By Scott Shamberg, President & CEO, Mile Marker
Dear Brand Marketers.
We are all in this together. What impacts one of us, impacts, well, most of us. When you woke up on April 3rd, the amount of uncertainty introduced to your business increased significantly. Maybe you had planned for it, maybe you hadn’t. Perhaps you were directly impacted in your supply chain or perhaps you will be impacted downstream. Undoubtedly, you are asking yourself how your customers are going to respond and while you and your partners certainly have research to help, there is a tremendous unknown.
That might be the biggest practical challenge we face. There is so much uncertainty, almost day by day, that it has become infinitely more challenging to predict and plan. I am not a psychic, nor do I have a crystal ball. What I do have to share are some pieces of hard-earned wisdom forged from previous periods of economic peril.
Double Down on Flexibility & Speed
However flexible you have been, double it. Think long and hard before you make difficult to move commitments and thoroughly understand your ability to make changes as your plans are implemented and begin to show results. Think of it like booking the lowest fare on an airline – it might be the cheapest, but what if Grandma wants you to stay another day and you can’t change? Obviously, along with flexibility comes speed. You and your agencies need to be Carl Lewis fast. Or Usain Bolt fast depending on how old you are. Ask specific questions, get specific answers and be diligent about deadlines. If you aren’t doing a daily stand up to help accelerate the decision-making process, add it. Some days it will be :30. That’s ok.
We collectively need “think tanks” to brainstorm along with the ebbs and flows of this chaos. This can happen internally or with partners. No one is an expert – if they tell you that, they are full of it – but you can rely on trusted partners who have helped you in the past. Ask for their opinion, share yours, make informed decisions based on the most up to date information and continue to work with partners you trust. More so than ever before, you need full transparency as more than just something you ask about in an RFP. A lot of what is being written about from the agency side now is more direct deals with publishers and some leaning more heavily into the murky world of principle buying to protect margins and inventory. You as a marketer need to know where every nickel is going so you can move that nickel around with speed and accuracy.
What matters are the people: staffers, partners, and consumers alike
The current state of turbulence is challenging for everyone. Make sure you remind them of your brand values and your commitments to them just as you reiterate your commitment to your consumers. Speaking of the consumer, there is a good chance they could spend less. The question comes down to how does that impact YOUR consumer? Based on information you have, if your consumer holds steady versus pulling back, that’s a win. What if your data tells you to lean in, as it will for many brands? You have to be ready to go at a moment’s notice and take advantage when others hesitate.
Leaning in is as good a way as I can think of to avoid the overreaction. This entire thing is fluid. Yes, ad spend is projected by most places to come down. It most likely will. But asking to pause for the entire year, staying out of the Upfronts all together or not supporting new product launches or distribution is not the answer either. You have to be opportunistic and aggressive when the opportunity presents itself.
Performance and brand media are complementary forces that must work together.
The knee-jerk impulse is going to be that you lean exclusively into performance. Depending on your business, that might make complete sense. However, if that happens, then there are going to be efficient ways to lean in at the top of the funnel as well. Television can still be an efficient media channel for you, as long as you maintain flexibility in your commitments. Nothing is more top of the funnel than influencer marketing, and this can be cost effective and very quick to get live. Along that line, don’t abandon your creative and storytelling goals.
Yes, there have been fluctuations before. Those old enough, and in my case bald enough, remember what it has been like before: 2001, 2008 and of course the pandemic. I think it’s ok to say that this time MIGHT be different, but only in the same way Covid was different – we hadn’t seen it before. Everyone is feeling more pressure, more concern and, let’s face it, more anxiety. However, if one goes back and looks at brands that leaned in during those tumultuous times, I think you will see that strategy worked then as well and it wasn’t one channel or the other. Sticking with what was working, doubling down where it makes sense may seem like the brave strategy. In actuality, it’s simply the right one.
Your priorities shift, you have more fires burning at one time and, most likely, you are bringing it home with you. Actually, you might just be bringing it from the home office to the living room with you. That is tough to avoid and I speak from experience, but do your best to leave it.
You might find this to be common sense. You might find it eye opening. I hope you find it helpful. Either way, push forward, stay aggressive but flexible and always know the sun will rise tomorrow, even if ROAS doesn’t.
Here to help,
Scott
