The 2015 Experiential Marketing Summit has come and gone and, as usual, was dotted with C-level speakers touting the virtues of “innovative thinking” and “risk taking.” Since returning home, however, a thought has gnawed at me, and I thought I’d share. First, a few observations.
During the EMS2015 Master Class, “How to market to people not like you,” a major brand campaign was featured that included a bold marketing statement that reflected their (edgy) political/social views. The point was, kudos for the bold position, but can you back it up with action? Good point.
Next observation. In a GetSynchronicity survey from a few years ago, we asked event marketing professionals to pick the top three attributes that their company most valued in an employee. While the top attributes valued by their organizations were positive thinking, being a team player, and good problem solving (in that order), they ranked these attributes the lowest:
- Outside the Box Thinking (6%)
- Calculated Risk Taking (4%)
- Creativity (3%)
Finally, circling back to the beginning of this post, every keynote or general session speaker at EMS2015 continually beat the drum of “innovative thinking,” “daring ideas,” and “breaking free from the old.”
Hmmm. Putting this together, it appears that if rank-and-file marketers wish to accomplish the bold strategies touted by their C–Levels, they need to behave in ways that their company LEAST VALUES.
I encounter this every day when talking with my clients and prospects; upper-management CRAVES new ideas and innovation, but routinely backs away from funding them, or, if one sneaks through and is less than 100% successful, they respond poorly.
So what’s a marketer to do? Frankly, I don’t have a clear-cut answer. If I did, I’d be the “better-mousetrap” poster child of 2015. What I can say, however, is that it’s important that we openly recognize this disconnect, and that C-Levels (who I know eagerly read this blog!) need to take a hard look in the mirror, and do more than talk the talk.
This is why marketing agencies exist. C-Levels, and their internal marketing teams, can’t be everywhere all the time, and they certainly don’t have the time to monitor other verticals. This is what marketing agencies do; we scour the marketing multi-verse, identify and codify good ideas, cross-breed successful tactics, create hybrid strategies, and make risk-taking less risky, and “bold innovation” less … boldy. See, I just innovated a new word there.
It‘s clearly time for less talk, and more walk.