AMERICAN MARKETING ASSOCIATION
AMA.ORG
OCTOBER 2016
THE
2016
A M A G O L D G LOBA L
TOP
R E P O RT OCTOBER 2016 NO.
9
table of contents
OCTOBER 2016
AMERICAN MARKETING ASSOCIATION
VOL. 50 | NO. 9
Cover photograph by Andrew Nawrocki
AMERICAN MARKETING ASSOCIATION
Valarie Zeithaml Chairperson of the AMA Board 2016-2017 Russ Klein, AMA Chief Executive Officer rklein@ama.org Andy Friedman, AMA Chief Content Officer afriedman@ama.org EDITORIAL STAFF
Phone (800) AMA-1150 • Fax (312) 542-9001 E-mail editor@ama.org Molly Soat, Editor in Chief msoat@ama.org Michelle Markelz, Managing Editor mmarkelz@ama.org Zach Brooke, Staff Writer zbrooke@ama.org
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Hal Conick, Staff Writer hconick@ama.org Sarah Steimer, Staff Writer ssteimer@ama.org Vince Cerasani, Associate Art Director vcerasani@ama.org Lewis Lee, Graphic Designer ADVERTISING STAFF
Fax (312) 922-3763 • E-mail ads@ama.org Sally Schmitz, Production Manager sschmitz@ama.org (312) 542-9038
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Kathleen Koch, Production Supervisor Michael Gay, Account Executive mgay@yourmembership.com (727) 329-4421 Nicola Tate, Account Executive ntate@yourmembership.com (727) 329-4437 Jordan Berthiaume, Media Sales Representative jberthiaume@yourmembership.com (727) 497-6565 x3409 Marketing News (ISSN 0025-3790) is published monthly except July/August and November/December by the American Marketing Association, 130 E. Randolph St., 22nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60601. Circulation: (800) AMA-1150, (312) 542-9000 Tel: (800) AMA-1150, (312) 542-9000 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Marketing News, 130 E. Randolph St., 22nd Floor, Chicago, 60601-6320, USA. Periodical Postage paid at Chicago, Ill., and additional mailing offices. Canada Post Agreement Number 40030960. Opinions expressed are not necessarily endorsed by the AMA, its officers or staff.
Marketing News welcomes expressions of all professional viewpoints on marketing and its related areas. These may be as letters to the editor, columns or articles. Letters should be brief and may be condensed by the editors. Please request a copy of the “Writers’ Guidelines” before submitting an article. Upon submission to the AMA, photographs and manuscripts will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, adequately stamped envelope. Annual subscription rates: Marketing News is a benefit of membership for professional members of the American Marketing Association. Annual professional membership dues in the AMA are $220. Annual subscription rates: $35 members, $145 nonmembers and $190 libraries, corporations and institutions. International rates vary by country. Nonmembers: Order online at amaorders.org, call 1-800-633-4931 or e-mail amasubs@ebsco.com. Single copies $10 individual, $10 institutions; foreign add $5 per copy for air, printed matter. Payment must be in U.S. funds or the equivalent. Canadian residents add 13% GST (GST Registration #127478527). Advertisers and advertising agencies assume liability for all content (including text, representations and illustrations) of advertisements published, and also assume responsibility for any claims arising therefrom made against the publisher. The right is reserved to reject any advertisement.
FEATURES
DEPARTMENTS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT
28 The 2016 AMA Gold Global Top 25 Report
3
the buzz
18 Aaker on Branding
8
snapshot
Executives from the Council of American Survey Research Organizations report on the growth and development of the global market-research industry.
58 The Out-of-Sight (Out-of-Mind) Female Boomer
The stats show that the female boomer has the money and time to spend, but she’s invisible to advertisers. With a little myth-busting and factchecking, marketers could tap into this booming gold mine.
Seen on AMA.org Pharma Marketing
10 core concepts Micro Moments
12 the middle market
Workplace Productivity
14 scholarly insights
Customer Appreciation
16 seven sages
Dealing with an Omnichannel World
66 10 minutes with
Bruce Newman, author of The Marketing Revolution in Politics
David Aaker explores how GE became the leader in brand storytelling.
20 International Affairs
Michael Czinkota relects on Brexit and the global age of isolationism.
24 The CMO Survey
Christine Moorman provides insight from the bi-annual survey of CMOs.
26 Scale vs. Precision
David Krajicek discusses how to leverage the best of global platforms and local differentiation.
74 ama careers
Professor vs. Practitioner
79 ama community
Awards and Scholarships
80 backpage
Sylvia Buxton, Vice President of Marketing at Perfetti Van Melle
Copyright © 2016 by the American Marketing Association. All rights reserved. Without written permission from the AMA, any copying or reprinting (except by authors reprinting their own works) is prohibited. Requests for permission to reprint—such as copying for general distribution, advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works or resale—should be submitted in writing by mail or sent via e-mail to permissions@ama.org. Reprints in quantity are available by contacting Kristy Snyder at Sheridan Reprints: (717) 632-3535. Printed in the U.S.A.
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thebuzz LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Watch Your Blind Spots
W
hen it comes to customer segments or global markets, sometimes it’s easier to ignore what’s there than learn how to deal with it. In an omni-channel world, those omni-choices can feel overwhelming. Sometimes it’s easier to hone in on one customer persona, one demographic or one media channel. But in creating focused goals and targeted campaigns, potential customers are left behind. Marketers get tunnel vision toward the hippest, newest, most cutting-edge products. But not every customer is hip and new. Some—especially those with the most buying power—are relatively invisible to marketers compared to disruptive, early adopting youth. On page 58, staff writer Sarah Steimer explores the buying power of women of the baby boomer generation, and how marketers can better find them where they are—which is everywhere. “Statistically, it would appear that baby boomers are an obvious group at which to target marketing efforts, but there would be one major
hurdle to that: the 18-to-34-year-old demographic. This group, currently populated by the millennial generation, is the long-desired consumer. The only (rather major) problem is that they don’t have the spending cash,” Steimer writes. A major problem, indeed. For years, Marketing News has reported on and synthesized information about the global market research landscape. On page 28, Diane Bowers, president of the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO), discusses the state of the global market research industry—its revenue stagnation, its workforce growth and its continuing globalization. “The globalization and boundary breaking of the industry continues, particularly among the Global Top 25. The average number of countries in which a Global Top 25 company has an office or a subsidiary is 27 countries. These numbers include more [expansion] of offices in emerging research markets in Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and South and Central America,” Bowers says. “More than half of the revenue from the Global Top 25 companies
is derived from outside their home countries.” For many marketers, global expansion can seem like a Herculean task. But for those who take off their blinders and look to emerging markets for growth, risk is often rewarded. Are you watching your blind spots? MOLLY SOAT Editor in Chief @MollySoat
CONTRIBUTORS
2
MARIA WINANS
CHRISTOPHER PENN
MEGHAN KEANEY ANDERSON
As the vice president of IBM’s social business category, Winans leads the marketing strategy focused on adoption of software-as-a-service. She has been at IBM, in various sales and marketing roles, for 25 years.
As the vice president of marketing technology at Shift Communications, Penn is a recognized authority on Google Analytics adoption, data-driven marketing and e-mail marketing.
As vice president of marketing at HubSpot, Anderson leads the content, product marketing and customer marketing teams. She’s responsible for the company’s blogs, podcasts and overall content strategy.
MARKETING NEWS | OCTOBER 2016
SEEN ON AMA.ORG
Why Killing the Headphone Jack Was the Best Decision Apple Ever Made
T
he tech world stood still as it waited with baited breath for Apple CEO Tim Cook’s unveiling of the latest edition of the iPhone, the single biggest source of income for the most profitable company in the world. Now in its seventh generation,
the iPhone 7 went on sale on Sept. 9 and features upgrades to the device’s battery and processor, as well as significantly enhanced camera technology and waterresistant casing. Yet the most notable change for many, however, isn’t an addition
OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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thebuzz SEEN ON AMA.ORG
“They stuck to the Apple brand. They always focus on the product and how they are going to make your life better.” at all. Rather, it’s the removal of the headphone jack, the circular port where users can plug in their headphones. In the latest iteration of the iPhone, users can either upgrade to newly released “airpods,” or they can plug a cable headphone adaptor into the iPhone’s charging port.
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MARKETING NEWS | OCTOBER 2016
While Apple is spinning the omission of the headphone jack as necessary to include components that make the iPhone 7 better than its predecessors and an inevitable manifestation of where the tech industry is headed, the jack’s removal has elicited mixed reviews
thebuzz SEEN ON AMA.ORG
from consumers and analysts, with some suggesting this is nothing more than a cash grab by Apple meant to convert users over to their proprietary headphones and that this is an industry power play masquerading as progress. Yet one marketing industry expert who gives high marks to the rollout of the iPhone 7 is Mimi Chakravorti, senior director of brand strategy at Landor. “I would rate it a success in that they stuck to the Apple brand. They always focus on the product and how they are going to make your life better,” Chakravorti says. “I don’t think the earphones are going to make a big dent in the Apple brand. People will realize that this is the way that we are headed [and] the convenience will outweigh the current discomfort that people fear [about the wireless headphones].” As Chakravorti sees it, the phaseout of widely utilized technology is par for the course in a space defined by innovation, and she points to Apple’s history of omitting once-key features in their products without significant repercussions. “It’s like the old adage, if you had asked people about cars when they were being introduced, they would have said, ‘We prefer the horse and buggy,’” she says. “If you look at the fact they took away the CD-ROM/DVD drives from their laptops, if you look at them changing the plug on the iPhone to make it a more efficient way to charge, I think people get over these things and then they realize this is a better technology. In two years’ time, you won’t see people with wired earphones anymore. People will just adopt wireless earphones.” Chakravorti believes that the enduring legacy of the iPhone 7 may well be the upgrades to its camera features. While iPhones have become default cameras for casual photographers, its latest upgrades suggest an incursion into the
“If you had asked people about cars when they were being introduced, they would have said, ‘We prefer the horse and buggy.’ ” professional photographer market as the iPhone photos are now on par with digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera quality images. “Apple has really doubled down on [photography] in the last few years. They continue to invent new ways that the camera makes other cameras obsolete. Now they’re going after DSLR, which is quite a big undertaking,” Chakravorti says. “We’re representing ourselves as brands through photography. I think that Apple has already tapped into that when you look at
their marketing campaign ‘Shot on iPhone. ’ … By them doubling down on that technology. I think that only positions them and roots them further into our everyday lives.” However revolutionary the iPhone 7 may eventually be seen in retrospect, the pressure is on to sell. Sales of iPhones—long a license to print money—have dropped in the past two quarters, and the company’s projection for fourthquarter revenue is between $4 and $6 billion less than what it pulled in a year ago. By no means
OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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thebuzz SEEN ON AMA.ORG
Chakravorti doesn’t believe the iPhone 7 is a game changer. But she does view it as a smart, solid product release from one of the foremost companies operating today, and a key piece to its enduring dominance, as long as the changes keep coming. a financially troubled company, there have nevertheless been questions about whether or not Apple has hit a wall in terms of market penetration and profitability. Apple itself might be anticipating lower demand for the iPhone 7 than previous models, announcing it won’t reveal open weekend sales
numbers for the iPhone 7 in a break from earlier tradition. Even Chakravorti doesn’t believe the iPhone 7 is a game changer. But she does view it as a smart, solid product release from one the foremost companies operating today, and a key piece to its enduring dominance, as long as the changes keep coming.
“I don’t think that iPhone 7 is going to be a game changer for Apple. I do think that, as Tim Cook says, it’s the best iPhone they’ve ever released,” she says. “They will continue to maintain innovation and remain a strong brand.” m
–Zach Brooke
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OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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snapshot
PHARMA MARKETING
Puppy Love With a game-changing pet health product in her hands, Merck Animal Health’s Karin Jager ditched the pharma-marketing boilerplate and created a campaign that appeals to the bonds between pets and their owners BY ZACH BROOKE | STAFF WRITER
zbrooke@ama.org GOAL Some products sell themselves. Fleaand tick-control pharmaceuticals for pets and livestock: not so much. When the animal health division of global pharma powerhouse Merck developed a new flea-guard oral chew product that provides coverage three times longer than long-held industry standards, it had to crow about it. Enter Karin Jager. The global marketing director for Merck Animal Health was tasked with familiarizing pet owners and veterinarians with the preventive pill. Fortunately for the company, she was more than up to it.
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ACTION Jager knew that just having a better product wasn’t going to make Bravecto a top seller. She also knew that flea-and-tick medication is at best a boring chore, and at worst a necessity that many pet owners are ashamed to request. “Breakthroughs are great. Being first is great. But it does require some additional follow-up,” she says. “The thing with parasites: they’re yucky. And people don’t even like to go to a clinic to explain that they have a flea infestation in their house because of [the perceived] lack of hygiene. So we try to do it in a fun way. Everyone who owns a dog or cat has seen a flea or a tick once in their life.”
Jager and her team decided early on that in order to promote Bravecto, they couldn’t just make a technical pitch around extended efficacy. “We want them to love the brand, so we want to give them an emotion with it— to feel good but also know that they are doing something extraordinary for their dog or cat on an emotional level.” And Bravecto needed to do it quickly. After months of planning an initial campaign concept, Bravecto presented it to marketing teams in 20 different countries, only to receive a tepid response. “When people [only] say, ‘It’s good,’ it’s not special,” Jager says. She decided to hit the reset button and develop a new campaign in two months, later calling this strategy, “marketing from the gut.” One of the first steps Jager took when developing the Bravecto campaign was to give the agency she worked with, Stein IAS, an unusual note. “Don’t think pharmaceutical. Please think differently. Don’t listen to us at all. Come with something that will blow us out of our chairs and make us really uncomfortable,” she told them. While Stein IAS was processing her request, Jager worked to secure backing
PHARMA MARKETING
from the boardroom and ease concerns from skittish pharma executives who were uneasy about deviating from the wellworn formula of pairing products with happy people enjoying lives made normal again through pharmaceuticals. “In pharma, they stay a little bit on the cheesy side—happy people— because they want to explain the product. But you can explain the product with different branding,” Jager says. “We went to the emotional level immediately. That required a lot of internal discussion around why we need this.” Stein IAS and Jager came up with a campaign that focused on people’s love for their pets. Rather than just showing the parasite-free after-party of regular Bravecto use, they would acknowledge and destigmatize the reality of animals bringing home fleas and ticks, and emphasize treatment and prevention as an extension of the love pet owners feel for their animals.
COMPANY
Merck Animal Health HEADQUARTERS
Madison, N.J. FOUNDED
1940s REVENUE $3.324
billion
RESULTS
Merck’s animal health segment contributed 9.1% of total revenue in the second quarter of 2016, up 8.6% from of all Merck revenue the previous year; Bravecto is now the No. 1 product in its category in Europe, Brazil and South Africa.
This strategy manifested in part through a 30-second TV spot that featured a group of grizzled bikers. “They brought them on themselves. Now it’s war and I want them dead,” the lead rider declares before the shot cuts to a bright, sterile veterinarian’s office. “The fleas and ticks?” a vet asks. “We can do that.” Jager says that spot in particular caused some worry among executives who didn’t think tattooed outlaws were the right fit for the brand. But she persisted and the ads won kudos from the international marketing teams. “The C-suite is not always comfortable, but when they see that the teams around the world love and support it, then they’re fine with that,” Jager says. Jager took on the boardroom again when she requested more social media outreach for the brand. This was met with grim hesitation, as executives were worried about brand social accounts becoming platforms for unhinged animal-lovers blaming the company for everything wrong with their pets, such as a Does Bravecto Kill Dogs Facebook group that’s been live since early 2015. But Jager pushed back, arguing that people would create such pages with or without Bravecto’s presence. To her, there was more danger in forgoing social media altogether and removing Bravecto’s messaging from online conversation. Amy Firsching, director of external communications for Merck Animal Health, helped clarify the reasoning behind marketing’s request for a social media push. “We did want to know if [a customer] had some adverse event. But we also knew that we had a very safe and effective product, and we wanted to make sure that in this space where people talk … and they rely on their friends and family for advice, that we didn’t lose that opportunity to give information so that people can make choices about this product,” Firsching says. The company ended up recruiting YouTube influencers Nic & Pancho of yoga-practicing-Chihuahua fame to create a series of videos around anti-flea and -tick messaging.
snapshot
RESULTS Building a global campaign in two months, without conducting the tests that serve as a safety net if something goes wrong, is not for the faint of heart. When the time came to present the new concept to her partners, Jager admitted to being anxious. Fortunately, the individual country teams responsible for the marketing in specific nations loved it. And while the top-level executives were never completely won over, the fact that the rest of Merck Animal Health’s marketers were on board secured their go-ahead. The campaign proved to be a big hit, not only with pet owners but with veterinarians, too. The latter is arguably more important and surprising since a prescription is required to obtain Bravecto, and previous vet-based marketing had been less emotional and more straightforward B-to-B. “It’s not only pet owners, it’s also the veterinarians that are really emotionally involved with the animal,” Jager says. “We trade on the emotional experience. Pet owners talk about the biker. But also our professional partners, the veterinarians, think it’s cool.” According to Jager, Bravecto is the No. 1 product in its category in Europe, Brazil and South Africa, and it’s growing in the U.S. as well. Bravecto was a large reason that Merck’s animal health segment contributed 9.1% of all Merck revenue in the second quarter of 2016, up 8.6% from the previous year, according to company earnings reports. In July, Merck Animal Health received FDA approval for a second Bravecto product, this one a topical solution. It’s expected to be available for cats by the end of the year and for dogs in the first quarter of 2017. Because prescriptions are currently required to obtain Bravecto, it cannot compete with over-the-counter medications operating in the same space. But if that day comes, Jager says she’ll be ready to trust her gut on how to reach out. m OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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coreconcepts
MICRO MARKETING
Just a Micro-moment, Please Marketers have a fleeting moment to capture mobile audiences’ attention. By using micro-moment marketing, brands can help move the customer’s journey forward and deepen their relationship with users. BY SARAH STEIMER | STAFF WRITER
ssteimer@ama.org
M
obile device users bring their phones nearly everywhere they go, meaning brands have an opportunity to reach them anytime, anywhere. Marketers can address these users’ needs in real time and with relevance. This so-called micro-moment marketing can be wielded in a nearly unlimited amount of ways, anytime a consumer reaches for their device. Google’s content marketing team, Think with Google, published a report on micro-moments, defining them as “critical touch points within today’s consumer journey, and when added together, they ultimately determine how that journey ends.”
