and HR, to the CIO, CFO, CEO, and presidents of the business units – must buy in, challenge the entrenched mindsets of what's possible, and start experimenting with new approaches. Already we are seeing a host of new titles to reflect a refined focus: Chief Experience Officer, Chief Insights Officer, Chief Customer Officer, Customer Journey Architect, to name but a few. Attracting and nurturing people with the competencies required to thrive in this changing environment is a challenge faced by all organizations today.
This kind of brand buy-in throughout the internal ranks of a company does more than improve external responses. A brand persona – based around an authentic message and genuine identity – is increasingly essential to retain employees and attract new talent. As John Costello, president, Global Marketing and Innovation at Dunkin' Brands Inc. explains, “It's almost impossible for a brand to say one thing and then operate differently; the explosion of social media has seen to that. What is crucial to recognize is that marketing is not only targeting consumers, its targeting prospective – and current – employees” (Marketing Matters June 2015). Building a brand that manifests itself in every touchpoint, and that everyone at a company understands, genuinely believes – and sincerely wants to advocate for – is an ongoing effort requiring collaboration far beyond the marketing department.
Do you think advertising could and should be far better? Do you believe you are seeing glimmers of some powerful new connections from and with brands? Do you recognize that social good is an increasingly crucial element of successful brand initiatives? Have you noticed that advertising is about so much more than television or billboards, with consumers – also known as people – taking increasing control? Given the pervasiveness of brands in everyone's lives today, you don't need to be in marketing to make these observations, just as you don't need to be in marketing to draw tremendous value from this book.
We hope to appeal to people across generations, disciplines, and geography who feel there are far greater possibilities for leveraging the bridges between brands, people, and society. The concepts in this book will especially appeal to those with curiosity, open minds, and a desire for a better future. So, if you think advertising could and should be far better, if you are in a leadership position and want to know how to leverage what is possible and understand what is needed, or if you are determined to change and need inspiration and some language and frameworks to help engage your broader organization, read on. We hope you are inspired by the rest of the book and look to the Advertising 2020 website for the complete set of entries from our insightful and aspirational contributors.
Our greater hope is that our findings enable you to take action toward co-creating a far more desirable future that aligns the interests of brands, their stewards, and people, creating a net-positive impact on society at every touchpoint.
Part I
The Motivation for Change
If you want to predict the future of advertising, imagine throwing a bottle into the ocean… Many pundits point out singular ‘futures’ in marketing and advertising by watching waves and musing about where the bottle is headed. This is useful in the short run. If you have a long-term objective it's more useful to focus on recognizing forces beyond the waves that will intersect in unexpected ways to shape, if not predictably determine, the future. Many forces shaping the future of advertising are well known, just as it's well known that tides move the ocean. The question is whether we understand their effect in shaping the future.
Yes, the changes that you are feeling are real. There is something bearing down on traditional approaches to advertising and marketing with unprecedented headwinds – the first visible indicator of the size and scope and speed of change that is to come. As the saying goes, we ain't seen nothing yet. Understand these changes, heed their import, and there is still time to make a course correction and thrive. Others are already doing so by harnessing these new forces, finding the new North Star that we present in Part II, and creating the more nimble craft and crew that we outline in Part III.
Why do we need to bother changing? What is the motivation for change? How are the five forces of change speeding up our world, disrupting traditional approaches and mindsets, and yet providing unprecedented horsepower to enable needed new approaches?
In Chapter 1 we delve into the five dramatic worldwide transformations that are impacting everything we thought we knew about how businesses and organizations communicate and connect with their customers (see Figure I.1). In brief, they are:
1. Rapid, Breakthrough Advances in Science and Technology
What are these breakthroughs and how to harness their power?
2. Exploding, Redefined, and Enhanced Media Landscape
How to allocate resources for the greatest return?
3. Skeptical and Empowered People
How to attract and retain both connected and unconnected “talent” and “consumers”?
4. Fundamental Cultural, Social, Environmental, and Geopolitical Challenges
What are the roles and responsibilities of brands as global challenges grow louder and more insistent, and what does this have to do with advertising?
5. Disruptive and Compelling Business and Revenue Models
What are the means of survival when disruption is almost inevitable?
Figure I.1 The Five Forces of Change and Opportunity
Equally important for a Beyond Advertising future, these forces of change represent not only the source of actionable insights to be monitored and tapped, but also the opportunity set for contributing a net positive impact from innovative and purposeful brand touchpoint initiatives… And the Most Important Tool for Harnessing the Future
The industry clings steadfastly to conceptual frameworks that in many cases date back 50 years or more. And the fact is that many of these frameworks are not just wrong but seriously misleading, so much so that they often lead to suboptimal outcomes, outcomes that are the very opposite of what the marketing team both wants and needs.
If you think you already know what you need to do, or as may be the case, what everyone else needs to do, then you will either read the book searching for confirmation of that point of view and/or reject anything we offer that doesn't reinforce your point of view. Based on our conversations with even the most forward-thinking people, we realize that entrenched thinking, or expecting affirmation, is a danger. So, before we explain the model that will address these challenges, we have a favor to ask. Actually this will be a requirement, since the new model that we outline in Part II won't mean much if you are still holding on to some old ways of thinking. Before you read the next part of this book, take a moment to suspend your current thinking, your mindsets, and those mental models that in all likelihood have worked so well for you for so many years.
In Chapter 2, we walk you through this process of tackling what we have found to be the single greatest impediment to change and transformation: mental models that worked in the past but must be
