the core of Innovation (see World Economic Forum). 
3. Lead from behind. I was talking to a friend yesterday who purchased a new Jeep Wrangler. The single thing he loves about the vehicle is waving to other Wrangler drivers. As humans, we are tribal. We seek connection and contact. As a leader, we must be the connection point for the teams, and help propel them forward. Motivate your team to come together often (Friday afternoon happy hours) and be transparent. (Importantly, as a leader, you're just is not to have the best ideas. Your job is to recognize the best ideas.)
4. Change is good. Give your teams the flexibility and room to think and innovate. Attack a customer issue from different angles. And help your teams change and flex.
5. Commit to Customer Obsession. Real Customer Obsession can seem daunting and painful. It means change. It can seem challenging to change your way of thinking from product- or service-centric to customer-centric. Yet when every employee is obsessed with creating a positive experience for their customers (product design, marketing, operations etc.) change and transformation is easy, because you're simply following your customers, and you're not creating a new business model. Or another way: if a customer problem is identified, commit to finding a solution to it. And follow through.

About:

Anthony is a renowned keynote speaker on customer-first marketing, innovation, AI, transformation, creativity, and branding. He continues to work closely with clients and consistently reinvent who they are to stay alive.

Anthony's mission is to help people and organizations thrive. And by capitalizing on human creativity and bravery during times of incredible technological shifts, businesses will continually rediscover their Day One. 

"…. despite phenomenal technology advances,

the core of what it means to be human remains intact."