WOW! Government & The Media + Marketing & The C-Suite

This week I am back in New York City after a week in Toronto, Canada during their national elections where the incumbent was returned to office…which gets me to this week’s topics that made me go WOW! The first topic that made me go WOW! was reading about the Australian Press Publishers launching a campaign for Press Freedom that was covered widely around the world and even made it into the trade media in the USA. The second topic that was running this week was the on-going discussion on the CMO in the face of a slowing economy and budget cuts. So here it is – What's Outstanding this Week in Marketing Management.

AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS REDACTED FRONT PAGES FOR PRESS FREEDOM

Daily newspapers in Australia had a powerful way of showing their advocacy for press freedom — by not showing everything. The front pages on Monday were heavily redacted in a stunt to show the need for independent reporting. This was covered in all of the mainstream media including BBC, CNN, NBC, ABC etc.

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS HAVE LONG BEEN HOSTILE TO MEDIA FREEDOM

This unprecedented blackout of front pages by Australia’s newspaper publishers this week is a highly significant event in Australian political and media history. It represents the completion of a deep rupture in the relationship between government and media, which for many decades was marked by a preparedness on the part of the media to take notice of government advice where matters of national security were concerned.

BUT CANBERRA SPENT $174.1 MILLION ON ADVERTISING IN 2019

This week it was reported that the Australian Federal Government spent $174.1 million in the year to the end of June on advertising, according to the annual report of the Department of Finance. The Central Advertising System, which consolidates the government’s buying power, shows total campaign advertising media expenditure was $156 million, and non-campaign $18.1 million. Clearly not enough to keep the publishers quiet?

AUSTRALIA NEEDS A MEDIA FREEDOM ACT. HERE’S HOW IT COULD WORK

A key reform advocated by a range of organisations and experts is the introduction of a Media Freedom Act. Unlike human rights or anti-discrimination legislation, there is no clear precedent for such an act. So what exactly might a Media Freedom Act look like, and is it a good idea? Asks Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, Senior Lecturer, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland in The Conversation.

MARKETING BUDGETS CUT FOR FIRST TIME IN SEVEN YEARS

Meanwhile in the UK, the IPA Bellwether Report shows that uncertainty about Brexit and its impact on the economy has forced companies to pull back on marketing spend and shift money into digital in search of cost efficiencies. The concern here is that we are continuing to see a slowing growth in digital media at a time when ad fraud is as prevalent as ever. Is the pursuit of cost efficiencies playing into the hands of the online fraudsters?

DIAGEO’S EFFECTIVENESS FOCUS MEANS MARKETING NO LONGER FIRST TO BE CUT

Diageo has described as “profound” the shift in the belief in marketing across the business, and among its stakeholders, after embedding its effectiveness platform throughout its marketing teams. Diageo did not hire an army of marketing effectiveness analysts; instead they up-skilled their teams and created a powerful army of marketing effectiveness ambassadors throughout the organisation globally. Seems like a logical approach and one we hopefully will see in more organisations.

CMOS LIKE DEER CAUGHT IN HEADLIGHTS WHEN GRILLED ON BUSINESS RESULTS BY CEOS

Mastercard’s CMO Raja Rajamannar says “When the CFO or CEO asks the CMO – what are the business results you have delivered for the X amount of dollars we’ve given you? – they look like deer caught in headlights, not knowing how to defend. They start blabbering – a lot of mumbo-jumbo about predisposition, loyalty, net promoter score, brand and marketing awareness. The CEO says: “That’s good, but nobody other than a marketing guy cares about those metrics. What is happening with the business and how are you helping me today?” Fair question.

SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE OF THE C-SUITE

Marketing is the most important driver of brand growth, and marketing science has now matured to the extent that marketers can report marketing impact clearly and unambiguously. But if chief marketing officers (CMOs) are to prove their worth in the C-suite – if they’re to make the most efficient and effective use of marketing – then they need to be able to communicate this impact in terms that the chief executive (CEO) and chief financial officer (CFO) understand and respect. And this means using arguments, language, and metrics that demonstrate the bottom-line, commercial impact of marketing investment. So while you may be fluent in Marketing, how fluent are you in C-Suite-speak?

Meanwhile my journey continues. I will be in NYC until the end of the week and then on to Singapore for the Mumbrella360 Asia next week, with a session on the Game Show Called Pitching, plus attending an IABC Roundtable. Then I will be returning to Sydney and looking forward to sharing my observations and the work we are doing around the globe.

As always, if any of this information or issues have piqued your curiosity or raised concerns for you - or you simply want to discuss the implications and opportunities - let me know.

Cheers,

Darren