Back To Basics - Meshing strategy, media and creativity to build profitable, impactful brands…

Back to basics –
Meshing strategy, media and
creativity to build profitable,
impactful brands…
Shane O’Leary
@shaneoleary1
shane.oleary@groupm.com

SHANE O’LEARY
Consumer Strategy Director at Mindshare Ireland
Columnist at Marketing magazine
Angry tweeter @shaneoleary1
Follow @shaneoleary1 and tweet #DMXDublin

Competitor & Market Knowledge
• Desk research
• PEST Analysis
• Swot Analysis
• Competitive positioning map
• Personal interview
• Stakeholder map
• TGI audience sizing

BUT THIS TIME…
A practical toolkit of ideas about
building impactful brands.

FIRST, AN ADMISSION…
I’m worried about my industry.

“The woods are burning.”
Nils Leonard

BIG TRENDS ARE CAUSING US TO DOUBT OURSELVES…
Privacy
backlash
Fragmentation
of media
Easier to
block ads
Power of
the tech
players

WE’RE STRUGGLING FOR…
RELEVANCE &
CULTURAL IMPACT
The anxious feeling that we’re not impacting culture,
building brands and grabbing attention like we used to.

AND I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT ‘PURPOSE’…
This is just about creating
interesting, sharp,
attention grabbing brands
that impact on wider
culture.

THIS IS A PROBLEM FOR BUSINESS AS A WHOLE…
13%
price premium charged by
‘strong’ brands.
(Millward Brown)
Fwd to CEO: THE MOST VALUABLE BUSINESS TOOL EVER INVENTED
BBH Labs

BUT…
We can rebuild it…
…we have the strategy, media and creativity.

SO WHAT SHOULD WE BE DOING?
Getting back to basics.
Test, learn and refine and do more of what we know works.

A QUICK WARNING BEFORE WE START…
There is no one right approach.
These 5 principles won’t work for all
scenarios.
But they should provoke thought…

1) Aim for fame and
it’s hard to mess up

‘Campaigns that are specifically designed to create fame
outperform other campaigns on all business metrics.’
The Long & Short Of It
Les Binet & Peter Field

‘You'd need to go
spectacularly wrong to
generate significant hostility
to advertising.
In 30 years we've not seen a
single example of an ad
campaign that's been shown
to have a significant negative
lasting effect on sales.’

We literally can’t mess it up!
Even bad advertising doesn’t
usually have very bad
consequences.
SO…

FOR EXAMPLE…

WHAT’S THE BIG TAKEAWAY FOR YOU?
Most advertising is effective just by being noticed.
So aim for fame and prioritise emotion.
Taking creative risks isn’t actually risky.

‘We are going to do a terrible thing to you. We are going to deprive
you of an enemy.’

‘I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.’
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Act like a challenger
Sharpen your
positioning in the
mind of your buyer
Provides a rallying call
for the brand

FOR EXAMPLE…
McDonalds takes the piss out of hipster coffee
culture to promote their coffee range.

Think about positioning your brand against something - a
competitor, mindset or big cultural issue.
In the battle for attention, friction and drama can be effective.
But…make sure you can deliver on your claims of difference!

3) Know your distinctive
assets and twist them in
interesting ways

THE TRAP…
Great creative ≠ Great advertising
Inconsistency and bad branding harms
effectiveness.

DISTINCTIVE ASSET PALETTE
Building Distinctive Brand Assets
Rachel Kennedy

Even the best creative is useless if it’s not well branded.
Big brands - Understand what your distinctive assets are the use
them in intelligent ways.
Small brands – Start to create distinctive asset palette or you risk
being out shouted by better known brands.

4) Strike up mutually
beneficial partnerships

Disagree – 26%
INFLUENCER FATIGUE…
GroupM Quarterly Media Tracker Ireland
‘I trust key experts on social media who cover topics of interest to me’
18-34 year olds in Ireland
Q1 2017 Q4 2018
Disagree – 48%

INFLUENCER FATIGUE…

A GOOD PARTNERSHIP…
‘The purpose of a business negotiation is to enter into an
agreement so that both parties are sufficiently happy.’
Benefit to fan/follower?Benefit to brand?
Benefit to partner?

FOR EXAMPLE…
Missguided…
- allowed fans to shop the
looks of their favourite
contestant live in app.
- offered surprise promo
codes each night.
- promoted Love Island
heavily through
advertising.

FOR EXAMPLE…
Under Armour…
- wanted to launch jersey
sponsorship of two teams.
- paid for free PPV football
for a weekend so
everyone could see.
- promoted the games
through social media.

Your audience is probably cynical about influencer marketing &
sponsorships.
The worst thing you could do is slap your brand onto something
or pay someone for a selfie with your product.
Find mutually beneficial opportunities and activate in credible
ways.

5) Bring your brand to life
across multiple channels
X > 1

REFLECTING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Irish adults media consumed yesterday
Mindshare Day In The Life Of Tracker 2019

THE ROI BENEFIT
‘You get more punch for your marketing pound if you spread it
across channels rather than plopping it down on just one.’
– Mark Ritson ARF How Advertising Works 2016

When you’re thinking media choice, don’t think individually,
think collectively.
If possible, spread your budget and use the halo effect of media
integration.
Understand and take advantage of the unique creative
opportunities that different channels offer.

IN SUMMARY…
1) Embrace risk and aim for fame. That’s good business.
2) Choose your enemies – a competitor, mindset or cultural issue.
3) Know your distinctive assets and use them in new, interesting ways.
4) Engage in partnerships where everyone benefits.
5) Put your advertising on steroids with the halo effect of integration.

IN SUMMARY…
How do we regain our collective
confidence and rebuild our influence?
Get back to basics.
Make brands relevant again.

Thank You
Shane O’Leary
@shaneoleary1
shane.oleary@groupm.com

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