Onwards!

In challenging times we’re a firm believer in rallying together our international network to canvas together opinions, advice and wisdom. Here are some of the highlights…

 

John Allert, group brand director and group board director, McLaren

I’ve not felt my own equilibrium shift so much since 9/11. To be clear, I am not comparing the events, only the free-falling sense that the world will never quite be the same again. As a tax paying, job creating immigrant, who loves this country enough to naturalise, I feel confused. Ashamed, even. Being marketers gives us an ability to analyse how people are influenced. Let’s face it, tools such as fear, doubt, misinformation, insecurity, obfuscation and power of personality are not new to us. Using them to sell washing powder is one thing. Using them to sell the future out from under our children is quite another.

 

Luc Bardin, former group chief sales & marketing, BP, Chairman of ’The Strategic Brand Ltd’ and author of soon-to-be published ’The Strategic Brand’

I am deeply pro-European and, after living in this country for over 20 years, am passionate about the deepest partnership possible between the UK and the continent. If like us, you believe in Strategic Brands, was Europe one to the UK citizens? Was Europe clear and purposeful, trusted and meaningful, authentic and emotional, culturally connected and crisis resilient? The dramatic reality, which voters have confirmed, is that some of the traits were missing. The result was not surprising. The next EU decision should be to bring a top strategic brand builder to make Europe brand-led. 

 

Adam Morgan, founder, eatbigfish

If this kind of shock, with all its very profound but unexpected consequences, had happened in a large business, the first thing the CEO would do is a fact-based diagnostic analysis: they would find it unthinkable that they could make any kind of plan for the future without first gaining a real understanding of what had just happened, and why. How could they have any confidence in their own plan, or expect anyone else to, unless they could first explain what had really just happened and why?

 

John Murphy, founder of Interbrand, St Peter’s Brewery and Ruffians, brand builder of Plymouth Gin and author of soon-to-be-published Brandfather

Britain's entry into the then Common Market 40 years ago provided the stimulus for British businesses to broaden their horizons and start addressing international markets, not just those in the former Empire and the US. This led directly to a realisation that the key to international success in many business sectors was the possession of powerful brands or a portfolio thereof. In the late 1980's brand valuation turned this realisation into certainty and branding as we now know it was born. Brexit will not impact negatively on this process. Indeed, the reverse  - in Britain the need for powerful international brands and hence for great competence in the branding area has never been stronger.

 

Jan Gooding, CMO, Aviva

 

Meabh Quoirin, MD, Future Foundation

The last major economic disruption of the 2008 – 2013 recession generated a widespread attitude of Maximising Behaviour that has not abated. New innovations have contributed by making consumers savvier to deals, with almost three quarters of the population using some form of price comparison before making purchases (1). Consumers now expect more for their money and have the tools to track prices in real time and predict their future finances. In every Brexit scenario forecast in the run-up to the referendum, there was an unspecified period of economic instability and we anticipate that maximising behaviours will intensify back to their peak recession highs when nearly 90% of British consumers were comparing prices. If you are a consumer facing brand, concentrating on convincing shoppers that they are receiving the best value for money will be key and brands that help manage consumer lifestyles have a chance to become a trusted partner in trying times.

 

Saj Arshad, member of The Marketing Society board

Lots of marketing commentators are saying that remain didn't communicate the case effectively. I disagree, I think this was a failure to listen.The broader ramification for marketing is to stop obsessing about "millennials" (whatever that means) and get back to the basics of segmenting, understanding your customers and meeting their needs better then anyone else. 

 

The key near term advice is to not panic. This too will pass. Don't knee jerk into cutting investments or postponing recruitment. Stay focussed on your strategy. Things will look very different in three, six and twelve months’ time. 

 

Having lived through several recessions my last piece of advice is that times of turbulence present opportunity. Bold leadership sometimes involves making a big, bold bet. Now could be the time to do that.

 

Charlie Dawson, member of The Marketing Society board and partner, The Foundation

As a piece of silver lining, this has really got young people engaged in politics.  It’s a cause that means something to them in a way that left/right doesn’t any more.  A good reminder that if you understand what your customers really value rather than trying to sell what you happen to have, you can motivate action.  In this case it’s taken rather a lot for that to happen, but maybe people across the country will now steer it somewhere we can all believe in, including tackling the inequality and frustration that so many of the votes were really protesting against.

 

Iain Carruthers, director, ICM Unlimited

Two things (among many) have struck us about the Brexit vote. First, people have made a choice. But everything depends on the way you frame that choice.  Like it or not, the Brexit strategists understood how to frame the vote as a response to a visceral threat: that your values, future or identity were under threat. They essentially said ‘you can stop bad things happening’. Second, the result isn’t a surprise if you spend anytime outside the London / Manchester / Bristol / Edinburgh bubble. Half the country wanted to send the message that they’ve feel let down or left behind. Their vote can be seen as a response to chronic inequality in UK society. One lesson for marketers – who tend to be merchants of hope – is that stopping bad things can often be more powerful than promising the good times.

