The headline in The Drum magazine (May 11th) read ‘MARKETING IS DEAD… or so said Kevin Roberts when addressing the Institute of Directors conference recently – shocking words considering he is chief executive officer at one of the world’s biggest advertising agencies’ (Saatchi and Saatchi).
The piece offers a few choice highlights from Roberts explosive speech; “Marketing is dead. The role of marketing has changed now. There is nothing new anymore. If marketers are just hearing about something going on then it is already old in today’s world. The further up in a company you go the stupider you become and the further away from new things. Speed and velocity is everything today. Marketing’s job is to create movement and inspire people to join you…”.
We asked two leading Silicon Roundabout entrepreneurs from the world of ‘Marketing’ whether Kevin Roberts was right and what the future held for their own businesses?
Ian Irving, Founder of The Tailor of Shoreditch, an integrated creative agency providing bespoke marketing communications solutions.
Marketing is dead. A bold statement or just an attempt at an attention-grabbing headline?
Marketing as a discipline is far from dead but if it was, WPP would be one of the first casualties.
Marketing has of course changed and has become far more complex in this multi media age but marketing is marketing and you have to go with the flow, adapt with the times and follow the trends. You might even be clever enough to start new trends, but marketing cant die; it’s the very thing that puts products and services front of mind with the consumer.
The world of marketing is always changing but it will never die. One of the biggest problems with people in the world of above the line advertising is their attitude; if it ain’t TV and it ain’t a 48 sheet then it don’t sell the product. To today’s under 30s these strategies are archaic and have very little (if any) relevance and cut through. There is no single answer or approach, because today’s consumers are so media and digital savvy that a homogenized approach will not resonate. Today’s consumer behaviour dictates that everything you do needs to be tailored made.
Marketing is dead? No, the consumer has changed and so has marketing.
Nick Beck, Managing Director of Search & Social Media agency Tug, agrees with Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi that the traditional marketing model is dead.
Gone are the days when marketers could spend the morning coming up with a big idea, submit it and go for lunch. This era of marketing is dead, thanks largely to online. The key now for brands is to distribute small pieces of rich content such as videos, infographics, articles, photos, blog posts and apps that get picked up by the wider community. These might fit within a story started by the brand or loosely held together by a theme. If the content pieces resonate, the ‘campaign’ can run for miles as people are inspired to share, distribute and contribute their own content.
Thank you to Ian and Nick.
For more information, contact Ian Irving at The Tailor of Shoreditch (thetailorsworkshop.com) and Nick Beck at Tug (tugsearch.co.uk).
Alternatively, to find out more about available office property in the Silicon Roundabout area contact Kushner at www.kushnerproperty.com
