Journey’s end for marketers

As a hundred and fifty of us all trooped down the stairs deeper and deeper into the dimly lit bowels of the Curzon Bloomsbury, I was very conscious of the posters for their next film – Journey’s End – the harrowing tale of young First World War officers in their dugout bravely facing a violent death from the German attack they know is coming.

I knew that two of the UK’s top marketers- Syl Saller and Craig Inglis-were about to encourage us all to be braver, but the seats in the Curzon make one sit back and take a rather relaxed view of the world. By the end of the session I knew not only why I needed to be braver but that if I wasn’t, like the soldiers in Jouney’s End, I would get shot for desertion in the face of the enemy.

Our guides to being brave in modern marketing warfare have impressive battle-hardened credentials. They have both survived significantly longer than the industry average in marketing leadership roles at their companies.

Syl has successfully stretched herself across the challenge of creating profitable innovation in a market still full of astonishingly old brands,  while at the same time keeping a clutch of famous elderly brands alive and fresh for each new generation of drinkers.

Craig has publicly made the John Lewis Christmas ad an annual event of national significance, while privately convincing the highly traditional and cautious John Lewis Partnership that marketing really matters.

No wonder the Society’s still relatively new Chief Executive Officer – Gemma Greaves - was clearly delighted to have two such respected veterans now in place as her President and Chairman, and she had a good set of questions, though one felt that few of them came as a complete surprise.

In our comfy seats we were looking for our speakers less comfortable moments, and they were hard to spot. But Craig did admit that one of his worst experiences as marketing director of John Lewis had come when he had uttered the words beige and John Lewis in the same sentence and suddenly found he was in the middle of a national news story that the JL marketing director thought his own brand was beige.

Fortunately this did not have the same effect as Gerald Ratner’s infamous prawn sandwich joke- which destroyed the brand value of this hitherto popular jeweller overnight. But Craig did also admit that right now JL were having to think very hard – and be brave- about their Christmas advertising: ‘This is a pivot point and we must embrace the next step’. Many an agency new business director will be salivating at this thought, but Craig’s remarks about the importance of having an agency relationship with a team you can really talk honestly to suggest that this is not a moment when he is about to abandon ten years work with Adam and Eve.

I would really encourage you if you weren’t there to take a look at the whole conversation in our Clubhouse. Both our President and our Chairman were beautifully on message in talking about the role of the Society in inspiring all our members to be bolder marketing leaders. And you won’t get much better leaders than them to inspire you.  

Syl finished by challenging us all to reflect on how we are going to be braver…… which is just what our President should be doing. I’m closer to my marketing journey’s end (I hope not violently) than most members of the Society so I’m going to……..be braver about pursuing those personal goals I have secretly had for years.

And I know I should state them publicly …so that I then have to follow through and do them, but in all honesty, I’m not quite brave enough for that yet! 

By Hugh Burkitt, global ambassador, The Marketing Society