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Users interact with their phones about 150 times per day, according to a 2013 Internet Trends Report. Google internal data shows that in many countries—including the U.S.—more searches occur on mobile devices than on computers. “While opening our phone sometimes is just to kill boredom [by] browsing Facebook, a majority of these [moments] can be summarized into a few categories: I want to do something, buy something, go somewhere or know something,” says marketing consultant Scott Poniewaz, director of business development at marketing agency Hawke Media. “These are essentially
moments that sit at the crossroads of content, immediacy and intent.” According to the Think with Google report, these encounters are a chance for marketers to engage with consumers: 82% of smartphone users say they consult their devices on purchases they are about to make in-store, and 91% of users seek out their phones for ideas when working on a task. Jonathan Lacoste, president and cofounder of Jebbit, which provides a digital marketing platform that creates micro-content, says examples of this need for immediacy can be found on most smartphones: Uber (read: I want a ride now!), Spotify (read: I want to listen to this song now!) or Seamless (read: I’m hungry now!). “You can get all of these services in a fleeting moment,” he says. “That has shaped how consumers make decisions about anything.” Consumers are spending plenty of time on their phones, but these can be fleeting moments. Time spent on websites by mobile users fell by 18% per visit in 2015 in the U.S., according to the Google report. Marketers can still take advantage of those precious moments if they know whom to target, when and with what information.
MICRO MARKETING
Anticipate Micro-moments Think with Google’s report says smartphone users are not absolutely certain of the specific brand they want to purchase when they begin searching online, and 51% of mobile users have discovered a new company or product when performing a search on their devices. To take advantage of this uncertainty, brands must show up. “People often use smartphones while they are on the go or trying to multitask,” Poniewaz says. “Their goal typically is to find a solution quickly and easily. When you spend time understanding your customers this way, marketing opportunities increase exponentially.” One of the examples provided in the Google report was Red Roof Inn. The hotel company’s marketing team developed a way to track flight delays and cancellations in real time, which would trigger targeted search ads for the hotel located near airports. The effort led to a 60% boost in bookings across non-branded search campaigns. Think with Google also provides four key times for when brands should be prepared and available for consumers that it says represent the full range of user needs: I-want-to-know moments, I-wantto-go moments, I-want-to-do moments and I-want-to-buy moments. Poniewaz provided another theoretical example for being prepared for a potential customer: Consider a business traveler who might immediately search for her go-to coffee shop, Starbucks, upon arrival at a hotel. This person could be targeted with a hyperlocal ad for a different coffee shop near the hotel. When brands are ready and waiting, it can help to move a consumer along in the decision-making journey. Be Relevant Those fleeting micro-moments, although a great opportunity to engage consumers, can be just as easily lost if the company or brand isn’t providing useful content. “You have to know your audience,” says Lacoste. “Knowing your audience will help inform you of what their intentions are in these micro-moments and what you should be focused on in terms of communication.”
Consumers do a lot of self-educating, preferring to seek the answer to their question themselves rather than reaching out to a customer support team. As Lacoste puts it, “The last thing [most people] want to do is pick up the phone and talk to someone else, reach out to customer support or do one of those chat boxes.” Anticipating these questions can help brands engage their customers, avoiding potentially losing their attention as they hunt for solutions. Lacoste points to the campaign for the Mazda CX-9. Rather than placing all of the vehicle’s information on one web page and allowing a visitor to the site to wander and do research on their own, Lacoste says Mazda is employing micromoments to make the experience on the web more direct. “They’ve taken that conversation you have at a car dealership lot with a salesperson … and they’ve transformed that into micro-content on their website so that you’re only shown what’s most relevant to you and what you’re looking for as you engage,” he says. “Everyone who goes to the site has a unique and different experience.” Lacoste says consumers should be able to engage with a brand in such a way that they’re only shown the bits and pieces of information that are most relevant to them, rather than “being thrown the kitchen sink and left to wander on their own.” Be Fast Mobile users expect speed. According to the Google report, 29% of smartphone users will promptly switch to another site or app if it fails to satisfy their needs. Of those who switch, 70% do so because it takes too long to load, and 67% switch because it takes too many steps to purchase or gain the desired information. “For most brands, being micro-momentready begins with the fundamentals … asking yourself if your site is optimized to not only be responsive but also has many of the nuances that are mobile-ready,” Poniewaz says. “[If not met,] these basics will kill a mobile experience when speed and ease-of-use matter so much.” Poniewaz says the Domino’s Pizza app is a great example of speed and ease-
coreconcepts
of-use. He says the app has streamlined pizza ordering to just a few clicks. For smaller businesses, he suggests enabling a one-click phone call option or website access on mobile devices to start capitalizing on micro-moments. Lacoste reiterates the need for immediacy, noting how many consumers have grown up in a time where decisions can be made on the fly, and the world’s information is at consumers’ fingertips. “We live in a visually connected world where all the information is out there—we just want to find it quickly and understand why it’s relevant to us and make decisions based off of that,” Lacoste says. Make It Special As Lacoste explains it, micro-moments provide an opportunity for value-based exchanges in an era of fleeting attention spans as consumers bounce between various digital touch-points. He says brands cannot only ask of the consumer in these brief interactions, they have to be providing value, even if it’s not monetary. “Think about each touch point you have with your consumer,” he says. “If you focused on it through the lens that someone’s probably only going to spend 10 to 15 seconds on whatever content or information you’re putting in front of them, how can you create that moment and wrap it around some value?” He says brands can provide opportunities to those who spend time learning about a product or service, such as unlocking a discount so the interaction feels more remarkable or notable. “People like feeling special and emotionally connected,” Lacoste says. “Can you give people content of value that’s specifically aimed toward their needs and challenges and desires, that’s specific to them, as opposed to just listing them all out?” If marketers learn how to harness these powerful—albeit brief—moments with consumers, Poniewaz says the marketing opportunities can increase exponentially. “Micro-moments can be a gold mine and, when understood correctly, I believe they can truly help shorten the funnel for marketers,” he says. m OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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themiddlemarket
WORKPLACE PRODUCTIVITY
How the Middle Market Beat the Odds and Kept Productivity High As U.S. productivity crashed with the Great Recession, the middle market’s productivity stayed afloat. Here’s how they did it. BY HAL CONICK | STAFF WRITER
hconick@ama.org
T
he Great Recession was an insidious force against the U.S. economy. Across the country, organizational production plummeted in step with the GDP, capital investment and jobs. The country was sent into a fiscal tailspin, with productivity left to swirl into its downward spiral. Crashing productivity was less publicized than other failing pieces of the economy, but its pain was felt countrywide. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm business productivity dropped 100% between the periods of 2000 to 2007 and 2007 to 2015 from 2.6% annual growth to 1.3% annual growth. Middle market productivity, while not unaffected by 2007’s economic sinkhole, has been a proverbial lambent flame in an otherwise darkened economy. As U.S. productivity continues to languish in 2016, down 0.6% during the second quarter, midmarket productivity has been on the rise since the fourth quarter of 2015, according to the Middle Market Center. The sector experienced its third consecutive quarter of growth in the second quarter of 2016. Yielding 3.3% growth in the second quarter, it is closing in on its 2014 productivity increase of 4%. Mary Josephs, founder and CEO of middle market investment firm Verit Advisors, posits midmarket productivity held steady due to one of its finest assets: the employee. “I have a bias and a passion for the middle market,” she says. “The sweat equity of family and entrepreneurs building businesses in communities
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across the country is, to me, part of the foundation of America.” Middle market companies, which contribute $6.2 trillion to the economy and employ 50 million Americans, have a unique combination of svelteness and monetary power, striking a balance small and large businesses normally cannot. For this reason, midmarket organizations are set up for employee engagement and productivity, Josephs wrote in a recent Forbes column. The midmarket’s compact workforces allow for a protean work flow, easily able to turn on a dime, and, in theory, provide a greater level of productivity. Getting employees to consider productivity enhancements can improve the bottom line from 4% to 10% year-over-year, Josephs says. This can only happen at companies that combine culture, leadership and talent. “The families that are about building a business and sustaining a culture … tend to have extraordinary throughput,” she says. “I call that productivity, whereas, if it’s a privately held family business [that tries to] take out as much money as possible for the family— maybe not offering a retirement plan because that’s not required, or skimping on benefits, training, health care and leadership development—[that] is not [productive].” Such benefits, in Josephs’ experience, correlate to productivity, which correlates to value. Finding Value Within Thomas Stewart, executive director of the National Center for the Middle
Market, knows how powerful an engaged, productive employee base can be. He’s written two books on intellectual capital within companies and says he’s endlessly intrigued by productivity. Stewart enjoys looking askew at productivity, but thinks there’s one tenet that’s important to remember: productivity’s equation is output divided by input. Increasing productivity means increasing outputs or reducing inputs. The question in 2016 often boils down to creating more with less, or perhaps finding greater value with the same workforce and tools. “If I can have the same number of people, and they’re doing more work or more valuable work that I can charge a higher price for, then I’m increasing productivity,” Stewart says. “[If] I take the same number of workers and increase the number of widgets they produce per worker, but also increase the value of the stuff they produce, that’s a significant thing.” Analytics and Big Data may assist in productivity improvements, no matter the employee base; however, executives at each midmarket company must ask what measurements of productivity are most effective in each case. This is where the productivity of middle market companies can be made or broken. These companies are aggressive
WORKPLACE PRODUCTIVITY
themiddlemarket
agreement that gives employees a stake in the company may be positive for productivity and increase the willingness of employees to be more open, invested and creative, Josephs says. However, there must still be something the entire company is driving for, she says; a common goal of productivity must be in place. This, in the end, will help the company and employees make money. “The exceptional companies have identified what some key drivers are in their business,” she says. “Maybe for factories it’s on-time deliveries. For retailers, it’s minimizing shrink and turnover. [In any case, they’d] have everyone knowing that these metrics are going to help boost share value, which is going to make the retirement accounts bigger.” hirers, Stewart says, anywhere from 50% to 100% faster than small or big businesses in terms of net growth, but they usually hold off on capital spending until coming into additional funds. Any savings via productivity may mean an ability to make smarter investments. “They’re really cautious about adding to their monthly costs,” Stewart says. “Whether that’s wages, plants or capital equipment, they want to maximize the output they’re getting.” Labor productivity is the simplest measurement, Stewart says, and often tells less of a story than many think. Getting more complex—and perhaps sophisticated—means measuring total factor productivity, or the portion of the output not explained by the amount of input in production. This measurement determines how efficiently inputs are used on the production level, per Harvard Business School. Stewart says this may give a wider view of productivity across the organization and bring forth the question of where companies will look for additional productivity. Could it go beyond labor and into new equipment or technology, such as automatic drivers or drones? “We may be on the cusp on a lot of labor productivity gains in places that have been resistant to it before,” he says.
Creating a More Engaged Employee Base How is a more efficient, productive employee base cultivated? Josephs says the culture must be allowed to come alive with ideas. Some ideas will be good, some will be bad, but all will have the aim of creating more efficient business practices. This likely means promising employees their good ideas will not mean a round of layoffs, Josephs says. After all, no employee wants to make a suggestion that will slash their hours or end their job. Creating an atmosphere where mistakes and new ideas are not only allowed, but encouraged, may be a key to productivity. “You get politics out of the way and [everyone] rowing in the same direction,” she says. These changes must come from the top. Executives must believe in costbenefit analysis, coaching, investing, recruiting benefits and encouraging employees to exchange ideas for the best result, Josephs says. “That’s a leap of faith for some people. I think of people who came out of a very tough time in business. They have a mentality that all spending detracts from value. You have to believe that it’s not spending, it’s investment. You have to have permission to do it,” she says. An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) or other employee-owner
What’s Next for Midmarket Productivity? Midmarket companies will need to find where opportunities to improve exist, Stewart says. This is likely where advanced data analytics will factor in, as he believes the productivity slowdown across the country is probably from the “easy gains” of the first wave of automation, digitization and offshoring. Avoiding a productivity lull will mean finding more creative ways to use what is already in place. As an example, Stewart says if a company’s total cost of producing a good is $100 when it was made 25 years ago, (where 50% of costs were attributed to labor, 25% to IT and 25% to machinery) and the cost to produce is still $100, where could feasible cuts be made in production? Labor costs are likely down, he says; could technology be the place to look? Stewart believes so, saying the productivity of machines and IT, especially with technology getting less expensive each year, could be a sensible place to save money. Now, with automated systems and leaner employee bases, Stewart says midmarket companies need to ask, “What’s next?” This may go beyond labor and into finding a greater level of productivity in technology. “People who can crack those nuts might make some really big gains,” he says. m OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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CUSTOMER APPRECIATION
A Simple ‘Thank You’ May Do When it comes to showing customer appreciation, nothing may be better than something BY LANCE A. BETTENCOURT | CONTRIBUTOR
lance@liftphd.com
I
n my consulting, I often seek insight from consumers into the emotions that the ideal product or service would engender. I hear customers say they want to feel confident, secure and in control. And, especially in service contexts, consumers say that they want to feel appreciated. So what exactly should a company do to make a customer feel appreciated? Is a simple “thank you” good enough? What about offering a “thank you” along with a financial acknowledgement such as a discount on future services? If you were presented with this choice as a consumer, which would you say would make you feel more appreciated? If you are like most people, research indicates that you think that receiving a “thank you” along with a financial acknowledgement would make you feel more appreciated. In fact, this is probably why, in 2012, Microsoft sent loyal Xbox customers a birthday e-card with a gift of 20 Microsoft points (worth $.25) to express its appreciation. But, like many areas of research, our intuition leads us astray in this domain of consumer psychology. Something Is Not Always Better Than Nothing A trio of researchers from Duke University, University of Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt University recently published a series of studies that demonstrate that “the inclusion of a financial benefit can actually subtract from, rather than add to, customer goodwill.” Our intuition that any financial acknowledgement should be viewed favorably rests on the premise that the
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comparison standard for evaluating a financial gift is nothing. We presume that something must be better than nothing. However, we’re unhappy to get a regifted present from a friend. Our expectation has been violated, even though we got something more than nothing. In their paper, “Should Firms Use Small Financial Benefits to Express Appreciation to Consumers? Understanding and
Avoiding Trivialization Effects,” published in the May 2015 issue of Journal of Marketing, Professors Peggy Liu, Cait Lamberton and Kelly Haws “demonstrate that receiving an acknowledgment with a smaller-than-expected financial benefit can lead consumers to feel less appreciated than receiving no financial benefit.” In one study, for example, the researchers set up a laptop survey outside the dining room of a hotel conference center and asked hotel guests to complete a customer review of the conference center. After completing the review, half of the study participants were randomly assigned to receive a letter of thanks from the hotel for their review and the other half of study participants received a letter of thanks along with a small financial acknowledgement ($.05). Analyses indicated that participants who received the “thank you” and financial acknowledgment felt significantly less
CUSTOMER APPRECIATION
appreciated than those who received only the “thank you” letter. A separate study showed that the “trivialization” effect also holds when the form of financial acknowledgement is a percentage-off discount on future purchases. That study looked at eight different levels of discount from 5% to 40%. It showed that a financial acknowledgement is only detrimental when it falls below expectations. Specifically, participants felt less appreciated when they received a 5% discount acknowledgment in comparison to nothing. They felt equally appreciated when they received an acknowledgement of a 10% to 25% discount and more appreciated when they received a 30% to 40% discount acknowledgement. Show Customer Appreciation Properly What should managers do as a result of this research?
First, be cautious about showing appreciation to customers via financial acknowledgement. Acknowledgements that fall below customer expectations can actually backfire. And even acknowledgements that don’t backfire may not make customers feel more appreciated than simply thanking them for their business and their efforts in support of your company. Second, if the goal is to reward customers financially, be sure to do your homework to understand customer expectations of what level of acknowledgement would be considered appropriate. The percentage-off discount study showed that a financial show of appreciation can be beneficial, but only if it is large enough to exceed the expectations of most customers. Third, seek to introduce other norms into how a financial acknowledgement will be evaluated. Another study by the
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researchers showed that a small financial gift can go from having a detrimental to neutral effect on felt appreciation if it is offered to a pro-social cause on the customer’s behalf. And if a trivial acknowledgement can go from detrimental to neutral, then modest levels of financial acknowledgement may go from neutral to positive. In this case, the company gets more impact per dollar when a pro-social rather than business transaction norm is introduced. m LANCE A. BETTENCOURT is a cofounder and managing partner of LIFT PhD, a service that matches corporate decision-makers with the expertise of business school professors. He is a distinguished marketing fellow at the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University, and author of Service Innovation: How to Go from Customer Needs to Breakthrough Services.
The New Frontier of Marketing 2 0 1 6 A M A M E M B E R - O N LY W E B C A S T S The AMA is pleased to provide our members with this special webcast series as one of the many benefits we offer. This series will feature various subject-matter experts giving robust presentations on today’s hottest marketing topics. From Pinterest and other social media topics to key marketing tactics and research strategies, we look forward to adding even more value for our members by providing this exclusive content. If you have a topic that you would like to present to our members, please contact Christopher Bartone at cbartone@ama.org. For details and to register, go to AMA.org/mow
OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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sevensages
AN OMNI-CHANNEL WORLD
SEVEN EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON THE AMA’S
Seven Big Problems Problem Five: Dealing with an Omni-channel World
Corey Koberg
Maria Winans
George Skaff
Christopher S. Penn
Cofounder and Senior Partner at Cardinal Path
CMO at IBM Commerce
CMO at TouchCommerce
Customers are creating an incredible amount of data that’s overwhelming marketers. But understanding these data and developing an omnichannel strategy doesn’t have to be daunting thanks to cognitive technologies. Cognitive tech’s ability to understand, reason and learn over time provides marketers with the expert, real-time advice needed to meet customer needs. When it comes to omnichannel, cognitive allows marketers to keep tabs on how shoppers behave on each device, when they shift between them and where they ultimately take action. With this insight, marketers can develop and execute personalized strategies catered to the needs of each customer.
Half of U.S. customers will abandon their online purchases if they cannot find a quick answer to their questions. Three-quarters say that valuing their time is the most important thing a company can do to provide them with good service. It is critical that B-to-B markets embrace an omni-channel strategy. Companies that are able to seamlessly engage customers via phone, digital, mobile, chat, web, social and retail channels with a powerful set of intelligent, automated and agentassisted interaction solutions will best position themselves ahead of competing brands. Developing an omnichannel strategy requires a deep understanding about which customer channels are most important. You will then need to identify how customers interact with those channels, capturing every interaction along their customer journey. With that history stored, every interaction provides context and data, which will help any live or automated assistance provide a solution.
VP of Marketing Technology at SHIFT Communications
Customers are frustrated when brands don’t take their past behaviors into account. Brands need to think about how they can orchestrate consistent experiences across all channels. That’s the vision of true omni-channel marketing. You start by mapping the customer journey—the process of tracking and describing all the experiences that customers have as they engage with your brand. Design the right data architecture. Start with a strategy that includes collecting, connecting and managing your enterprise data. Make omni-channel operational by moving to a culture of customer centricity, and deploying “centers of excellence” across the business. Activate your data by building a measurement framework, and optimize these activations based on value.
