Sarah Clarke’s Post

Another interesting excerpt from the excellent 2023 IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) and Brand Finance survey of US and UK buy & sell-side analysts. In an earlier post👇 the survey showed that the analysts surveyed cited strength of brand and marketing as the No.1 most important factor in their appraisals. It's perhaps not surprising then that more (blue) were of the view that marketing spend should be considered an investment (versus a cost - red). Accounting standards are fairly clear on this but it wouldn't be impossible to separate 'short term' promotional activity from 'long term' brand building investment. Capitalising brand investment and depreciating it as an asset would seem to just be catching up with prevailing analyst sentiment, it would however drive a seismic change in how businesses viewed their own marketing activity.

This article was written in 1978. Here’s why it’s worth a read for foodservice marketers today.   🐇 To maintain or grow, a brand must get audience acceptance – advertising is a capital investment toward achieving recognition, which precedes acceptance! It takes longevity and persistence. 🐇 It’s not only valuable for new companies or brands; it’s as important for those established to continue developing customer loyalty, regardless of the role the distributor, broker or sales force plays.   🐇 Each piece of advertising – and I’m talking responsible advertising here, which is a whole topic in and of itself – influences sales, augmenting the customer-holdover effect. It provides stimulus and helps support purchasing habits at enormous scale [if done right]. And importantly, it can’t be considered a sole channel of efficacy. Advertising is a part of a bigger brand experience design, integrated with other channel communications. Putting up one LinkedIn campaign and then being disappointed with its performance without considerations for say, search advertising or inbound content marketing, and how critically they all work together to influence customer behaviors, is analogous to painting a ”reception here” sign on a rock and placing it outside a seemingly obvious building, expecting targeted guests to show up. [Hands in air.] Well, the rock didn’t work, I guess. 🐇 Advertising is an investment, while most leaders see it as cut-when-necessary expense, due to times of low cash flow or other economic constraint. The article sums this up nicely when it suggests a contingency reserve to protect from competitive sweeping and reads, “To prepare for such eventualities, it would be highly advantageous to set up a contingency reserve—something analogous to a sinking fund created for equipment replacement. Unfortunately, this is rarely done, and media expenditures are drastically cut when the economic outlook is dark. Such a policy can be particularly dangerous when the costs of reentering the lost markets are high. What management often tends to forget is that, while it is fairly easy to rehire dismissed workers when business conditions improve, it is well-nigh impossible to win back the old customers once they have adopted the competitive brands." #foodservice #marketing https://lnkd.in/gtKD9rCK

From The Coca-Cola Company's timeless "Drink Coca-Cola" ads to the catchy jingles of household products, print media played a pivotal role in shaping consumer behavior and brand recognition during the early 20th century. #ThrowbackThursday 2/3 As businesses aim to cut costs, marketing leaders will do well to focus on performance measurement to budget more effectively for businesses. But can marketers afford to sacrifice long-term goals? Niall O'Malley, Director at Difference Engine, helped answer the question. Read the full story here. https://lnkd.in/dQ8V2vxW

New evidence shows stronger brands can charge more Investing in advertising should get you into a position where you can put prices up without losing all your customers. If advertising keeps your product familiar, signals that many people buy it, or conveys information about quality, it should mean you can charge more. magic numbers' Dr Grace Kite and Joy Talbot discuss how investing in advertising helps protect sales if brands raise prices.: https://ow.ly/E9i450Q9pvW

Time scarcity is a well-known persuasive technique used to create a sense of urgency in order to inspire immediate action. In the retail space, it was used to increase purchasing behavior, but this was only studied in the brick-and-mortar environment. You could assume that this would translate to a digital environment, but unless you ask the question and collect the data, you really don’t know. A study came out in one of the American Marketing Association’s scholarly journals that looked at that question. Here’s the article that talked about the study. You don’t know until you ask the question and collect the data. Here, the answer here was maybe not.

When marketers can show exactly how marketing spend drives consumer action - and delivers profit - CFOs will be looking for more money to hand over.💰 Learn how retail marketing expert Dave Lokes (ex-Footlocker, Oriental Trading Company) built a fully self-funded, incrementality-powered flywheel in this detailed guest post: https://okt.to/iaVcCk

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The Evergreen Foundations Package HAS LANDED!!!! Fancy working with us for a month? Evergreen Foundations give you: 🌿 Digital marketing growth roadmap 🌿 A month of working with an award-winning #ecommerce #digitalmarketing agency 🌿 A #strategy you will be able to take with you Oh, and the best part? All that for a one-off investment of £5k that will transform your business 😱 Check out what you can get and how to start the call rolling in the comments below 👇

📢 Insights from the State of Cross-Channel Marketing in Financial Services 📊 Did you know that delivering personalized experiences is a top challenge for businesses in the Financial Services industry? 42.9% of marketers in this segment consider it a key hurdle, even more important than budget and resource limitations. It makes sense, though, given the industry's focus on managing substantial customer assets. Providing customized services is no easy task when dealing with sensitive financial data. 💡 🤔 Interestingly, financial constraints are slightly less of a concern for this industry, thanks to their typically larger budgets. However, there's still a strong emphasis on figuring out which marketing channels are most effective. In such a competitive industry, knowing which channels give you the best bang for your buck is crucial. And with the strict regulatory environment and compliance requirements, having clear insights into marketing channel performance becomes even more important. 🔮 🔗 Want to dive deeper into the State of Cross Channel Marketing in Financial Services? Check out the full report (link in comments!) #FinancialServices #MarketingInsights #CrossChannelMarketing #BFSI

From innovative marketing strategies to a re-imagined self-checkout experience, explore notable #RetailTrends over the past few months.