This week in 1988, I collected the keys to a Rover 400 company car, bought a new Filofax, loaded my Rolodex with business cards and put a copy of Kotler’s Principles of Marketing on the office bookcase. Equipped with all the essentials, I forged my early marketing communication career with Siemens AG.
There was no external email. No Internet. No social media. No on-demand TV. No CRM platform. No marketing automation tools. No programmatic advertising. No live A/B testing.
Media plans were agreed a year in advance. Marketing personalisation was name and address changes. And all artwork was delivered in physical form after signatory approval.
Marketing effectiveness was evidenced by long-term econometric studies, the advertising value of press cuttings, the reach/frequency of media plans, third-party brand tracking research and primary customer satisfaction surveys. All of which took an age to compile.
“Microsoft was starting-out. The founders of Google were at High School. The founder of Amazon was graduating. Channel 4 was a broadcasting phenomenon. Ferris Bueller was having a day off. Madonna didn’t want papa to preach. And Maggie Thatcher was embarking on a third term as Prime Minister.”
In marketing terms, I sound a thousand years old. But, here’s the thing. In three decades the business I’m proud to chair has transformed from an artwork studio to a innovation agency while many marketing departments haven’t changed beyond recognition.
Having interviewed many heads of marketing and reviewed endless research reports, I’m convinced it’s a boardroom issue. As in the past, marketing is either a mystery or misunderstood by senior management. I believe this is the reason for such slow adoption of eCommerce at the turn of the century, social media in the noughties and marketing automation today.
Given half a chance, marketing departments everywhere would choose to change. That’s why the business I once called my own – and is today being driven forward by a new generation of talented agents of change – is totally committed to innovation.
See how progressive your marketing approach is using the new Delineo Innovation Test. Here’s the link>
NICKMELVIN 