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With the data gold that exists in our marketing systems, it’s almost criminal not to make data-driven decisions to create betterinformed budgets, more conversions, more strategic plans and a more successful year. By combining the voice of the customer with user experience and analytics, we have a better understanding of the digital customer experience in an omnichannel world—and can use that to our advantage. To truly understand where customer and prospective customers want to buy, it’s critical you consider the customer journey. Thus, you can be there whenever your client needs you to be. This strategy is crucial for all business, especially B-to-B, where buying cycles can be quite long. Instead of “meeting your customer where they are,” creating a seamless user experience will help ensure you’re adding value along every step of the buyer’s journey: awareness, consideration and evaluation.
AN OMNI-CHANNEL WORLD
Tony Brown VP of Marketing and Business Development at Teradata We’re all customers who don’t always know the channel we will buy through next. We might prefer to buy via web, mobile or in retail, but at any point, the channel of choice may change depending on time of day, location, urgency or type of product. With this in mind, figuring out where a customer wants to buy is tough, so why bother? When you have an offer or message for a customer, create it once and make it available simultaneously in every channel. You perhaps use e-mail to generate interest, but be prepared to fulfill through any channel, on the customer’s agenda.
Meghan Keaney Anderson
Jennifer Nuckles
VP of Marketing at HubSpot
With consumers increasingly engaging with brands across multiple touch points, it’s important for marketers to provide a seamless consumer experience, regardless of medium or platform. At Doctor on Demand we apply a data-centric, segmented understanding of our customer’s behaviors to reach a broader target audience when and where a customer is open to our message. We maintain top-of-mind awareness via an integrated marketing campaign approach to drive conversion when our customer needs the assistance of one of our doctors. Consistent messaging and creative is leveraged across all of our channels—owned, earned and paid. Each channel plays a specific role in our marketing mix, and the communication varies depending on the channel and its ROI, while simultaneously delivering against a single consumer strategy.
Retailers of all sizes need to be using all available product-discoverability touch points. Customers are increasingly blurring the lines between commerce points of sale—whether that be offline, on your website or via a marketplace— which is making key tactics like optimization and personalization essential. If your products don’t appear when and where a customer searches for them, you won’t be closing any sales. Instead, you’ll likely be losing those sales to a quicker competitor—one who is constantly watching the industry and prepping their e-commerce backend to better serve as a hub, rather than a stand-alone.
CMO at Doctor On Demand
sevensages
Creating a seamless user experience will help ensure you’re adding value along every step of the buyer’s journey: awareness, consideration and evaluation.
OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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AAKER ON BRANDING
GE Dials Up Storytelling The science and technology company can teach marketers a thing (or nine) about how to tell a compelling tale
BY DAVID AAKER
daaker@prophet.com
G
E is among many companies that are dialing up the use of what I call “signature stories,” stories that communicate core strategic information about the firm and its strategy. Linda Boff the director of global marketing at GE explained how stories helped GE communicate its strategic message during a talk at the June 2016 ANA conference on Masters of B-to-B Marketing. It all starts with GE’s DNA, which always has been passionate about science and technology, starting with founder Thomas Edison. The GE goal is to be associated with this DNA as reflected by imagination, creativity and always being in motion. The firm is comfortable with geeking-out with people who find science and technology interesting. In fact, a key audience is people who are also into science and technology—those who will relate to GE’s passion and strategy. What is novel about GE for the past few years is the emphasis placed on stories, authentic narratives that surprise, intrigue and involve the audience while also being informative or entertaining. Several aspects of GE’s approach are worth highlighting: • Creativity and experimentation lead to unique ideas that surprise, many of which are driven, or at least influenced, by a social media vehicle. That means that a variety of people and organizational units inside and outside the firm get involved. It is far different from having an advertising brief and then developing and running a campaign.
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• The exposure to the stories is often audience-driven. A major basis for stimulating social activity is the GE opt-in set of 4 million members over a variety of social media platforms. Given this serendipity, it is amazing how professional and engaging the final story vehicles are. The presentation is always extremely well done. • There are some ad campaigns, but the body of work emphasizes GE contentdriven audiences rather than rented media vehicles. We would all do well to follow GE’s lead in the following nine storytelling areas: Find and leverage partners, and own the audience driving content.
Partnering with National Geographic and top Hollywood storytellers such as Ron Howard, GE helped put together a six-part documentary TV series about scientific breakthrough stories from the GE labs that have faced enormous unknowns and technical challenges, but have emerged with innovations that
have changed lives. The series, featuring stories on pandemics, clean water, human engineering, aging, improving the brain and clean energy, was shown on the National Geographic TV channel and streamed on GE Reports in 2016. Get personal. Mark Frontera, a lab manager at GE Global Research, saw firsthand the effect his work had on real-world patients when his young son, Adam, was diagnosed with cancer. The treatment Adam received at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute included advanced imaging technology developed at High Energy Physics Lab GE Global Research. Now that Adam has completed his treatments, Mark created a video of his story and the role imaging technology played. Be tangible and connect. As a
maker of advanced materials, GE had a prominent role in the 1969 moon landing. To retell that story on the occasion of the 45th moon landing anniversary, GE introduced on Snapchat an redesign of the original moon boots using advanced GE materials used in jet engines and wind turbines. One hundred boots, termed Missions, went on sale on the exact anniversary day and cost $196.90. Buzz Aldrin helped with the launch by posting a photo of himself on Snapchat wearing a pair of Missions. The shoes are now available on eBay for thousands of dollars.
Adapt to the media. Leverage
audience storytellers. GE created a series of six-second videos of scientific experiments. Research showed that 30% of millennials’ time is spent watching user-generated content, so GE encouraged consumers to create and share their own six-second videos tagged with #6SecondScience. Vine, a video app launched by Twitter, was the platform. The #6SecondScience fair was a success, and the project won a Cannes award.
Be creative. Video of a “snow-ball in hell” involved a snowball encased in a vessel made of the same material used in jet engines. Molten steel at 2,000 degrees was poured into a foundry over the vessel.
AAKER ON BRANDING
The snowball survived “hell.” Other topics were “catching lighting in a bottle,” and “talking to a wall.” A competition is on to find the next idiom to test. Adapt to the audience. GE’s instinct was that their target audience is fascinated by big machines and how they work and, thus, would love to visit factories and see them in action. Six Instagram influencers and six GE superfans were asked to visit a jet engine test site in rural Ohio and record the experience. There have been more than a dozen such experiences filmed, from making a locomotive in Texas to visiting a test facility near the North Pole in Norway. The results were exposed to the GE social media audience members as well as on social medial sites. The first #GEInstWalk got some 200,000 views 48 hours after its posting. Use user-generated content. GE
partnered with The Tonight Show and Jimmy Fallon, who is a patent-holder and a lover of science. The result was a segment that aired three times per year
called “Fallonventions.” In them, kids would present their inventions, which were always clever and hilarious. One, for example, allowed people to reach Pringle chips low in the package by inserting a door in the package. Another had a hat tied to a back-scratching device that could be activated by a pull chain. GE reinforced the brand’s message that it is a champion of innovation. Employ vivid technologies. GE is planning to create content using virtual reality. The first effort follows an underwater submersible that mimics GE’s subsea technology used to collect and discover gas and oil deposits in the ocean. People can use an Oculus Rift headset and sit in a vibrating chair while the headset simulates the underwater experience. More experiences are planned. Empathize with the target audience and use humor. The geek world is
celebrated by Owen, who, in an ad series, tries to describe to friends and family his new job at GE writing programs to help trains, hospitals and planes run better.
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They don’t get it. One tries to clarify—“So you are going to run a train?” In another ad, a friend who is a game programmer sucks the energy out of the air, and Owen cannot be heard. The stories work because they honestly admit the GE geek culture and do it with humor. Owen has become an ongoing symbol of the new GE and appears at conferences. Although it was not at all designed to help recruiting, it did increase inflow of applicants 800%, and a second set of ads shows Owen now on the job. GE has shown how to capitalize on the realities of the social media age: have clear communication objectives, know your audience, be creative and try things, tailor content to the media and don’t force it, don’t compromise on execution and invest in storytelling that will interest and involve viewers, since simple facts neither communicate nor persuade. m DAVID AAKER is vice chairman of San Francisco-based marketing consultancy Prophet and author of Aaker on Branding: 20 Principles That Drive Success. OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Brexit and the Age of Isolationism BY MICHAEL R. CZINKOTA
czinkotm@georgetown.edu
T
hese are tough times for international marketers. There is the ubiquitous and growing occurrence of terrorism, which brings fear to airports, train stations, entertainment venues and many other places. There is strong political volatility where the battle is not only about political savoir faire, but is driven by individuals. Just think of the new governor of Tokyo, a woman elected against “official” guidance in a maledominated country. There is growing wealth concentration for a few, and low income for many. We have witnessed the breakup of longterm coalitions thought to be stable, such as in Libya, Iraq, Indonesia and South Sudan. In Europe alone we have witnessed massive migration flows from the Middle East, which have led to global disharmony. We have seen the referendum in Scotland to tear asunder the United Kingdom. And now there is British exit (Brexit) from the European Union (EU) due to a plebiscite. Much of this occurs at a distance, so should marketers really be concerned? The answer is yes—they need to analyze the precursors, effects and consequences. There will be major changes in business relations within the EU and important effects on marketing on both sides of the Atlantic. Knowledge and preparation will not remove the thorn of separation, but may help with a less-painful adjustment. One hundred years ago, world economic and political conditions were characterized by globalization and democratization. Political and
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economic power was in balance. Large global conflict seemed unlikely between the three relatives who ruled England, Russia and Germany and referred to each other as Vicky, Nicky and Willy. Yet, within only a few years, World War I had led to millions of casualties and major devastation. Today, some say that rather than walking the walk of diversity, we are ominously close to a similar path of divisiveness. What are we to do in order to avoid a dramatic deterioration of global civility, security and economy? Tinderboxes can cause hot flames. For example, to guarantee their spheres of influence, Britain and France signed the Sykes-Picot Treaty on May 16, 1916, which drew hasty and culturally poorly conceived borders for the Middle East. The accord achieved its planned outcome, namely the expiry of the Ottoman Empire, but has caused a century of painful conflict in the Middle East. Even today, the conflicts in Syria or Turkey reflect the inherent disharmony of the old agreement.
Brexit reflects an unwillingness to accept large migration flows and a reluctance to cope with diversity. A British start may encourage other nations to also demand special consideration. But who will be the beast of burden and at what price? Forward-looking countries that adapt their own solutions often surpass the slower and larger powers. Hungary’s policy of “we can’t do it” led to early control of immigration flows. But the nation found itself derided and scorned,
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
even though many other countries followed suit. Being the first with good ideas and their implementation does not always pay off. It is ironic to see a self-inflicted British exit from the EU, which does not better the world, but carries the spark for further conflict. The economic relationship between the U.S. and Britain will weaken. The European Single Market (ESM) is single no more. The departure shifts the entire European unification from an outlook of optimism and growth
to a fear of division. Its significance as a business cluster is declining and no longer as charming. The value of the pound is likely to remain depressed as will the currency of other non-euro countries. Relative salaries, housing prices, innovation and new ventures become less robust. The plans of many people to establish their lives in Britain will change. Inward tourism may rise, but outward travel will suffer. For trade and investment issues already settled by agreements between
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the EU and the U.S., the U.K.—now an outsider—will need to seek new access accords. Many policy questions will not necessarily be resolved in favor of the U.K. How will America choose between Britain and the EU? What are the consequences the U.S. will have to bear, especially with the ongoing negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)? What shortcomings will marketers experience in terms of employment, human capital development and global market success due to the OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
This is not a time for global conflict. Marketers must contribute to tranquility and cohesion to demonstrate that trade and investments are preferable ways to obtain goods and services rather than by engaging in battle. missing British team member? At the very least, they will need to redifferentiate between the EU and the U.K., which requires new strategies, new tactics and new allocation of emphasis. American outward foreign direct investment (FDI) will change. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reports that every day, almost 1 million people go to work in America for British companies. More than 1 million people go to work in Great Britain for American companies. The U.S. and U.K. have the world’s largest FDI partnership. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, British direct investment in the U.S. totaled $449 billion in 2014 while American direct investment in the U.K. reached $540 billion. American firms have regarded investment in Britain as a strategy to be safe and gain more access to the 27 other member states of the European Union. Under Brexit, such rationale is no longer valid. Stability is a key concern for investors. While the U.K. is an attractive market with its strong rule of law, highly educated workforce and language similarity with the U.S., the EU partnership may be more attractive due to its size and the overall streamlining of trade and investment rules. American
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marketers in the U.K. will face rising cost and decreasing earnings. A survey by Ernst & Young found 72% of U.S. investors citing the access to the ESM as an important element of the U.K.’s investment attractiveness. Marketers will need to find ways that improve the future appeal of the U.K. Brexit will not make trade negotiations any easier. Trouble may often be unforeseen and delayed. For example, The Washington Post reports that the EU has agreed to a ban of certain pesticides in order to protect bees and their hives, which are in decline. Will a London withdrawal from such restrictions endanger British bees, or will British bees endanger their EU relations? What can marketers offer to bridge this gap? This is not a time for global conflict. Marketers must contribute to tranquility and cohesion to demonstrate that trade and investments are preferable ways to obtain goods and services rather than by engaging in battle. As part of this process, marketers may shape relationships that are less traditionally organized but more individualistic and spontaneous. Also, highly emphasized marketing fundamentals such as competition, risk, profit and ownership may have to be modified. Confrontations between friends and adversaries do not require winners
and losers. All should be willing to learn from one another, acknowledge and respect special needs and make allowance for the human dimension. “We must lead toward a world that trades in freedom. And we must pursue all these goals with focus, patience and strength.” These words of former president George W. Bush still ring true. With all the resources now available, there must be an increased search for the soul of marketing. Determining past wrongs and the inflicted cost on individuals and society may enable curative marketers to play a new role in the development of relationships. We all must contribute conscientiously to finding ways that help others by sharing their burden. Yet, they must become more willing to share ours as well. Leadership is expensive. Those who now sit at the table must let others approach and take a seat. Dropping crumbs is an insufficient path to a better world. It used to be said that the U.S. and England are only separated by a common language. The near-term future will see a separation of the two by treaty considerations, which were thought to be concluded, but due to Brexit, will emerge anew. There may be the opportunity to arrive at new conclusions during new negotiations; however, the revision of past agreements will be quite onerous. In many instances, negotiators will be more risk-averse, leading to more restrictive negotiation outcomes. Bilateral discussions between the U.S. and the U.K. will focus on controversial fields such as norms, use of chemicals or additives and privacy. Marketers can contribute to such future negotiations by providing real data that help negotiators understand the realities of market exchange. It will be up to marketers to emphasize global openness, transparency and consumption as desirable objectives for progress toward a better human condition. m MICHAEL CZINKOTA teaches international marketing at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. His key book is International Marketing, 10th ed., CENGAGE.
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THE CMO SURVEY
Marketing’s Roles and Responsibilities Reexamined Results of the CMO Survey suggest marketing leaders play an important but hard-to-quantify role in companies
BY CHRISTINE MOORMAN
moorman@duke.edu
S
everal recent articles published in the Journal of Marketing and Journal of Marketing Research offer a strong portrait of the importance of marketing leaders and the marketing function to companies. Germann, Ebbes and Grewal (2015) conclude that the presence of a CMO in a company improves a firm’s Tobin’s q (the ratio of a firm’s market value to the current replacement cost of its assets) by 15%. As the authors note, “The Chief Marketing Officer Matters!” Similarly, Homburg, Hahn, Bornemann and Sandner (2014) find that the presence of a CMO increases the likelihood of IPO funding by 46%, and this effect Have a good is stronger for CMOs with more qualitative sense education, marketing experience of the impact, but not a and industry experience—all of quantitative impact which are viewed as contributing 35.7% to the legitimacy of the new enterprise. Feng, Morgan and Rego (2016) find that marketing department power increased from 1993 to 2008 and that marketing department power has a positive effect on total shareholder returns.
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Recent results from The CMO Survey report point in a similar direction. When top marketers were asked to rate how marketing’s role has changed in their organizations in the past five years, 80.9% reported their role has broadened, with 11.2% reporting it has significantly broadened (see below). Results from The CMO Survey also indicate that marketing budgets have increased from a 0.5% expected yearly increase in February 2009 to an expected yearly increase of 7.2% in August 2016. Likewise, marketing budgets as a percent of firm budgets have increased from 8.1% in February 2011 (the first time this question was asked) to 11.3% in August 2016. What are marketers’ roles in companies? The results show that marketing dominates leadership (more than 50% of companies report marketing leads) on brand, advertising, social media, promotion, marketing analytics, positioning, marketing research, public relations, lead generation and competitive intelligence. Expanding duties in social media and marketing analytics are likely an important part of the growing role of marketing. Despite these roles, marketing does not lead all important strategic activities related to the customer—including market entry, CRM, new products or innovation, revenue growth, e-commerce, Have proven market selection the impact and customer quantitatively service. Results are similar for 20.3% two areas over
Haven’t been able to show the impact yet
44.1%
How Marketers Show the Impact of Social Media on the Business
THE CMO SURVEY
which marketers often claim ownership: pricing and distribution. What explains this disconnect between the studies noted earlier and the fact that marketing is not leading as many activities as we might expect? One reason emerges from the Feng, Morgan and Rego paper. The authors find that strong marketing functions contribute by developing critical marketing assets, such as strong brands and strong customer relationships, over the long run. This long-term play means that marketing’s contributions can be easily overlooked. Also, brands and customer relationships are intangible assets that don’t show up on many companies’ balance sheets. Many companies lack strong quantitative measures, including measures of customer equity or brand equity.
Another reason may be that even though marketing responsibilities and spending have increased, marketing excellence ratings are flat. When asked “How would you rate your company’s marketing excellence?” on a seven-point scale where seven equals “a leader” and one equals “very weak,” marketers show no evidence of advancing on this metric since it was first asked in August 2012. Finally, marketing’s expanding responsibilities have been met with important challenges. For example, despite spending on social media increasing from 3.5% of marketing budgets in August 2009 to 11.7% in August 2016, marketers report making little progress on proving the impact of social media on the business. Forty-four
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percent report not being able to show the impact, while only 20.3% have been able to prove the impact quantitatively. Marketing does contribute to companies on key finance-based indicators. However, if marketers are going to embrace the value-generating role they play, bigger strides need to be made in improving marketing excellence, demonstrating the effect of marketing and fully leading in critical customerfacing activities in which marketing has the most effective knowledge and skills in the company. m CHRISTINE MOORMAN is the T. Austin Finch Senior Professor of business administration at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and founder and director of The CMO Survey.