 

Tom Ewing, senior director, BrainJuicer

Decisions have three big levers – in branding, in politics, in anything else. We call them Fame, Feeling & Fluency. Does a choice come to mind easily (Fame)? Then it’s a good choice. Does a choice feel good? (Feeling) Then it’s a good choice. Is a choice easy to recognise and understand? (Fluency) Then it’s a good choice. So on the crucial levers of System 1 decision-making – Fame, Feeling & Fluency – the Leave campaign either levelled the playing field or used their strengths better. By doing so they nudged enough people into voting for them to overcome the innate bias for the status quo.

 

Katie Ewer, strategy director, Jones Knowles Ritchie, Singapore

Has Brexit changed the Asian view of Britain? Social volatility, sudden change and confrontational politicking don’t fit well with a Confucian worldview, where values of harmony, compromise and cohesion matter more. In the last few days, I’ve heard it called ‘just Britain, no longer Great’, ‘less cosmopolitan’, ‘less confident’ and ‘weak-minded’ (Health Warning: that last one from Chinese state media, who clearly have a vested interested in the maintenance of any political status quo). The headlines in Singapore today are still covering predictions for the exchange rate against the Singapore dollar. Meanwhile Chinese tourists are reportedly eyeing up the UK as a more cost effective holiday destination. Perhaps negative perceptions don’t really matter if a bargain is just around the corner. (Read the article)

 

Julian Boulding, member of the Marketing Society board and owner, thenetworkone

Overall, few business leaders will be pleased, as uncertainty is always a lag on businesses and markets.That said, some businesses which are global will be hardly affected (as Martin Sorrell said about WPP) and others will actively benefit – look at the share price rise of Diageo, which has significant costs in UK but most of its sales outside UK, and will benefit from the falling pound.

 

So my advice is, look for opportunities. If trade is reduced, you may sell less abroad, but more at home. If you are an exporter, your income will rise for every sale you make. And unless you are a very small company indeed, you should already have geographically diversified your risk. 

 

Rana Brightman, Strategy Director, Siegel+Gale

The European Union, or EU as we’ve come to know it, hasn’t done itself any branding favours. It looks, feels and acts like a cold, corporate entity – big, bland and bureaucratic – rather than a brand that connects with people of all backgrounds and nationalities on a human level. What it offers can only be described as a collection of pragmatic benefits, which feel more relevant to governments and big business than the every day person. (Read the article)

 

Stephen Maher, chairman, The Marketing Society and CEO, MBA

‘I was very disappointed to wake up to the result last Friday morning. As my 24 year old daughter said - how can it be right that such a momentous decision about her future and which is largely against the wishes of her generation be determined by those , many of whom will not be here to live through it? But if this is to be the final outcome, then of course we must do our best to adapt as businesses always do ; accept the short term turbulence ; and keep focussing on the fundamentals enshrined in our Manifesto for Marketing Leadership that will always make great brands successful  whatever the societal backdrop’

 

Graeme Atha, director, The Marketing Society Scotland

Obviously this result offers up specific challenges and opportunities for business and marketing professionals based in Scotland.

 

Many who voted to stay as part of the UK at the Scottish Referendum are likely to reappraise their view. Partly due to being outside of the EU and partly as a reaction to this new Britain and the lack of apparent leadership or direction.

 

No matter your political or constitutional views Nicola Sturgeon has shown impressive leadership and with a strong opposition from Ruth Davidson most believe we have a strong Government in Scotland.

 

Indeed both are bold leaders and perhaps an inspiration to our members.

 

One of the challenges The Marketing Society has in Scotland is in attracting and retaining marketing talent - not only from the UK but throughout Europe. It remains to be seen if an independent Scotland would make this challenge easier or not.

Gemma Greaves, global managing director, The Marketing Society

If there was ever a time for the marketing industry in the UK to be brave, it’s now. So let’s be bold, let’s stay positive and seek out the opportunities that change inevitably brings. It feels even more important to think big, think global and keep expanding our network beyond the shores of Britain. 

 

Hugh Burkitt, CEO, The Marketing Society

Though the great majority of Society members were in favour of Remain, we will have to learn to embrace Brexit. As marketers the first thing we can grudgingly acknowledge is that the new brand Brexit was presented more alluringly than the ageing and unloved brand EU.

 

Conventional wisdom has it that business hates uncertainty, and we may become bogged down in a legal quagmire of "neverendum" as we try to negotiate our way out of the EU. But as bold marketing leaders we cannot sit wringing our hands, and there are some glimmers of a new dawn ahead.  The Society will be looking beyond Europe at its first Global Conference on November 17th. Our title "3.57" is taken from our friends at Facebook’s new research showing that 3.57 is now the average degrees of separation between two individuals on our planet.   As connectivity increases new ideas and new brands leap traditional political borders with astonishing speed. Some of the best marketers in the world will be sharing their thoughts on building business in markets old and new.

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Read more detailed analysis on what Brexit means for brands and Britain here.