Percentage of Companies in Which Marketing Leads Activity 20% 17.4%
18% 16%
14.3%
% of Respondents
14%
13.2%
12.4% 11.2%
12%
11.2%
9.3%
10% 8% 6%
4.3% 4% 2% 0%
.8% -7
2.3%
1.6% .4% -6
Significantly Narrowed
0% -5
-4
-3
.8%
.8%
-2
-1
-0 No Change
1
2
3
4
5
6
7 Significantly Broadened
OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
25
marketingmanagement
SCALE VS. PRECISION
Global Scale Meets Local Color How to leverage the best of global platforms and local differentiation
BY DAVID KRAJICEK
david.krajicek@gfk.com
I
n today’s world, how can you make the most of your multichannel, global marketing? Should you emphasize a global perspective or a local one?
From what I am seeing, the correct answer is an emphatic, “Yes!” Thanks to technology advances and lower-cost mobile devices, even developing markets are leaping headlong into the digital world. Along the way, they are becoming increasingly attractive targets for marketers’ digital campaigns. As these consumers are exposed to many of the same apps and services that we find in the U.S., Europe and Japan, we see the worldwide market flattening in crucial ways. Many of the same key market segments can be found readily on different continents. The “ambitious striver” segment—which GfK Consumer Life calls “achievers”—has come to define modern China and India but is also on the rise in both developed countries (U.K., France and U.S.) and emerging ones (Mexico and Brazil). Enabled by programmatic buying, mobile technology continues to level the advertising and marketing playing fields. In Indonesia, for example, 95% of all internet use is via smartphones; the digital world now embraces millions of consumers who were left behind in a desktop-centric environment. This is particularly true of younger consumers who have never known a nondigital world. And ways of interacting with devices are also truly global. These basic
26
MARKETING NEWS | OCTOBER 2016
ingredients of the user experience, including the Netflix on-screen interface and Snapchat’s filter swipe, provide templates for exchange and engagement that work for almost any marketer. This all suggests that a primarily global approach, emphasizing digital efforts to reach the largest possible audiences, makes the most sense. Marketers can leverage powerful commonalities if they are willing to accept some over- or under-spend on selected platforms in single markets. Tapping the Global Heavyweights When we think of true mass media, relevant across many continents, Facebook and Google come immediately to mind. Targeting consumers in India and Poland in the same campaign is turnkey via these and other publishers with global scale. Marketers can supplement these digital efforts with more traditional media buys— TV, for one—that reach large audiences across a range of countries. For marketers at major CPG, pharma and technology companies, the challenge of a global approach is clear: keep your messages and executions relevant and punchy across a host of platforms while leveraging the efficiencies of worldwide scale.
Marketers must also remain aware that digital’s ability to cross geographic boundaries may work against their bestlaid plans. Consider, for example, the challenge of “containing” a product launch within one country, or even one continent, in the digital ecosystem. When Amazon debuted Audible earlier this year, demand began to surge in Europe, Asia and developing markets— even though the product was only available in the U.S. Global Reach, Locally Infused The truth is that, while global efficiencies may be alluring for budget-conscious marketers, there is a lot about the digital world that is profoundly local, unique to specific countries and even cities. And if our ultimate goal is effectiveness, then we run the risk of truly missing the boat by not integrating these differences into our campaigns. Consider the many incredibly popular apps that are completely indigenous to one region. In Indonesia, you can use GoJek to book a ride on the back of
SCALE VS. PRECISION
someone else’s motorcycle—often the quickest way from point A to B on that country’s crowded streets. GoJek, which also provides many types of innovative delivery services, is one of the 10 most popular apps in Indonesia and was recently valued at a stunning $1.3 billion. GoJek has some similarities to Uber and other social networks doubling as transportation and delivery hubs, but it is also a distinctly local iteration. Or think about the Singapore WhatsApp group called Homework Gods, which bails out parents or students stumped by an assignment. Just take a picture of the problem, share it on the app, and an on-site “homework god” will give you the answer for a nominal fee. This is an innovative way of providing a service using an already established medium. In the same way, we must also be mindful of market segments that have distinctly local flavors. While one contingent may have a preference for certain types of mobile apps or ways of communicating in one region, they may use their cellphones or smartphones very differently elsewhere.
Research Globally, Reward Locally Consumer insights experts face the same challenges when working at a global scale: how to leverage the growing oneness and similarities across platforms and segments while not losing sight of make-or-break local differences. For its GXL media panel, GfK is using standardized meters, a unified taxonomy and centralized data processing systems to develop truly comparable data across 10 countries. And in our global point of sale (POS) panels, we use a single system to code hundreds of attributes of consumer electronics products and various other products in dozens of countries, allowing global manufacturers or retailers to see at a glance which sales trends are truly worldwide. On the other hand, researchers also need to be mindful of crucial local differences. For example, the research firm Netquest (a GfK subsidiary) has a consistent survey engagement app installed on cellphones and smartphones in a number of Latin American countries
marketingmanagement
(think about the consistent user experience environment that can be created to boost consumer involvement). However, when it comes to providing incentives for engagement, Netquest customizes the reward options for individual countries, focusing on what is more likely to be valued in a particular country or region. So, returning to the question we started with, whether to focus on global or local for marketing and research success, the answer is truly, “Yes.” Affirm the best that each has to offer; do not lean too heavily on global sameness, but also be wise about the time you spend tailoring to local markets. Getting the balance right may be a years-long experiment, but knowing that this finetuning can pay huge dividends makes it the essence of due diligence for global marketers. m DAVID KRAJICEK is chief commercial officer of GfK Consumer Experiences and a member of the company’s management board. OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
27
THE
2016
A M A GOL D G L O BA L
TOP
P HO T O BY ANDREW N AW RO C KI 28
MARKETING NEWS | OCTOBER 2016
R EP O RT OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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THE 2016 AMA GOLD GLOBAL TOP
25 REPORT
he marketing research industry as we’ve known it for decades is disappearing. It is on the cusp of a great “coming together”—a grand fusion of intelligence-provider subsegments to deliver solutions demanded by clients in the era of Big Data. The offerings developed by research providers, and the business models created to deliver them, will continue to be driven by clients’ evolving needs for market intelligence. The disruptive effects of technology-enabled solutions to leverage the Big Data phenomenon have substantially altered those expectations. This fact was recently supported in a document released by Cambiar, the Boston Consulting Group and the Yale School of Management. In the report, “Trends Shaping The Future Of Market Research – A Client Perspective,” clients foresee shifting greater time and resources to the concentration on data analytics/ mining and integration of multiple data streams while less emphasis is placed on traditional areas of focus such as ad tracking, brand tracking and brand awareness and usage. This will perpetuate an environment in which the function of survey research continues to be absorbed into a rapidly transforming collection of market intelligence subdisciplines. It will also perpetuate the attraction of players not previously considered partners or competitors in the traditional marketing research space. As existing providers in this morphing space, how do we respond to remain viable in the eyes of our clients? Much has been written about the need for transformation and corresponding best practices in terms of broad business principles. But how does the provider community retool with specific capabilities to meet this evolving demand? The marketing research industry has always been adroit at adopting new disciplines, such as web data collection, realtime delivery of data and video focus groups. This individual company enhancement evolution continues. Indeed, every month we read about providers developing and launching new capabilities to broaden their market offerings. But the transformative speed, capital requirements and technology applications required to compete with forces from outside our traditional boundaries can make homegrown organic responses insufficient. Consequently, there are increasing signs of convergence— inorganic plays to assemble various disciplines required for integrative solutions. Often the players are from beyond our traditional space, such as Salesforce’s recent acquisitions of Implicit (predictive analytics), MinHash (social media aggregation) and Evariant (enterprise feedback management). Additionally, on the Salesforce Marketing Cloud Platform,
30
MARKETING NEWS | OCTOBER 2016
customers are now invited to assemble and launch combined data collection, analysis and visualization tools. There are already 69 survey app components available to choose from, including recognizable sources such as Qualtrics, Walker, Medallia and IMS Health.
The Industry Response: Developing an Understanding
As the pace of demand and competitive response evolves so dramatically, what are the implications for individual players in the market? Is it inevitable that each of us must consider participating in some grand fusion of complementary capabilities to survive? For the purposes of this article, we assume that, yes, an inorganic convergence, rather than organic development of new capabilities, will be required to meet the speed and intensity of demand. If we are going to acquire or rent other companies of complementary expertise within the broadened market intelligence space, the resulting challenge is to identify those players to create a successful strategic and cultural fusion. How does the leadership in each of these various emerging subsegments view their discipline’s role within the evolving market? Do they similarly see the need for a convergence with survey research? Is this issue even on their radar? Relatively little data to help understand such dynamics exists today. The AMA (formerly Honomichl) U.S. Top 50 Report and Global Top 25 Report have long been the industry standards for annually documenting patterns in the global business of marketing research, and the major players driving its growth. This will continue. But just as the market is transforming, so too will these reports. Yes, we will continue to track and publish annual changes in the traditional survey research market, but beginning this year, we will also explore the broader marketing intelligence space in which we reside. This year the reports take a first step to understand the expanding field of players in the emerging subsegments that define this morphing space. It is the intent that in subsequent years these reports will expand to include the listings and detailed information for evolving subsegments. In coordination with CASRO and Michigan State University, AMA introduces a comprehensive look at the broadened market intelligence space within which we contribute and compete. The Broad School of Business at
Michigan State University is one of several U.S. universities committed to developing the next generation of marketing leadership through internship-based master of marketing research programs. As part of the Michigan State University Research Transformed Collaborative, seven studies have now been completed on the marketing research transformation topic. These studies were conducted among leaders of the various subsegments in the expanding space. Each subsegment study strives to understand the corresponding leadership strategic perspective. The detailed study results are available separately; this article offers a brief summary of findings. This research and interpretation has been completed by students within the Michigan State University master of science in marketing research program. The result is a factbased perspective by our industry’s future leaders, those charged with the long-term impact of transformation and fusion and those most directly affected by it.
The Beginnings of a Grand Fusion Roadmap
The marketing research industry is being absorbed into a rapidly transforming collection of market intelligence subdisciplines. Each of us might define differently the list of those various disciplines. But today’s conference agendas, industry journals and merger and acquisition activity indicate a pattern of subsegments forming. Many of these have been addressed in this research, but this article will briefly touch on the interactions between only four of them: 1. Predictive analytics. 2. Social media. 3. Data visualization. 4. Enterprise feedback management. Many full-service market research firms position themselves as incorporating most or all of these subsegment disciplines. For the purpose of this research, however, the students focused only on companies indicating each of these disciplines as their primary area of focus. The result is a glimpse of the mindset of the leadership in these subsegment companies as they consider their role within a fusion.
Predictive Analytics
A successful convergence is likely to start with the predictive analytics discipline. Nearly two-thirds of all leaders surveyed
believe predictive analytics will experience the greatest growth, as a discipline within market intelligence, during the next five years. While often characterized as a supporting function, predictive analytics was nevertheless identified as having the greatest impact on future transformation of the industry and its players. Valerie Schroder is a recent graduate of the Michigan State master of science in marketing research program and has been hired as associate manager of consumer insights at the Wendy’s Company. Schroder observes, “Predictive analytics, data science and machine learning are becoming more mainstream for companies trying to improve their ability to find insights in customer behavior. It’s complementary, an obvious extension of the business.” But from a cultural integration perspective, the fusion of survey research and pure-play predictive analytics disciplines will require caution. Predictive analytics leadership tends to not view themselves as part of the marketing research industry. They perceive themselves as disruptors of the future rather than disruptors of the past and foresee a greater amount of change in the industry moving forward, compared to what we have experienced during the past two years.
Data Visualization
The data visualization discipline shares many of the same characteristics as predictive analytics in terms of company leadership’s perceptions of their role in shaping the industry of tomorrow. Leaders across the industry see data visualization capabilities playing a dominant role in the future. Monica Lee, another recent graduate, has been hired as analyst of survey insights at comScore Inc. Lee observes, “The ability to effectively ‘tell a story’ with research findings was the No. 1 skill set identified as required by future leaders to address the emerging challenges of our industry. So it’s no coincidence that data visualization is considered to be a discipline likely to realize greatest growth during the next five years, second only to predictive analytics.” Similar to predictive analytics, data visualization leaders tend to not view themselves as part of the marketing research industry, but rather see themselves playing an outsized role in disrupting the future of market intelligence. Overall, data visualization firms leave the impression that they have not felt particular angst in their business with the level of change experienced in the industry to date, but they expect to directly contribute to increasing levels of disruption moving forward.
Methodology With the help of the Global Research Business Network (GRBN), which includes the national research associations in 40 countries around the world, invitations are sent out to marketing research firms with estimated revenue of more than $25 million. We ask for revenue information for the prior calendar year and for the year preceding that in order to assess the growth rate. Other company data are also requested, including a description of the company’s management, services, specializations, etc. The rate of growth from year to year has been adjusted to account for revenue gains or losses from acquisitions or divestitures. Verification of revenue is required of each private firm for ranking by a third party, generally an outside accounting firm. For further information, contact Diane Bowers at CASRO, 1.631.928.6954.
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THE 2016 AMA GOLD GLOBAL TOP
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Enterprise Feedback Management
That perspective is in contrast with those aligned to the enterprise feedback management (EFM) discipline. EFM platforms are most often associated with customer experience management and fast feedback processes. EFM companies are more likely to view themselves as part of the same industry as marketing research, although they prefer being aligned to the terms “insight” and “feedback” rather than “research.” Gavin Sanders, a graduate of the Michigan State program who is working as ProCare specialist for Stryker Inc., observes, “EFM represents a gray area in the research space. It can certainly play a powerful role in research operations. Advances in technology and automation, along with EFM’s ease-of-use, are increasing the capabilities and appeal of EFM platforms. As this segment continues to evolve, we think EFM systems will increasingly compete directly with the survey research industry for market share.” Unlike predictive analytics and data visualization, EFM leadership looks back to massive levels of change already experienced in our space and the disruptive roles they played in contributing to it. But looking forward, however, they see a lesser role in driving that change. From a fusion of survey research perspective, and related strategic and cultural integration, it’s important to note that the EFM leadership maintains a perspective that substantial industry change is now subsiding.
Social Media
Similar to EFM (and unlike predictive analytics and data visualization), social media leadership leaves the impression that the height of their disruptive effect on the industry has passed. This may be a reflection of the fact that usergenerated content from numerous social media platforms is now accepted by most as a supplemental source after initial resistance by many.
GLOBAL TOP 25 COMPANY
IPSOS
GFK
INTAGE
VIDEO RESEARCH
MEDIAMETRIE
32
MARKETING NEWS | OCTOBER 2016
Joey Stephenson, account specialist in client development for The NPD Group and a graduate of the Michigan State program, observes, “Social media analytics has undergone a sweeping paradigm shift from its humble beginnings nearly a decade ago. This subsegment is no longer exclusive to aggregation but has taken an active approach by forging actionable insights with the unsolicited data it collects. This trend will only become more aggressive and methodologically innovative as time goes on.” In terms of implications for integration with the traditional survey research discipline, social media leadership tends to agree that massive change in the industry has occurred but will be more tempered moving forward. They are not as likely as most to agree that the industry is rapidly transforming. They are also more comfortable than most other subsegments to position themselves as part of the same industry as marketing research.
The Role of Survey Research Can Thrive
While the magnitude of change facing our industry may be debated, market indications leave little doubt that industry transformation is underway. The response by many is likely to be something more aggressive than traditional organic solutions; a shift to consider participating in some grand fusion of complementary capabilities is likely to occur. Such an effort in converging will help sustain the critical role of professional research within the rapidly evolving market intelligence space. This brief summary offers a snapshot of the inconsistent environment into which such a voyage enters. In time, the delineation of the emerging subsegments in this expanding market intelligence space will be more clear, and the players in each and their motivations will be better understood. The AMA looks forward to contributing to that understanding as our industry discovery process and reporting evolves with the market. —Michael Brereton
2015 GROWTH RATE IN HOME COUNTRY CURRENCY
2015 GROWTH RATE IN U.S. DOLLARS
6.9%
-10.8% 6.2% 3.5%
2.2% 5.8%
-11.4% -9.6% -10.7% -11.7%
he growth rate was flat in 2015 for the world’s largest market research companies—or was it? The 2015 growth rate was flat for the 25 research companies included in this year’s AMA Gold Global Top 25 Report. The total 2015 revenue for the Global Top 25, reported in U.S. dollars, was $22.5 billion versus $22.7 billion in 2014, -0.9% (or -0.2% when adjusted for inflation). The currency exchange rate fluctuation between 2014 and 2015, generally, had a negative effect on the growth rate in 2015, particularly since the U.S. dollar gained some value against the euro and the yen. In fact, viewing the annual revenue in home country currency, rather than U.S. dollars, changes the growth picture dramatically. The Global Top 25 companies headquartered in France, Germany and Japan all reported strong growth in their home country currency (euros and yen) in 2015 over 2014. A more positive indication of industry growth in 2015 was the 2% increase in employment among the Global Top 25. The number of full-time research professionals (this does not include administrative staff, interviewers or subcontractors) employed in 2015 by the Global Top 25 companies around the world was 135,352—an increase of 2,700 professionals. The globalization and boundary breaking of the industry continues, particularly among the Global Top 25. The average number of countries in which a Global Top 25 company has an office or a subsidiary is 27 countries. These numbers include more outreach to and establishment of offices in emerging research markets in Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and South and Central America. More than one-half of the revenue from the Global Top 25 companies is derived from outside their home countries. The Global Top 25 are headquartered in six major countries, but many Global Top 25 companies have multiple headquarters in locations other than their home country.
Global Revenue and Growth Rate
The Global Top 25 companies submit their annual revenue in their home country currency. These figures are converted to U.S. dollars based on the year’s average currency exchange rates provided by the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. In 2015 the currency exchange rate for the U.S. dollar had an especially negative effect on the euro and on the yen. Looking at 2015 revenue from the home country currency perspective, the
European and Japanese Global Top 25 companies had growth rates ranging from 2.2% to 6.9%. While we know that the currency exchange rate affected the growth rate for these companies, there was still a downturn in the overall growth rate year over year. Not as many companies experienced significant growth in 2015, and there were more companies that experienced either flat growth or a decline in growth. The chart below compares the revenue and growth rate in 2014 and 2015.
Composition of the Global Top 25
Twenty-three of the 25 companies included in last year’s Global Top 25 are included in this year’s list. Not included in the 2016 Global Top 25 Report are IBOPE Group from Brazil (No. 15 on last year’s AMA Gold Global Top 50 Report) and BVA from France (No. 22 on last year’s AMA Global Top 50 Report). The media measurement sector of IBOPE Group was acquired by Kantar in December 2014 to form Kantar IBOPE Media. IN VIVO BVA, the consumer department of BVA in France, merged with the U.S. research company Perception Research Services (No. 32 on last year’s AMA Gold Global Top 50 Report) to form PRS IN VIVO in January 2016, which was No. 26 on the 2016 AMA Gold Top 50 Report for the U.S. research industry, published in the June issue this year of Marketing News. The two new companies that are now featured in the 2016 Global Top 25 Report are Rentrak (No. 23), a U.S. research firm specializing in media and social media measurement headquartered in Portland, Oregon; and Cello Health (No. 25), a British research company, specializing in health care, pharmaceutical and consumer strategic marketing, headquartered in London. The upward and downward movement in the Global Top 25 list was not particularly turbulent in 2015. In addition to the new arrivals there were just a couple of big jumps: • YouGov, a media, brand, and custom research specialist headquartered in London and last year’s No. 24, moved up four positions to No. 20; • Los Angeles-based custom research, social media, and data analytics company Lieberman Research Worldwide at No. 25 on last year’s list, moved up three positions to No. 22.
These big jumps up the Global Top 25 ladder are clear indicators of growth. Adding to this growth disposition, three companies moved up one position on the list: • ICF International, a U.S. research company serving governments and multinational organizations with research and technical training, moved from No. 16 to No. 15. • Video Research, a media and marketing research firm serving the Japanese media, TV and radio market, moved from No. 17 to No. 16.
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THE 2016 AMA GOLD GLOBAL TOP
DOUBLE-DIGIT REVENUE INCREASES
INCREASES THAT ARE SINGLE-DIGIT AND EXCEED INFLATION RATE
FLAT (INCREASE DOES NOT EXCEED INFLATION RATE) AND REVENUE DECREASES
TOTALS
25 REPORT
YEAR
2015
2014
# COS.
4
8
AVG. RATE OF CHANGE
17.0%
17.9%
TOTAL REVENUE (MILLIONS)
$4,376.6
$5,769.3
# COS.
9
10
AVG. RATE OF CHANGE TOTAL
3.5%
5.4%
REVENUE (MILLIONS)
$2,585.1
$11,510.0
# COS.
12
7
AVG. RATE OF CHANGE
-7.4%
-6.0%
TOTAL REVENUE (MILLIONS)
$15,510.9
$5,399.5
# COS.
25
25
TOTAL GROWTH YEAR OVER YEAR
-.9
TOTAL REVENUE (MILLIONS)
3.0%
(-.2%) WHEN ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION
(1.9%) WHEN ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION
$22,472.6
$22,678.8
• Abt SRBI, a U.S. research firm specializing in the fields of health, social, environmental and international policy, moved from No. 20 to No. 19. There were only a few companies that moved down the list. French multimedia audience and advertising measurement company Médiamétrie, No. 23 on last year’s list, moved down one position to No. 24.
34
MARKETING NEWS | OCTOBER 2016
Finally, there were two instances of “switching seats”—one company moving up one category and the other company moving down: • Dunnhumby, a London-based retail, manufacturer and grocery customer science measurement company, moved up one position to No. 7 on the list while Westat, specializing in U.S. government, nonprofit, social institutions and education research, moved from No. 7 down to No. 8. • ComScore, a U.S. crossplatform research company that measures audiences, brands and consumer behavior moved up to No. 10 from No. 11, and Wood MacKenzie, an Edinburgh, U.K.-based research and commercial intelligence firm specializing in energy, metals and mining industries moved from No. 10 down to No. 11 on the Global Top 25. Maintaining their positions on the Global Top 25 list are: • At No. 18, MaritzCX, a customer experience software and research company formed through a merger of Allegiance Software and Maritz Research, headquartered in Lehi, Utah. • At No. 14, J.D. Power, a California-based global marketing services company specializing in customer satisfaction and product quality measurement. • At No. 13, Macromill, a Japanese marketing research and online panel company that merged with MetrixLab, a market and consumer insights company headquartered in the Netherlands. • At No. 12, the NPD Group, a global information and business solutions company specializing in industry, consumer and entertainment tracking services. • At No. 9, INTAGE Holdings, a Tokyo-based company specializing in standardized syndicated data and customized research services. • At No. 6, IRI, a Chicago-based global research, data and predictive analytics company providing consumer, retail and media tracking and measurement services.
The Top Five
Consistently topping the chart are the five largest research companies in the world. Nielsen, Kantar, IMS Health, Ipsos and GfK together represent 76% of the total Global Top 25 revenue for 2015. At No. 1, Nielsen’s 2015 revenue of more than $6.2 billion represents 30% of the Global Top 25 revenue. Of the top five companies, only IMS Health increased its revenue in 2015, with a strong 10.6% growth rate. As stated above, the growth rate for Ipsos and GfK was negatively impacted by the currency exchange rate. The top two companies, Nielsen and Kantar, experienced modest declines in their revenue in 2015—when adjusted for inflation, their growth rate was flat.
The top five have operations around the world: GfK has offices in 74 countries, Ipsos is present in 87 countries, and Nielsen, Kantar and IMS Health have offices in 100 or more countries. Together, the top five employ almost 111,000 research professionals—82% of the total employees among the Global Top 25 companies. All of the top five companies derive more than 60% of their annual revenue from countries outside of their corporate headquarters. • Nielsen Holdings N.V. is headquartered in the Netherlands, but most of its $6.2 billion in annual revenue comes from the other 105 countries in which it has offices. • Ipsos SA is headquartered in France, but 93% of its annual revenue comes from its 87 offices in other countries. • Kantar, the data investment management division of WPP, is headquartered in the U.K., but nearly 80% of its revenue comes from outside the U.K. • GfK SE is headquartered in Germany, but 75% of its revenue comes from outside its home country. • IMS Health, headquartered in the U.S., receives more than 61% of its annual revenue from other countries.
Portfolio of Services
The Global Top 25 is dominated by companies that provide syndicated, tracking and measurement services, which continue to be the steady drivers of growth. Twelve companies on the list specialize in measurement and tracking services: Nielsen, IMS Health, IRI, dunnhumby, comScore, Wood MacKenzie, NPD, J.D. Power, Video Research, YouGov, Rentrak and Médiamétrie. These 12 companies represent 57.3% of the total 2015 revenue for the Global Top 25. In addition, most of the other Global Top 25 companies also include measurement and tracking in their portfolio of services. Reading through the profiles of the Global Top 25 companies confirms that their services are expanding and changing. Most companies are vested in online research, panel research, social media measurement and data analytics. The
MICHAEL BRERETON is currently with the marketing faculty at Michigan State University’s Eli Broad Graduate School of Management. In 2014, Brereton retired from the role of president and CEO of Maritz Research, a position that he served in since 2003. Brereton’s industry leadership roles have included serving as a long-time board member as well as board chair of CASRO; founding chair for the CASRO Institute for Research Quality (CIRQ), an ISO certification body; advisory board chair for Michigan State University’s master of science in marketing research program; and advisory board member for Southern Illinois University’s master of marketing research program. Also contributing to this article was Rahul Sahgal, founder and CEO of Annik, a leading data analytics outsourcing company in India.
Countries The chart below shows the percentage of 2015 revenue represented by the six countries that are headquarters for the Global Top 25 companies. Nielsen’s revenue is included in the percentage of revenue contributed by the Netherlands.
UNITED STATES
28.4%
THE NETHERLANDS
27.5% JAPAN
3.8% GERMANY
7.6%
FRANCE
9.3%
UNITED KINGDOM
23.4%
transformation of the research industry is well underway. The Global Top 25 companies are increasing their focus on and investment in social media, predictive analytics, data visualization and enterprise feedback management, among other emerging subdisciplines. Read through the company profiles to see how these leading-edge companies are transforming their portfolios. —Diane Bowers
DIANE BOWERS is president of CASRO, the trade association of market, social and opinion research organizations, which represents and advocates for the U.S. research industry nationally and globally. Bowers has been a member of the external advisory boards of six U.S. graduate programs in marketing research, and she is currently a member of the board of directors of The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University. She is a past president of the Market Research Council (MRC) and the Research Industry Coalition (RIC) and a long-time member of AAPOR, AMA and ESOMAR. Bowers is among the founders and CASRO leaders of the Americas Research Industry Alliance (ARIA) and the Global Research Business Network (GRBN), which represents 40 national research associations and their membership of 3,500 research businesses around the world.
OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
35
THE 2016 AMA GOLD GLOBAL TOP 25 REPORT Revenue from Outside Home Country (Millions of U.S. dollars)
79.7%
41.6%
Percent of Global Revenue from Outside Home Country
$714.0
$3,415.0
Home Country Revenue
$3,071.0
$2,873.0
Outside Home Country Revenue
$3,785.0
$6,288.0
Global Revenue
2014 Research Revenue
Revenue from Home Country (Millions of U.S. dollars)
$2,956.0
$2,566.0
2015 Percent Change from 2014
$754.0
$3,606.0
Parent Country
Global Research Revenue (Millions of U.S. dollars)
-2.0%
-1.8%
Headquarters
Total Number of Countries with Offices and Whollyowned Subsidiaries
$3,710.0
$6,172.0
Organization
Research Only Full-Time Employees
100
106
Year Founded
23,000
43,000
Global Rank 2016 2015
United Kingdom
$2,219.9
$2,641.0
U.S.
$2,056.1
$1,655.0
London
$163.8
$986.0
New York & Netherlands
93.1%
61.4%
1993
$1,844.9
$1,794.0
1923
$136.0
$1,127.0
Kantar*
10.6%
Nielsen Holdings N.V.
-10.8%
2
$1,980.9
$2,921.0
1
87
105
2
16,450
15,000
1
France
$954.0
$1,931.9
U.S.
$421.0
$1,424.5
Paris
$507.4
Danbury, CT
$533.0
1975
75.3%
1954
38.3%
Ipsos SA***
$376.0
$1,289.0
IMS Health Inc.
$423.6
4
$605.0
3
2.8%
-11.4%
4
$981.0
$1,712.6
3
9
$824.2
74
$508.4
4,588
$315.8
13,485
61.7%
Germany
$598.6
$415.4
$517.4
U.S.
$371.9
$30.9
$16.1
Nuremberg
17.8%
$384.5
$501.3
Chicago, IL
$970.5
8.2%
3.6%
1979 29
$30.9
$18.2
1934
2,000
$344.8
$491.4
IRI United Kingdom
-9.6%
-1.5%
GfK SE***
London
$375.7
$509.6
6 2001
8
6
5
dunnhumby*
2,349
2,000
6 8
Japan
U.S.
5
7
Tokyo
$374.2
$325.2
Rockville, MD
$96.3
1960
$228.6
1963
$145.6
$228.9
INTAGE Holdings Inc.**
58.1%
27.3%
Westat
$211.9
$100.5
9
$152.8
$268.3
7
-2.5%
13.4%
9
$364.7
$368.8
8
20
$285.0
$292.1
24
$77.1
1,000
$215.0
1,700
24.9%
$82.0
United Kingdom
$76.6
$92.2
U.S.
$231.1
$203.0
Edinburgh
5.3%
$176.4
Reston, VA
$307.7
30.7%
1973
15
33.8%
1999
1,355
$91.0
Wood MacKenzie* *** U.S.
$92.5
comScore
Port Washington, NY
$205.0
10 1966
$181.0
11
The NPD Group
1.8%
3.9%
11 12
$273.5
$296.0
10
12
9
13
$268.6
850
1,611
$204.0
$213.2
U.S.
$0.0
$59.9
Japan
$204.0
$153.3
Westlake Village, CA
0.0%
29.5%
Tokyo
$0.0
$64.7
1968
$182.2
$154.7
2000
2.9%
J.D. Power*
-10.7%
MACROMILL Inc.
$182.2
$219.4
14
3
7
13
410
888
14
Japan
U.S.
13
Tokyo
$174.0
$163.0
Fairfax, VA
$46.5
$45.8
1962
$127.5
$117.2
1967
26.5%
28.1%
Video Research Ltd.* **
$40.2
$47.1
ICF International
$111.4
$120.5
17
2.8%
16
-12.9%
16
$151.6
$167.6
15
5
$139.1
5
$11.9
800
$127.2
800
4.1%
U.S.
$5.1
U.S.
$119.3
Lehi, UT
-10.6%
Burlington, MA
$124.4
1973
3
1990
1,192
MaritzCX
U.S.
Decision Resources Group
New York
18 1965
19
Abt SRBI
18 20
17
19
$126.1
$117.4
$92.2
$113.5
$42.3
$35.8
$84.9
$17.5
$83.8
$77.7
$32.5
$74.7
31.8%
30.9%
71.8%
15.0%
$38.9 $37.0
$88.2
$17.5
$83.4 $82.8
$95.6
$118.8
$34.7
$98.8
$17.8
4.7%
5.6%
$32.7
-3.0%
26.1%
$101.0
$13,027.3
$122.3 $119.8
$62.9
$122.9
$116.3
10.1%
$9,651.5
8 3
42.0%
21
6
$10.6
55.3%
540 550
$40.8
475
575
$94.3
$12,436.2
U.S. U.S.
$56.4
United Kingdom
U.S.
-11.7%
$10,036.4
Princeton, NJ Los Angeles, CA
1.7%
London
Portland, OR
$104.9
-0.9%
1938 1973
1
$97.2
2000
1977
641
$22,472.6
ORC International Lieberman Research Worldwide
France
3
YouGov
Rentrak
Levallois-Perret
400
21
--
25
1985
United Kingdom
24
22
Mediametrie* ***
London
21
23 23
2004
20
24 Cello Health*
$22,678.8
--
135,659
25
* Some or all figures are not made available by this company so instead are based upon estimations by the Report authors ** Fiscal year ended March 2016. 2015 currency exchange rate from yen to U.S. dollars decreased percent growth rate. *** 2015 currency exchange rate from euros to U.S. dollars decreased percent growth rate Included in Last Year’s global list of top-25 companies, but not included here: IBOPE BVA (now a part of PRS)
MARKETING NEWS | OCTOBER 2016
36
OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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THE 2016 AMA GOLD GLOBAL TOP
1
25 REPORT
Nielsen nielsen.com
FOUNDED
1923
PARENT COUNTRY U.S. 2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$6,172.0 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
-1.8%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$3,606.0 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$2,566.0 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
41.6%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
43,000
Dwight M. Barns CEO; B.S., MIAMI UNIVERSITY
2015 Acquisitions: • eXelate is a data and technology provider that facilitates the buying and selling of advertising into programmatic platforms. • Innerscope Research specializes in consumer neuroscience, combining biometrics, neurometrics and psychometrics to better understand consumer behavior. • Nielsen Catalina Solutions is a joint venture between Nielsen and Catalina, linking consumers’ media behavior with what they buy to help marketers and media companies measure and improve advertising performance.
2015 Divestitures: • NRG (National Research Group, Inc.), a movie-tracking and entertainment marketing research company. Nielsen provides a comprehensive understanding of what consumers watch and what they buy and how those choices intersect. Nielsen delivers critical media and marketing information, analytics and manufacturer and retailer expertise, and its information, insights and solutions help clients strengthen their market positions and identify opportunities for profitable growth. Nielsen’s two reporting segments, Buy (consumer purchasing measurement and analytics) and Watch (media audience measurement and analytics), are built on proprietary data assets that yield insights for clients to successfully measure, manage and grow their businesses. The
38
MARKETING NEWS | OCTOBER 2016
information from the Buy and Watch segments together deliver insights into the effectiveness of branding, advertising and consumer choice by linking media consumption trends with consumer purchasing data to better understand behavior and better manage supply and demand as well as media spend and supply chain issues. Representing about 56% of consolidated revenues in 2015, the Buy segment provides retail transactional measurement data, consumer behavior information and analytics primarily to businesses in the consumer packaged goods industry. Nielsen tracks billions of sales transactions per month in retail outlets globally, and the data is used to measure sales and market share, enabling clients to better manage brands and supply chain issues, uncover new sources of demand, launch and grow new services, analyze their sales, improve their marketing mix and establish more effective consumer relationships. The Watch segment represents about 44% of 2015 consolidated revenue, providing viewership and listening data and analytics, primarily to the media and advertising industries, across the television, radio, online and mobile viewing and listening platforms. The Watch data is used by media clients to understand their audiences, establish the value of their advertising inventory and maximize the value of their content and by advertising clients to plan and optimize their spending. Nielsen measures eight hours a day per person of dynamic media consumption and includes streaming audio, out-of-home measurements for television consumption and deeper measurement of multicultural audiences in the U.S.
2
Kantar * kantar.com
FOUNDED
1993
PARENT COUNTRY U.K. 2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$3,710.0 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014 -2.0% 2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$754.0 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$2,956.0 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY 79.7% GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
23,000
Eric Salama
CHAIRMAN & CEO; M.S., UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
Kantar is the Data Investment Management division of WPP plc, a London-based public company. The group includes the following U.S.-based companies: • Added Value focuses on brand development and marketing insight through its “brand connections” methodology, providing services in brand marketing, consumer insight, innovation and communications. • Kantar Health specializes in health care research and consulting on marketing insights; strategic planning; risk management, safety and surveillance; stakeholder effectiveness and brand marketing; health economics and patient outcomes; pricing and reimbursement; and forecasting and epidemiology. • Kantar Media offers a range of media insights and audience measurement services for global advertisers, agencies and media companies. • Kantar Retail is focused on digitally delivered intelligence on retailers and extending shopper insights and consulting capabilities. • Kantar Worldpanel is a global provider of consumer panels that offer continuous measurement and analysis of consumer purchasing and usage behavior. • Lightspeed Research provides market research services by building and maintaining online and mobile panels and associated service. • Millward Brown provides qualitative, quantitative and consulting services on brand strategy and experience; creative development and campaign evaluation;
consumer needs and values; media planning and strategy; ROI, forecasting and investment management; brand valuation and analytics; and demand and activation. • TNS offers market research and qualitative research to provide marketing knowledge and insights into consumers and markets on stakeholder management, brand and communications, and product development and innovation. • The Futures Company monitors what influences consumer values and attitudes to identify current and future trends, and offers trends and futures consulting and future-facing qualitative and quantitative research. • Benenson Strategy Group is a strategic research, issue advocacy and consulting group helping leaders in politics, business and public affairs connect with their target audiences. In 2016 the newly introduced Kantar First program will support collaboration among the operating brands of the Kantar group companies to better serve client needs by eliminating internal profit silos, encouraging the sharing of data across brands and facilitating better cooperation at a local level. * Some or all figures are not made available by this company so instead are based upon estimation by the Report authors.
3
IMS Health imshealth.com
FOUNDED
1954
PARENT COUNTRY U.S. 2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$2,921.0 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
10.6%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$1,127.0 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$1,794.0 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
61.4%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
15,000
Ari Bousbib
CEO; M.B.A., COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
2015 Acquisition: • Cegedim’s CRM and Strategic Data businesses IMS Health is a leading global information and technology services company that delivers end-to-end solutions to help health care organizations measure and improve their performance. Operating in more than 100 countries and serving more than 5,000 clients, IMS Health has one of the largest and most comprehensive sets of health care information in the world. Spanning sales, prescription and promotional data, medical claims, electronic medical records and social media, IMS Health’s growing data set contains 10-plus petabytes of unique data and more than 500 million anonymous patient records linked over time and across health care settings. The company delivers information and insights on approximately 90% of the world’s pharmaceuticals. IMS Health maintains a global technology infrastructure designed to standardize, organize, structure and integrate health care data. Leveraging its unique information and infrastructure, the company delivers analytic services and technology solutions to help health care organizations drive efficiency, enhance decision making and improve their operational and financial performance. Clients use the Nexxus Commercial Application Suite to run processes such as sales management, performance management, incentive compensation and marketing campaign management. IMS Health’s integrated solutions enable it
to provide a 360-degree view of stakeholders—empowering life sciences organizations to better orchestrate customer engagement and achieve their commercial goals. In April 2015, IMS Health completed the purchase of Cegedim’s CRM and Strategic Data businesses, its largest-ever acquisition. This transaction added significant new offerings including OneKey, the world’s most robust health care reference data services with insights on more than 14 million health care professionals; AggregateSpend 360 regulatory compliance solution, which helps clients track and report on their sales and marketing spending in countries around the world; and other tools that address the growing demand for multichannel marketing, end-to-end CRM and master data management solutions. IMS Health’s customers include pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer health manufacturers and distributors, as well as providers, payers, government agencies, policymakers, researchers and the financial community.
4
Ipsos *** ipsos-na.com
FOUNDED
1975
PARENT COUNTRY FRANCE 2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$1,980.9 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
-10.8%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$136.0 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$1,844.9 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
93.1%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
16,450
Didier Truchot
CHAIRMAN & CEO; ECONOMICS, PANTHEONSORBONNE UNIVERSITY, FRANCE
Pierre Le Manh
CEO, NORTH AMERICA; M.B.A., ESSEC BUSINESS SCHOOL, FRANCE Ipsos offers specialist expertise, market leading methodologies and the ability to execute comprehensive and reliable global research programs through offices in 87 countries. With experts organized in five major research specializations operating as
OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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THE 2016 AMA GOLD GLOBAL TOP
25 REPORT
One Ipsos, we help our clients assess market potential and interpret trends, develop and build brands, create long-term relationships with customers, evaluate communications and measure public opinion. As the domains of brand communication, advertising and media merge and grow increasingly complex, Ipsos Connect, an amalgamation of Ipsos ASI and Ipsos MediaCT, helps clients embrace this complexity with investment in new approaches and products. Specializing in customer experience, satisfaction and loyalty research, Ipsos Loyalty advises businesses on all matters relating to measuring, modelling and managing customer and employee relationships. Ipsos Marketing helps clients define marketing strategies, understand market opportunities and consumers’ path to purchase, optimize allocation of marketing expenditures and build brands, services and products that are relevant and differentiated. Also included are specialist units: Ipsos UU (qualitative), Ipsos Health Care, Ipsos Strategy 3 (marketing strategy), Ipsos SMX (online communities and social intelligence), Ipsos MMA (marketing ROI), Ipsos Business Consulting (market entry) and Ipsos Retail Performance (POS tracking technology). Ipsos Public Affairs is a nonpartisan, objective, survey-based strategic research practice that includes not only public opinion, but also elite stakeholder, corporate and media opinion research. Ipsos is the media polling supplier to Reuters News, and in Canada. Ipsos is the pollster of record for CTV. Ipsos Observer provides survey management, data collection and data delivery services across a broad range of online and offline research methodologies including online, telephone, face-to-face and mobile. Ipsos also comprises centers of study to advance research practice and innovation. Ipsos Laboratories in South Africa focuses on enhanced research solutions in brand performance and equity. Ipsos Neuro & Behavioural Science Center is incorporating nonconscious and emotional insights into Ipsos’ research. Ipsos Science Center, hosting more than 370 marketing science experts across Ipsos, is accelerating the use of marketing science and analytics. *** 2015 currency exchange rate from Euros to U.S. dollars decreased percent growth rate.
40
MARKETING NEWS | OCTOBER 2016
5
GfK *** gfk.com
FOUNDED
1934
HOME COUNTRY GERMANY 2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$1,712.6 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
-11.4%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$423.6 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$1,289.0 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
75.3%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
13,485
Matthias Hartmann
one of the chief commercial officers in the management board. With more and more data available, with more products on digital platforms and faster cycle times in our clients’ decision making, we face the next level of transformation in our operations functions. With One Operations we combine the capabilities of our global, regional and local operations into one team. We will decrease our operations cost and create a strong team culture of performance and results. *** 2015 currency exchange rate from euros to U.S. dollars decreased percent growth rate.
CEO; B.A., UNIVERSITY OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATION, STUTTGART, GERMANY
Our strategic initiative “Own the Future” was designed to align with and take advantage of the transformations and innovations in the market research industry and the changing demands of clients in an increasingly global and digital world. As part of our strategy, we have focused on bringing together GfK’s global activities; coordinating and leveraging our capabilities. Digital is radically impacting consumer behavior. This is creating new questions and new challenges for our clients and our industry. But it is also opening up new opportunities. To continue our transformation with the clear objective of moving from “important” to “essential” for our clients, we all need to integrate data and capabilities, filtering out what is relevant for our clients and putting the results into context. This is our vision and a true differentiator of One GfK. Our task is to utilize today’s technology, products and organizations to automatically collect, filter and relate big consumer and market data to insights that help answer our clients’ questions. This must be done quickly and efficiently and scaled globally. To reflect the importance of industries and products, we are bringing them closer to the management board. With our revised management board and company structure, we have moved closer to our aim of operating as One GfK and are now better streamlined to increase speed to market and relevance for clients. Global industries are now being managed in an integrated, cross-sector approach. Our five “biggest” industries have been assigned to
6
IRI
iriworldwide.com
FOUNDED
1979
HOME COUNTRY: U.S. 2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$981.0 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
2.8%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$605.0 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$376.0 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
38.3%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
4,588
Andrew Appel
PRESIDENT & CEO; M.B.A., UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Richard H. Lenny CHAIRMAN; M.B.A., NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
2015 Acquisitions: • Datasea, a Chinese analytic services and market research company with deep knowledge and expertise in China’s retail and CPG. IRI delivers market, consumer and media exposure information, predictive analytics and the foresight that leads to action. The New York-based private equity firm New Mountain Capital LLC is the majority investor. In March 2014, IRI joined forces with comScore and Rentrak to create a comprehensive data set and offer an
integrated solution for linking media consumption to purchasing. In 2016, IRI will drive consumer personalization by continuing to integrate multiple, disparate Big Data sources to create sophisticated end-to-end capabilities enabling clients to more effectively plan, target, activate, measure and optimize their businesses in real time for growth. The IRI Partner Ecosystem includes such companies as Adobe, The Boston Consulting Group, comScore, Experian, Ipsos, Kantar Shopcom, MasterCard Advisors, MaxPoint, Millward Brown Digital, Oracle and Univision. IRI’s retail footprint is a source of advantage for its CPG clients. Examples include: • Walmart: Provider of Walmart POS data; premier partner on targeted shopper activation program. • CVS Caremark: Designer of CVS’s Collaborative Merchandising Gateway for improved collaboration. • Tesco: Exclusive global provider of inbound data services in the U.K. • Albertsons: Preferred partner for POS data, consumer panel insights and strategic growth initiatives to support joint business collaboration. IRI supports clients through five key areas of expertise: • Market Performance and Strategy: IRI answers critical market questions focused on issues such as achieving growth in a mature market and what clients should consider when launching a product. • Consumer and Shopper Intelligence: IRI solutions focus on deep shopper insights, segment planning, opportunity sizing and activation strategies,
empowering companies to “win” the sale and the shopper. • Media: IRI media solutions enable clients to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of their media spending. • Analytics and Retail Execution: IRI helps clients analyze data to pinpoint new opportunities to optimize pricing, promotions and assortments. • Data Management/Cloud/Software: IRI data management, cloud and software solutions help clients better leverage data to gain faster insights and action.
7
dunnhumby * dunnhumby.com
FOUNDED 2001 PARENT COUNTRY
U.K.
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$970.5 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
17.8%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$371.9 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$598.6 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
61.7%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
2,000
Simon Hay
CEO; B.A., UNIVERSITY OF READING, U.K. Dunnhumby is a customer science company that is a privately held and wholly owned subsidiary of Tesco PLC. Dunnhumby uses data and science to understand customers, then applies that insight to create personalized experiences that build lasting emotional connections
with retailers and brands. It’s a strategy that demonstrates when companies know and treat their customers better than the competition, they earn more than their loyalty, they earn a competitive advantage. Dunnhumby’s customer science business model revolves around the customer, helping companies predict and meet the needs of their best customers. Analyzing data from nearly one billion customers worldwide, dunnhumby uncovers valuable insights: what customers want, where they want it and how much they’re willing to pay for it. Then, those insights are turned into action, offering personalized experiences, in and out of the store; online and off; before, during and after the trip, earning the customer’s loyalty. Additionally, dunnhumby uses these insights to transform clients into customer-first organizations. By putting customers at the center of every decision, dunnhumby’s approach delivers measurable value, competitive edge and even more customer data to fuel ongoing optimization, setting clients up for long-term success. Dunnhumby serves a prestigious list of retailers and manufacturers in grocery, consumer goods, health, beauty, personal care, food service, apparel and advertising, among others. Clients include: Tesco, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Macy’s and PepsiCo. Dunnhumby Ltd. employs more than 2,000 experts in offices throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas and includes social marketing experts BzzAgent and programmatic advertising company Sociomantic. * Some or all figures are not made available by this company so instead are based upon estimation by the Report authors.
OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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THE 2016 AMA GOLD GLOBAL TOP
8
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Westat westat.com
FOUNDED 1963 HOME COUNTRY
U.S.
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$509.6 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
-1.5%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$491.4 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$18.2 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
3.6%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
2,000
James E. Smith
PRESIDENT & CEO; PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Westat is a 100% employee-owned professional services research company. Westat applies statistical, survey research and subject matter experience to studies in health, education, social policy, survey design, data collection, communications and social marketing, transportation, large-scale data analysis and reporting, data systems and information technologies and domestic and international program monitoring and evaluation. The firm’s clients are the U.S. government, state and local agencies, businesses and foundations. Westat statisticians and research professionals contribute to innovations in their fields through professional publications and active participation in the international research community. Recent topics include complex survey design, address-based sampling, small-area estimation and Big Data. In 2015, Westat announced the appointment of nine senior fellows in statistics including Westat employees David Morganstein, president of the American Statistical Association, and Roger Tourangeau, president-elect of the American Association of Public Opinion Research. Westat projects are multimodal, using combinations of in-person, telephone, web, mail and mobile device modes of data collection. The company operates Telephone Research Centers with sophisticated communications, quality monitoring and security controls. Household and institution data collections are supported by a diverse nationwide
42
MARKETING NEWS | OCTOBER 2016
staff of data collectors with advanced field management and communications systems. International studies combine in-country and virtual approaches to meet study objectives. Westat uses many general and specialized IT technologies and products and provides licensing, training and support for Blaise, a software system that supports multiple modes of data collection and post-collection processing. Westat is one of the top SAS solution providers in the industry. Recent acquisitions of Fenestra, an information technology solutions company, and Edvance Research, an education research and technical assistance organization, add unique skills and experience to Westat. Locations include Rockville, Maryland; Atlanta; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Houston; San Antonio; Philadelphia; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; and international sites.
9
INTAGE Holdings Inc. ** intage.co.jp/english/ FOUNDED 1960 PARENT COUNTRY
JAPAN
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$375.7 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
-9.6%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$344.8 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$30.9 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
8.2%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
2,349
Kenji Miyakubi
PRESIDENT & REPRESENTATIVE DIRECTOR; B.A., EHIME UNIVERSITY, JAPAN
INTAGE Inc., based in Tokyo, was founded in 1960. It was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in November 2001 and on the Exchange’s First Section as of March 2009. In 2013 the company migrated to a holding company structure, becoming the INTAGE Group. With 11 consolidated group companies in Japan, offices in seven other countries across Asia and partners around the world, the group provides industry-wide,
standardized syndicated data and customized research services for a wide range of consumer markets, service industries and the health care sector globally. Maximizing on digital and mobile capabilities, it provides comprehensive, tailored research solutions and actionable business intelligence to support clients’ management strategies and marketing decisions. The INTAGE Group currently focuses on three key segments: marketing support for consumer goods and services, marketing support for health care and business intelligence. Accordingly, the group established INTAGE CONSULTING Inc. to provide high-level marketing consulting for the consumer sector and is putting greater focus on crossmedia solutions and partnerships in the media communications business. Furthermore, INTAGE’s SDI (syndicated OTC drug panel data) business was transferred to ANTERIO Inc. to support health care requirements. The group also repositioned INTAGE TECHNOSPHERE Inc. to provide advanced IT solutions for business intelligence. Within these segments, the group provides a broad range of solutions: • Market tracking: The INTAGE Group’s syndicated market tracking data services provide actionable insights into retail sales trends, consumer buying behaviors, sales promotion activities and more, including POS retail tracking (SRI), consumer panel research (SCI, i-SSP, SLI, kitchen diary), promotion effectiveness measurement (INTAGE Flyer Index, nationwide in-store promotions), medical representative activity effectiveness measurement (Impact Track) and a web-based tool for clients to integrate diverse panel data (iCanvas). • Customized services: The INTAGE Group leverages its technology, systems and research capabilities to provide broad, highly optimized services that deliver the intelligence needed to inform clients’ strategy, implementation and business process decisions. Customized services include global research, internet- and smartphone-based marketing research, medical marketing research, eye-tracking surveys, neuro research, mobile interviews, remote behavioral analysis, facial expression analysis and online/e-mail data-gathering surveys (Lyche-Pro, Lyche-Web). • Research and analysis models: The INTAGE Group’s models include price
and store promotion analysis (BrandPrice Trade-Off, Price Optimizer, APRiCOT) and analytical tools for shelf-choice, brand association, marketing ROI and single-source campaign effectiveness. • Strategic services: Fusing IT, system development and marketing intelligence, the group provides business application systems and database services that combine data utilization and analysis tools for advanced decision-making support. It also offers BPR and BPO services, drug development (CRO) services, SCM services, retail support and area marketing (retail POS data analysis services via AreaManager), as well as business application products. ** For the fiscal year ended March 2016. 2015 currency exchange rate from yen to U.S. dollars decreased percent growth rate.
10
comScore comscore.com
FOUNDED 1999 PARENT COUNTRY
U.S.
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$368.8 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
13.4%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$268.3 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$100.5 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
27.3%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
1,700
Serge Matta
PRESIDENT & CEO; M.B.A., AMERICAN UNIVERSITY ComScore, Inc. is a cross-platform measurement company that precisely measures audiences, brands and consumer behavior everywhere. ComScore completed its merger with
Rentrak Corporation in January 2016 to create the new model for a dynamic, cross-platform world. Built on precision and innovation, our data footprint combines proprietary digital, TV and movie intelligence with vast demographic details to quantify consumers’ multiscreen behavior at massive scale. This approach helps media companies monetize their complete audiences and allows marketers to reach these audiences more effectively. With more than 3,200 clients and a global footprint in more than 75 countries, comScore is delivering the future of measurement. ComScore data and services support numerous applications, including market and competitive intelligence for any online category; benchmarking and opportunity gap/SWOT analysis; customer profiling and segmentation models; integration and study of online behavioral data with offline purchase data; choice models based on pricing, taxes and promotions among other factors; controlled measurement of the effectiveness of interactive marketing
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THE 2016 AMA GOLD GLOBAL TOP
25 REPORT
programs; and scoring of customer files for direct marketing programs using markers and propensities derived in aggregate within the comScore database and applied using shared attributes. ComScore’s e-commerce sales data have become the standard by which online trends are monitored and have been widely published in the media for more than 10 years.
11 woodmac.com
Wood MacKenzie *
FOUNDED 1973 PARENT COUNTRY
U.K.
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$364.7 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
-2.5%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$152.8 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$211.9 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
58.1%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
1,000
Stephen Halliday
CEO; B.S., UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, U.K. cquired by Verisk Analytics in 2015, A Edinburgh, U.K.-based Wood Mackenzie provides commercial intelligence for the energy, metals and mining industries through objective analysis and advice on assets, companies and markets. For more than 40 years, Wood Mackenzie has assessed and valued thousands of individual assets and companies around the world, evaluating economic indicators and analyzing market supply, demand and price trends. The firm produces research and analysis across oil, gas, power, coal, chemicals, metals and mining, giving clients a forward-looking view of the challenges, opportunities and risks facing their business and sector. Wood MacKenzie offers a combination of: • Robust proprietary data: Wood MacKenzie can forecast and value with confidence, providing clients with strategic advice. • Expert, knowledgeable and collaborative people: The firm’s global teams of
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experts rigorously evaluate the data to ensure in-depth understanding of our chosen markets. • Integrated analysis and advice: The depth and breadth of the firm’s research and the collaboration between sector and regional teams ensures a thoroughly integrated view, combining global understanding with detailed regional knowledge. Wood Mackenzie’s clients include international and national energy and metals companies, as well as financial institutions and governments. The firm works with a range of diverse teams within those client companies, from strategy and policy makers, business developers and market analysts to corporate finance, risk teams and investors. Wood MacKenzie’s research, analytics and consulting services help clients to understand their markets, value assets, reduce risk, identify and screen opportunities, assess competitors, strengthen strategy and pitch for new business. We have been careful to maintain our commitment to insight based on proprietary information and deep industry knowledge as we have grown and entered new markets. With 25 offices in 20 countries, our teams work across every sector of energy, metals and mining, covering more than 150 countries to provide an integrated perspective across entire industries. * Some or all figures are not made available by this company so instead are based upon estimation by the Report authors
12
The NPD Group npd.com
FOUNDED 1966 PARENT COUNTRY
U.S.
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$307.7 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
5.3%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$231.1 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$76.6 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
24.9%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
1,355
Karyn Schoenbart PRESIDENT & COO; B.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
Tod Johnson
CHAIRMAN & CEO; M.S.I.A., CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
2015 Acquisitions: • VideoScan, a point-of-sale retail tracking service for the home video market. NPD provides global information and business solutions to help brands track their markets, understand consumers and drive profitable growth. NPD offers information assets, analytic services and expertise in more than 20 industries to build longstanding partnerships that help clients uncover opportunities, solve problems and create profitable growth. NPD Tracking Services encompass retail, distributor and consumer tracking, including Checkout Tracking, which utilizes receipt harvesting to measure purchases across all industries and channels. Premium Services offer granular market views, including weekly tracking, store-level enabled data (for looking at geographies or custom store groupings) and account-level information (for participating retailers). Information is collected from more than 1,200 retailers, representing more than 200,000 stores worldwide, 12 million consumer interviews conducted annually and more than four million consumers who make physical and/ or digital receipts available for Checkout Tracking, some of which is done in partnership with Slice Intelligence. NPD also offers solutions that address key marketing, sales and strategic planning issues. The firm’s advisory services cover home automation,
wearables and connected intelligence, which offer reports and analysis on wearable tech and the connected world, including content, devices and services. In 2015, NPD launched new Checkout Tracking offerings, including industry dashboards for food service, video games, retail, technology and apparel. NPD also enhanced its portfolio of offerings for the entertainment industry with the acquisition of Nielsen’s VideoScan DVD retail tracking service. NPD will continue to build Checkout Tracking to include tracking home entertainment activity and enhancing its product suite for the entertainment industry. NPD will also launch a new industry tracking service for diamonds and introduce new solutions, including forecasting and other analytic services. NPD operates in the Americas, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Brazil. The company also offers tracking services and analytic solutions in 11 countries in Europe and tracking services in five countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
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Macromill Inc. macromill.com/global
FOUNDED 2000 PARENT COUNTRY
JAPAN
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$296.0 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
3.9%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$205.0 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$91.0 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
30.7%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
1,611
Scott Ernst
GLOBAL CEO & REPRESENTATIVE EXECUTIVE OFFICER; B.S., UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Macromill Inc. was founded in 2000, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2004 and moved to its First Section in 2005. In January 2014, Macromill was acquired by Bain Capital. In November 2014, Macromill merged with MetrixLab, creating the Macromill Group. Headquartered in Tokyo, the Macromill Group operates several brands in 25 offices with 1,600 research experts across the Americas, Europe and
Asia. The group’s leading business units are Macromill and MetrixLab. Macromill, one of the leading marketing research companies in Japan, stands at the forefront of innovation, delivering unique marketing solutions. We offer exclusive access to the highestquality online panel with more than 2 million members, including 1 million Yahoo Research Monitor members. Using our self-developed platform, AIRs, we provide full-service online research, including automated survey creation and completion, data tabulation and analysis. Our business portfolio has rapidly grown and is constantly evolving. Today, it includes services such as offline quantitative research, mobile research, POS database research (QPR), digital marketing (Accessmill), a DIY survey platform (Questant) and more. Our global network can reach 87 countries across the world. MetrixLab, headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands, is one of the fastest-growing providers of market and consumer insights. We turn data from online surveys, social media, mobile devices and enterprise systems into valuable business information and actionable consumer insights. This helps leading companies drive product innovation, brand engagement and customer value. Owned and group panels provide expansive access to global respondents in mature and emerging markets. Our teams deliver strategic and tactical decision support by pushing the boundaries of data analysis innovation, combining cutting-edge technology with data science and proven marketing research methodologies. Clients across the globe rely on our hyperefficient data and insights ecosystem to deliver fast and affordable results.
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J.D. Power * jdpower.com
FOUNDED 1968 PARENT COUNTRY
U.S.
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$273.5 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
1.8%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$181.0 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$92.5 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
33.8%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
850
Finbarr O’Neill
PRESIDENT; J.D., FORDHAM UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL J.D. Power is a global marketing information services company that conducts independent consumer surveys of product and service quality, customer satisfaction and buyer behavior. In 2005 it was acquired by New York-based McGraw-Hill Companies. J.D. Power provides consumer intelligence to help businesses measure, understand and improve the key performance metrics that drive growth and profitability. Services include industry-wide and client-commissioned research, B-to-B consulting and media research. Annual syndicated studies are based on survey responses from millions of consumers and business customers worldwide. The firm does not review, judge or test products and services for its syndicated studies. It relies on the opinions and perspectives of consumers who have actually used the products and services being rated. J.D. Power is most often recognized for its work in the automotive industry, where its metrics have become the industry standard for measuring product quality and customer satisfaction. A team of associates worldwide conducts quality and customer satisfaction research across industries including automotive, financial services, insurance, telecommunications, travel, health care, utilities and consumer electronics. The firm’s clients include many Fortune 500 companies in the United States and internationally. J.D. Power has seven U.S. offices and 15 offices worldwide. * Some or all figures are not made available by this company so instead are based upon estimation by the Report authors.
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THE 2016 AMA GOLD GLOBAL TOP
15 icif.com
25 REPORT
ICF International
FOUNDED 1967 PARENT COUNTRY
U.S.
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$219.4 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
2.9%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$154.7 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$64.7 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
29.5%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
888
Sudhakar Kesavan CHAIRMAN & CEO; M.S., MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
For decades, clients from U.S. federal agencies to international organizations and multinational corporations have relied on ICF International’s full suite of innovative and flexible methodologies. Our services and products include: • International Research and Evaluation: We provide training and technical assistance to national governments, in-country organizations and international donor agencies with developing indicators and metrics, monitoring and data collection, policy formation and disseminating findings to target audiences. • Experimental and Quasi-experimental Research: We address the full life cycle of experimental and quasi-experimental research services, including methodology and study design, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, database and systems development and reports and publication of results. • Monitoring and Evaluation Capacity Building: We enable clients to build program monitoring and evaluation capacity with services such as change management and development communication to grantees or awardees, adjustment of data collection systems or indicators to reflect program changes, production of report snapshots to show continued progress and leveraging of existing resources to expand capacity in monitoring and evaluation. • Performance Measurement: Our tools and techniques include developing
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MARKETING NEWS | OCTOBER 2016
meaningful and measurable indicators, creating dashboards and balanced scorecards, setting targets and goals for continuous quality improvement programs and designing and implementing web-based data management and reporting systems. • In-Program Evaluation: We apply traditional and state-of-the-art analytic methods and tools, like randomized control trials, propensity score matching, quantitative analysis of designs, ethnographic studies and social network analysis. • Quantitative Methods and Analysis: Including web, telephone, paper/mail, in-person and hybrid surveys, ICF’s surveys incorporate emerging methodologies and generate strong, defensible response rates. Services include questionnaire and manual development, quality control, FISMAmoderate data security capacity, software development and analysis and dissemination of findings. ICF International serves many markets, including aviation, climate, community development, defense, education, energy, environment, families and communities, health, homeland security and transportation. In addition to 40 U.S. offices, ICF has offices in China, India, Moscow, London, Brazil and Canada.
Video Research 16 Ltd * ** videor.co.jp/eng/ FOUNDED 1962 PARENT COUNTRY
JAPAN
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$182.2 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
-10.7%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$182.2 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
0
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
0
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
410
Yuzuru Kato
PRESIDENT; B.A., TOKYO UNIVERSITY Video Research is a media and marketing research firm, providing advertising statistics for six major media companies in Japan, plus transit media and the internet. Several data sources are from its alliance companies. VR’s main service is TV audience measurement (TAM). It is based on a sample of 6,600 households equipped with set meters for household TV ratings in 27 markets throughout Japan. In the Kanto (including Tokyo) and Kansai (including Osaka) markets, VR reports both household and individual ratings using the VR People Meter. The firm has obtained ISO 9001:2006 certification for its meter-based system as well as for the diary method used in individual ratings research. Radio ratings research is conducted in the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya metropolitan areas four to six times per year with samples of 3,000 per wave. The firm releases a number of media-related reports: • The Nationwide Newspaper Readership Survey (J-READ) gathers and organizes standardized data on newspapers throughout all 47 prefectures of Japan. • The MAGASCENE report is a singlemedia survey implemented every October in seven major regions in Japan. It provides information such as how people read each magazine, readers’ profiles with information such as basic attitude, awareness in daily life and media involvement as well as a magazine quality category that includes magazine image, frequency of read, place of purchase and reading attitude.
• The Audience and Consumer Report (ACR) is VR’s syndicated research, started in 1972. It is designed to study consumer trends and media contacts in the Japanese market through a single-source approach. In the Kanto area, a panel sample of 4,800 also has been created, rotating every six months. Using ACR/ex data, the media industry expects synergistic effects of integration approach for media contacts, brand management and market analysis. ideo Research Interactive Inc., V conducts various types of internet-related marketing research such as website contact status by panel survey, visitor profile analysis and mobile website surveys. * Some or all figures are not made available by this company so instead are based upon estimation by the Report authors. ** For the fiscal year ended March 2016. 2015 currency exchange rate from yen to U.S. dollars decreased percent growth rate.
Decision 17 Resources Group * decisionresourcegroup.com
FOUNDED 1990 PARENT COUNTRY
U.S.
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$167.6 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
2.8%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$120.5 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$47.1 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
28.1%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
800
Jon Sandler
CHAIRMAN & CEO; M.B.A., HARVARD Decision Resources Group, which was acquired by Piramal Group in 2012, is a portfolio of companies that offer
information, analysis and insights on issues within the global health care industry. Pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical technology and managed-care companies rely on this analysis and data to make informed decisions critical to their success. The firm’s companies include Abacus International, Arlington Medical Resources, BioTrends Research Group, Decision Resources, Fingertip Formulary, HealthLeaders InterStudy, Manhattan Research, Millennium Research Group, PharmaStrat and Pinsonault. Framing the current status and future trends in target health care markets using data, primary research and secondary research is a core competency of Decision Resources Group. Product offerings include high-value analytics, syndicated research, proprietary databases, decision support tools and advisory services. DRG has a number of key specialties, including syndicated research focused on new therapeutic opportunities, portfolio planning, changing industry dynamics and global treatment patterns, insights and data
OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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THE 2016 AMA GOLD GLOBAL TOP
25 REPORT
on physician and consumer health care e-marketing and proprietary databases and analytics covering more than 90% of the U.S. managed-care markets. Also included are longitudinal data and analytics on marketed drug reimbursement profiles, qualitative insights on drug-specific reimbursement drivers for existing and emerging therapies, managed markets training and evidence-based market access solutions. * Some or all figures are not made available by this company so instead are based upon estimation by the Report authors.
18
MaritzCX maritzcx.com
FOUNDED 1973 PARENT COUNTRY
U.S.
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$151.6 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
-12.9%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$111.4 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$40.2 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
26.5%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
800
Carine Clark
PRESIDENT & CEO; M.B.A., BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY As a customer experience (CX) software and research company, MaritzCX continues to realize a growth path consistent with providing our clients holistic and cost-efficient CX solutions. The 2015 merger of Allegiance Software and Maritz Research created MaritzCX, a customer experience management company with the capacity to offer both a CX platform and strategic consulting services within one organization. Our mission is to provide businesses the strategic guidance and software engine they need to turn customer feedback into a competitive advantage. MaritzCX believes organizations should be able to see, sense and act on the experiences and desires of every customer, at every touch point, as it happens. From the company’s new headquarters in Lehi, Utah, MaritzCX helps
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MARKETING NEWS | OCTOBER 2016
organizations increase customer retention, conversion and lifetime value by embedding customer experience intelligence and action systems into the DNA of business operations. MaritzCX focuses on four key elements: CX software, data and research science, deep vertical market expertise and managed program services. We serve as our clients’ customer experience outcomes partner, specializing in solutions for key industries, including automotive, financial services, technology, B-to-B, health care, retail and many more. Our global reach includes more than 900 full-time employees and more than 1,000 part-time/contract employees in 19 offices around the world, including new offices in Australia. MaritzCX provides solutions to more than 500 clients and 1.6 million users who speak 72 languages in 100 countries. The MaritzCX platform realized new product growth of 120% year-over-year and, overall, the company saw an increase in total software bookings of 55%, year-over-year.
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Abt SRBI abtsrbi.com
FOUNDED 1965 PARENT COUNTRY
U.S.
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$124.4 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
-10.6%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$119.3 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$5.1 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
4.1%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
1,192
Kathleen L. Flanagan
PRESIDENT & CEO OF ABT ASSOCIATES; M.S., UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
Michael Link
PRESIDENT & CEO OF ABT SRBI; PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Abt Associates is a mission-driven, global leader in research, evaluation and program implementation in the fields of health, social and environmental policy and international development. It is known for its rigorous approach to solving complex challenges. Abt SRBI is the firm’s survey research arm. Abt SRBI is a full-service global research and consulting firm whose survey research capabilities range from sample design and instrument development to data collection (telephone, in-person, IVR, web, mail) and data management, to advanced analysis and market strategy. The firm specializes in large-scale and complex projects. Abt SRBI has four practice groups: • The Health Group conducts healthrelated surveys and tracking studies for many U.S. government agencies. These projects include epidemiological surveys, health care, military veterans, immigration, domestic violence and program evaluations. • The Social Policy and Polling Group conducts large-scale public policy and public opinion surveys for university researchers, foundations, research institutes and the media. • The Transportation, Recreation, Planning and Preservation Group provides passenger/customer research to leading public transit authorities, transportation planners and engineering firms. It also
specializes in energy, environmental and recreational issues. • The Family, Workforce and Nutrition Group supports large-scale program evaluation projects with a focus on interviews with beneficiaries of federal government programs. The four practice groups are supported by an advanced methods group and an interviewing services division. The advanced methods group provides consulting support in such areas as complex sample design, nonresponse bias, cell and dual-frame sample designs, weighting, imputation and geographic information systems. The interviewing services division administers telephone, mail, internet, IVR and in-person interviews with nearly 450 CATI stations across five call centers, a large national in-person field force and a centralized technologically advanced survey platform. Abt SRBI has offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Bethesda, Maryland; Atlanta; Durham, North Carolina; and New York, as well as in 40 other countries.
20
YouGov yougov.com
FOUNDED 2000 PARENT COUNTRY
U.K.
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$122.9 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
4.7%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$34.7 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$88.2 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
71.8%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
475
Stephan Shakespeare
CEO & FOUNDER; M.S., OXFORD UNIVERSITY
YouGov is an international full-service market research agency. Our core offering of opinion data is derived from our highly participative panel of more than 4 million people worldwide. We combine this continuous stream of data with our deep research expertise and broad industry experience into a systematic research and marketing platform. This allows us to
deliver data, analyses and reports that can be used to plan, manage and refine all types of campaigns, whether they have commercial, political, social or other objectives. Our unique fully integrated online model has a well-documented track record illustrating the accuracy of its survey methods and, in turn, the quality of its client service work. We can conduct research in all continents, and our online model allows clients to get international results faster and more cost-effectively than traditional methods, with no compromise on quality. Our suite of proprietary data products includes: • YouGov BrandIndex: the daily brand perception tracker. • YouGov Profiles: our new tool for media planning and audience segmentation. • YouGov Omnibus: the fastest, most cost-effective way to obtain answers from both national and selected samples. • YouGov Pulse: that tracks actual online consumer behavior across laptops, smartphones and tablets. We also publish a number of syndicated reports, such as the annual Global Survey of Wealth & Affluence, which provide comprehensive market intelligence on a range of industry sectors. Our custom research specialists also conduct a full spectrum of quantitative and qualitative research tailored to meet our clients’ specific needs. Plans for 2016 and beyond include the further geographic roll-out of our newest product, YouGov Profiles, and the further expansion of our data products suite.
ORC 21 International orcinternational.com FOUNDED 1938 PARENT COUNTRY
U.S.
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$122.3 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
-3.0%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$83.4 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$38.9 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
31.8%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
540
Simon Kooyman CEO; M.B.A., VLERICK UNIVERSITY
At ORC International, we are experts in the art of business intelligence. As a part of Engine Group, we take pride in our ability to combine quality data, smart synthesis and best-in-class digital platforms to deliver insight that powers business growth and success. ORC International’s 16 offices worldwide specialize in: • Strategy: growth and expansion, innovation, competitive intelligence and expert network. • Markets and Products: brand/ communication, product development and demand generation. • Employee: employee engagement, employee life cycle and employee polling. • Customer: customer acquisition, customer experience and customer retention. Engine is a global marketing services network comprised of communications specialists. With operating hubs in the U.K., North America and Asia, the individual businesses within the network include WCRS, MHP Communications, Trailer Park, ORC International, Partners Andrews Aldridge, Deep Focus, Moment Studio, Synergy, Calling Brands, Mischief, Fuel, Transform and Slice. Engine’s services include market research, creative, strategy, digital, social media, advertising, public relations and content creation and production.
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THE 2016 AMA GOLD GLOBAL TOP
Key Accomplishments in 2015 include: • Expanded/integrated offerings with Engine into brand, marketing and insights services. • Formal expansion of markets and products practice into the U.K./Europe. • Launch of CARAVAN Hispanic Omnibus for marketers to better understand the influential U.S. Hispanic market. • Implementation of marketing automation solution, SalesFusion, streamlining the creation, management and analysis of campaigns and integrating with MSCRM for lead management tracking. • Launch of new global website as the foundation for all marketing and promotion. • Launch of new expert advisory services website to appeal to both clients and potential experts. • Expansion of ORCID (ORC International Development) program to the U.K. and AP, a two-year entry-level training and development program. • Seventh year of partnership on the CNN|ORC International poll. 2016 strategic goals include: • Further expansion of ORC access point knowledge management platform. • Additional offers in partnership with ENGINE Group for millennials, innovation, video viewability measurement and digital distribution.
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MARKETING NEWS | OCTOBER 2016
25 REPORT
Lieberman 22 Research Worldwide lrwonline.com
FOUNDED 1973 PARENT COUNTRY
U.S.
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$119.8 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
5.6%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$82.8 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$37.0 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
30.9%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
550
pharmaceutical, technology, consumer packaged goods, health care, retail, food service, financial and business services, automotive and many more. In 2015, LRW raised significant growth capital to drive its innovation by expanding its suite of innovations in the areas of Pragmatic Brain Science, virtual reality, social media analytics and Big Data. In 2016, LRW plans to make targeted acquisitions to strengthen its global footprint and leading-edge capabilities in the “new” market research industry, including communities and digital and social analytics. LRW is also rolling out new tools to measure emotion and other nonconscious consumer attitudes.
David Sackman
CHAIRMAN & CEO; B.A., UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES Lieberman Research Worldwide (LRW) is a full-service custom market research and data analytics company known for its unique “So what?” consulting model to help clients improve their financial performance. LRW works on a range of business issues, including strategy work, such as market segmentation and brand strategy, advertising and communications effectiveness, customer experience design and evaluation and new product development. LRW integrates survey research and data from a wide variety of sources, such as social media data, customer data and other forms of Big Data in its engagements. LRW’s marketing science team has a vast tool chest of modeling and analytical techniques and is expert at innovating and adapting technique to generate better insights for its clients. LRW’s Pragmatic Brain Science Institute combines traditional research techniques with cutting-edge approaches (rooted in social and evolutionary psychology, as well as behavioral economics) to provide a holistic understanding of the consumer, why they do what they do, and what companies can do about it. These Pragmatic Brain Science approaches are scalable and grounded in extensive academic research. Through its regional offices and its network of more than 100 affiliate companies, LRW conducts research in more than 80 countries worldwide in 66 languages. LRW serves a wide range of industries, including entertainment,
23
Rentrak rentrak.com
FOUNDED 1977 PARENT COUNTRY
U.S.
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$116.3 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
26.1%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$98.8 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$17.5 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
15.0%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
575
William L. Livek VICE CHAIRMAN & PRESIDENT; B.S., SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
2015 Acquisitions: • SponsorHub, a social media measurement platform for the sports and entertainment industry. Rentrak precisely measures movies and TV everywhere. Movies Everywhere services include: • Box Office Essentials reports on how many people go to the movies and how much they spend in virtually every theater in North America, all in real time. • International Box Office Essentials delivers worldwide box office results from more than 125,000 screens in more than 25,000 theaters in 64 countries.
• PreAct measures the health of a marketing campaign up to a year in advance of a movie’s release. • PostTrak reports audience demographics and the aspects of each title that trigger interest and attendance. • Rentrak Swift is an electronic box office reporting system that facilitates an efficient flow of reconciled theater-level ticket transactions, allowing for faster invoicing and receipt of payment to studios. Rentrak’s TV Everywhere services combine television viewing with consumer behavior information to provide the most precise understanding of the total television audience—from the programs viewers watch, to the cars in their garage, to the way they vote, to the products in their pantry. TV Everywhere services include: • TV Essentials provides U.S. television measurement from more than 37 million screens and approximately 17 million households.
• StationView Essentials measures television viewing in every U.S. local market. • OnDemand Essentials measures video-on-demand (VOD) viewing from 120 million TVs in the U.S. and Canada. • Digital Download Essentials measures viewing of purchased and rented movie and television content, downloaded or streamed via the internet. • Multiscreen Essentials reports live and time-shifted viewing from television and VOD in a single, total audience measurement system. • Branded Entertainment quantifies and evaluates the impact of brand integration in movies and TV content on consumers.
rental (Home Video Essentials) and retail (Retail Essentials), sales activity and provide reporting for content providers. In February 2016, Rentrak completed its merger with comScore.
Other services include: Rentrak Rubik, Rentrak Social, Digital Download Essentials Industry, Dynamic Studio Share, Internet TV Essentials, Mobile OnDemand Essentials and VOD Monitor. Rentrak’s Home Entertainment services report consumer DVD and Blu-ray disc
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THE 2016 AMA GOLD GLOBAL TOP
24
25 REPORT
Médiamétrie * *** mediametrie.com
FOUNDED
1985
PARENT COUNTRY FRANCE 2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$104.9 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
-11.7%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$94.3 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$10.6 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
10.1%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES 641
Bruno Chetaille
CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR; M.B.A., HEC PARIS Médiamétrie is a media research company owned by French radio and TV media, advertisers and their advertising agencies. Médiamétrie provides audience measurement services in France— including TV, radio, cinema, internet and mobile—where the company observes, measures and analyzes audience behaviors and market trends. Médiamétrie also provides consulting and engineering services in all audience measurement fields, automatic or by interviews, either on methodology features or on technology to measure TV, interactive services, radio and bill-posting audiences, as well as services to trace audio-visual content. The firm offers its services to all international audio-visual markets. Médiamétrie’s independence is guaranteed by the presence of all professional parties, in all its decisionmaking processes and in its stake-holding, including the media, advertisers and agencies, without any of them having a majority holding to take a decision alone. Bringing together representatives of radio, TV, advertisers, advertising agencies and media brokers in the same body contributes to the success of the firm and to the development of essential, highperformance research tools. These are used to measure the emergence of new stations and broadcasters as well as the development of market leaders. Médiamétrie subsidiaries include: • Médiamétrie/NetRatings, a subsidiary of Médiamétrie and Nielsen, provides audience results for the internet and video in France and permits online
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MARKETING NEWS | OCTOBER 2016
effectiveness measurement, combining statements from surfers with their |web usage. • MarketingScan, created in 1993 with GFK AG, provides experience in three areas: tests under real conditions, measuring the effectiveness of advertising and promotions on sales and shopper analysis. • Digitime, created by Médiamétrie and the Netgem group, is a digital TV usage measurement activity that provides information about households that have digital decoders, particularly Netgem terminals. * Some or all figures are not made available by this company so instead are based upon estimation by the Report authors. *** 2015 currency exchange rate from euros to U.S. dollars decreased percent growth rate.
25
Cello Health * cellohealth.com
FOUNDED 2004 PARENT COUNTRY
U.K.
2015 GLOBAL REVENUE
$97.2 MILLION
PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2014
1.7%
2015 HOME COUNTRY REVENUE
$56.4 MILLION
2015 REVENUE FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
$40.8 MILLION
PERCENT FROM OUTSIDE HOME COUNTRY
42.0%
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES
400
Stephen Highley GROUP COO
ello Health is one of the two operating C segments of the Cello Group, a health care and consumer strategic marketing company. Cello Health combines its core capabilities of insight, consulting and communications to provide health care and pharmaceutical clients with comprehensive services that address the requirements of each project. Cello Health Insight is a global marketing research company, providing business intelligence to the health care and pharmaceutical sectors. Cello Health Insight specializes in getting to the heart
of our clients’ questions using a large pool of creative and academic resources and providing design of materials and deliverables through a hand-picked project team selected to best meet the needs of each individual project. Cello Health Consulting is the strategic consulting arm of Cello Health, focused on delivering business results by unlocking the potential within organizations, people, assets and brands. Cello Health Consulting works alongside clients to create practical solutions which ensure buy-in and build relationships. Cello Health Consulting focuses on four key practices: brand and portfolio strategy, business sciences, early product commercialization and organizational excellence. Cello Health Communications combines science, strategy and creativity to unlock the potential of brands and assets. It focuses on Evidence2Engagement, building a foundational evidence base and translating that into outcome-focused behavior change; and it focuses on how data and other insights are applied in a strategic framework to support clinical and commercial success. Cello Health Communications services underpin differentiated positioning and deliver brand optimization, focusing on multiple areas of development and launch through to commercial maturity. In May 2014, Cello Health acquired iS Healthcare Dynamics Limited (“iS”), a health care communications agency, specializing in medical communication services to the U.K. and European and global health care clients. In December 2014, Cello Health acquired Promedica, a San Francisco-based, full-service market research consulting firm, specializing in new product planning for life science companies. * Some or all figures are not made available by this company so instead are based upon estimation by the Report authors.
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Marketing Research Company Profiles Find leading marketing research companies on the following pages who offer the knowledge, latest technology and tools to turn your marketing vision into reality. (Companies are listed in alphabetical order. The information in each listing was provided by the advertiser.)
Geographic Index to the Marketing Research Company Profiles United States New York SIS International Research
Princeton, NJ OCR International
London SIS International Research
Milwaukee, WI Market Probe
Cincinnati, OH The Burke Institute
Frankfurt SIS International Research
Houston (Stafford), TX Creative Consumer Research
Athens, Georgia University of Georgia | MRII
Shanghai SIS International Research
Farmington Hills, MI Morpace Inc. Market Research and Consulting
Ann Arbor, Michigan University of Georgia | MRII
Manila SIS International Research
White Plains, NY B2B International
Seoul SIS International Research
New York, NY Radius Global Market Research
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Washington Metro Area EurekaFacts, LLC.
NOTE: The following information was supplied by dispaly advertisers in this issue to provide readers with additional details about their companies. All of these Profiles are paid advertisements.
B2B International
Location: White Plains, New York Contact: Julia Cupman – VP / Director Email: newyork@b2binternational.com Phone: 914-761-1909 Web: http://www.b2binternationalusa.com B2B International is the largest business-to-business market research company with offices across North America, Europe and Asia. Research services include branding, customer loyalty, needs assessment, product development, pricing, advertising / communications, market sizing and market entry. B2B International counts 600 of the world’s largest 1,500 companies among its client base. The company serves a wide range of sectors including manufacturing, construction, chemicals, IT/technology, financial and professional services, healthcare, and education, among others.
MARKETING RESEARCH
Creative Consumer Research
Location: Houston (Stafford), TX Contact: Patricia Pratt, President Email: ppratt@ccrsurveys.com Phone: 281-240-9646 Web: http://www.ccrsurveys.com Complete field service covering all of Texas. Large conference-style focus group rooms; one-way mirrors; large client viewing spaces. Taste tests, telephone interviewing, executive surveys, mall intercepts, door-todoor interviewing, in store intercepts, mystery shops, store audits. Computer capabilities available. Bilingual interviewing, moderators, translators available. Large rooms for oversized equipment and 100+ respondents. Expert recruiting for low incidence projects. Nationwide recruiting and telephone interviewing capabilities.
EurekaFacts, LLC.
Burke Inc. Location: Cincinnati, OH Contact: Tara Marotti, SVP & Head of Client Services Phone: 800-688-2674 Fax: 513-684-7500 Email: info@burke.com Web: http://www.burke.com Founded in 1931, Burke is an independent, full-service marketing research and decision support company. Burke capitalizes on its state-of-the-art research execution, advanced analytical techniques and leading-edge technology to provide decision support solutions to companies across all major industry sectors. Burke, Inc. also includes Seed Strategy, one of the country’s fastest-growing innovation firms, and the Burke Institute, the industry leader in marketing research and consumer insights education.
Location: Washington Metropolitan Area Contact: Patricia Omaña – Business Development Manager Email: omanap@eurekafacts.com Phone: 240-403-4800 Ext. 268 Web: http://www.eurekafacts.com A state-of-the-art qualitative research facility with full service research and analysis firm that delivers high quality insights for Smart Research Solutions. Facility and Field Management Fully-equipped focus group facilities • One-on-one interview rooms • Cognitive/usability labs • Product/ computer testing room • Latest digital technology
| 2016profiles
language translation • ExpressQual • Membership Matters • Segmentos • Millennial Panel • PIMS Certified to ISO 20252, the international standard for market, opinion, and social research.
Market Probe Location: Milwaukee, WI Contact: Bonnie Lockwood Phone: 414-778-6000 Email: info@marketprobe.com Web: http://www.marketprobe.com Market Probe specializes in technology enabled business solutions that deliver Voice of Market Feedback to improve business operations. Market Probe designs enterprise feedback systems by integrating our technology solutions to configure program deliverables around client requirements. Our Voice of Market approach includes the latest multichannel customer experience management solutions, with a strong focus on feedback systems designed to the needs of front line managers and channel partners in Business to Business programs. Every customer experiences a progression of stages in their product ownership: conversion, onboarding, compliance, expectations, disconnect and relationship. Loyalty and advocacy have to be earned by a brand by providing good experiences to customers across their product ownership. Market Probe offers six product solutions, covering the stages, which can be used by front line managers that are responsiblefor performance at each stage. Our products connect with their customers, helping them to improve the experience and build advocacy.
Qualitative and Quantitative and Services Recruitment of hard to reach audiences nationwide • Data collection • Segmentation • Market characterization • Marketing optimization • Usercenter designs for products or services • Advanced analytics • Content analysis • Organizational assessment • Geographic Information System (GIS) • Group discussions/ focus groups • Intercepts • Foreign OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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2016profiles |
MARKETING RESEARCH
NOTE: The following information was supplied by dispaly advertisers in this issue to provide readers with additional details about their companies. All of these Profiles are paid advertisements.
proprietary solutions in three core areas: brand and communications; market and product development; and customer experience management including satisfaction, loyalty and retention.
University of Georgia | MRII
Location: Athens, Georgia Ann Arbor, Michigan Contact: Pam Bracken Email: Pam.Bracken@ georgiacenter.uga.edu Web: http://www.marketresearchcourses.org The University of Georgia offers three online certificate courses designed to teach the market research core body of knowledge—the basic skills you need to design, execute, and report on a market research project from beginning to end. Over 8000 practitioners in 104 countries have enrolled in the Principles of Market Research or the Principles of Pharmaceutical Market Research. The Principles of Mobile Marketing Research is new self-paced course that explores emerging mobile techniques and their application in market research. All courses are updated regularly to reflect the newest methods and approaches. AMA is aproud supporter of the Principles programs
Morpace Inc. Market Research and Consulting Location: 31700 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 Phone: 248-737-5300 Fax: 248-737-5326 Contact: Duncan Lawrence, CEO & President Email: information@morpace.com WEb: www.morpace.com Morpace is a fully integrated global market research and consulting organization that specializes in custom qualitative and quantitative research. Named the 2014 CASRO Research Organization of the Year, Morpace has expertise in industries including automotive, financial services, healthcare, retail and consumer goods, and technology. Morpace delivers expertise and
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Established in 1975, Morpace is one of the fastest growing marketing research firms in the United States. Morpace is headquartered in Detroit with fullservice offices in Los Angeles, London and Shanghai.
delivering a compelling customer proposition that drives business performance. Our global brandbuilding experience is both deep and wide spanning all geographies and industries. We partner with Fortune 500 companies and other industry leaders that seek answers to meaningfully affect business results. The real core of Radius is the intellectual capital of our people who take every project from inceptionthrough to deliverables, looking at each stage to optimize the client experience and the power of our research’s impact.
OCR International
Location: 902 Carnegie Center Suite 220, Princeton, NJ 08540 Contact: Email: answers@ORCInternational.com Phone: 800-444-4672 Web: www.ORCInternational.com At ORC International, we understand that our clients’ ambition is to be personally relevant and trusted. At every step of their value journey, we aim to provide evidence-based, relevant and connected insights that drive growth and smart decision making. By combining quality data, smart synthesis and a best-in-class digital platform, we enable clients with purposeful insights built to support the most critical areas of their business. ORC International is part of Engine Group and has 16 offices worldwide.
SIS International Research
Locations: New York | London | Frankfurt | Shanghai | Manila | Seoul Email: mstanat@ sisinternational.com Web: www.sisinternational.com SIS International Research is a leading full-service market research and market intelligence firm, established in 1984. We conduct fieldwork, data collection, recruiting, strategic market intelligence and global growth marketing consulting solutions. Our coverage is global, including nationwide US, Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Our key regional offices include New York, Los Angeles, London, Frankfurt, Shanghai, Seoul and Manila. Our research solutions include Consumer & B2B research, Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty research, Product & Packaging testing, Car Clinics, Healthcare research and Branding insights.
Radius Global Market Research
Location: New York, NY Contact: Chip Lister Email: clister@radius-global.com Web: http://www.radius-global.com Radius Global Market Research is one of the largest independent market research companies in the world. We are singleminded in our focus: to grow your brand by strategically optimizing its offerings, identifying differentiating innovations in the marketplace, and
Our qualitative services include Focus Groups, Interviews, Ethnography, Home Visits and Usability tests. Our quantitative services include CATI Telephone Interviews, Intercepts, Central Location Testing and Online Surveys. Our strategy unit provides market intelligence solutions including market opportunity & entry research, competitive analysis and Go-To-Market research. SIS also operates a stateof-the-art focus group facility in New York City.
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The Out-of-Sight (Out-of-Mind)
Female Boomer The stats show the female boomer has the money and time to spend, but she’s invisible to advertisers. With a little myth-busting and fact-checking, marketers could tap into this booming gold mine. By Sarah Steimer
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“Do you not see me? Do I not exist? Do you think it’s alright to ignore us?” yells Grace Hanson, the retired cosmetics mogul played by Jane Fonda on “Grace and Frankie,” a Netflix comedy about two women navigating new challenges later in life. A cashier and others at a grocery store are ignoring Grace and Frankie Bergstein, played by Lily Tomlin. Grace apologizes to Frankie for her outburst, but asserts: “I refuse to be irrelevant.” “We are 100% invisible to marketers. That’s pretty easy to establish,” says Marti Barletta, author of Marketing to Women and PrimeTime Women: How to Win the Hearts, Minds, and Business of Boomer Big Spenders. “You only have to look at what’s online, what’s on television, what’s on radio. We are such a pop-culture country and in this country—in every country, I think—pop culture is defined by the young because it’s about novelty and it’s about what’s different and what’s exciting.” Girlpower Marketing released a report in 2013 titled “Boomer Women: The Invisible Goldmine.” Surveying 200 female boomers, the report found that 53% felt overlooked by product advertising and marketing because of their age. The survey also found that 68.3% of respondents felt advertisers never or very rarely target their age group on a regular basis, while 31.7% said advertisers sometimes target their age group. No one in the group said they were targeted by advertisers often or almost always. Between experts and boomer women themselves, there is little debate that this demographic is not a main focus for marketers, despite its size and spending power. Baby boomers are those born between 1946 and 1964, making them 52 to 70 years old, and the U.S. Census Bureau puts their population at an estimated 74.1 million in the U.S. The estimated number of female boomers is 38.44 million. According to a 2012 Nielsen study, “Introducing Boomers: Marketing’s Most Valuable Generation,” boomers will control 70% of the country’s disposable income by 2017. Boomers made up almost $230 billion in sales for consumer packaged goods in 2012, 49% of total sales. In addition to their existing funds, baby boomers are set to inherit $15 trillion over
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the next 20 years. Add to this the fact that women drive 70% to 80% of all consumer purchasing, and it’s pretty clear who spends the most. Despite these figures, Nielsen estimates that less than 5% of advertising dollars are targeted to adults aged 35 to 64. According to the report, “Typically, once a group of consumers reaches the so-called ‘cut-off’ age of 49, marketers ‘go back to go,’” the report says. “Most of the female baby boomers feel as if marketers don’t really understand them, and they’re not making a really strong, concerted effort to speak to them as an individual,” says Dave Austin, managing director of marketing agency Influent50, a division of AARP Services. Austin puts the portion of advertising dollars targeted to those 50 years and older at a marginally more encouraging 8%. “It’s slowly changing, but honestly we see both ends of the spectrum.” The demographic of female baby boomers is itself a wide spectrum. An age range of 52 to 70 encompasses varying degrees of education, for example. The younger end of the range may be computer-savvy, while the older end is less compelled by digital outreach. For example, a MarketingSherpa Consumer Purchase Preference Survey found only 6% of women 65 years and older learn about new products from friends’ and family’s social media accounts, and 9% learn about new products from blog posts or other digital content from magazines and newspapers. The survey didn’t offer information on those between the ages of 35 and 65, but the Nielsen report suggests younger boomers must be using the web: the 50-plus segment spends almost $7 billion online. The internet is also boomers’ primary source of intelligence when comparison shopping for major purchases. “We consider them to be at the forefront of using technology for both information-gathering and shopping,” Austin says. “There’s this misnomer that boomers are not technology- or digital-savvy, which is just not true. They’re one of the first generations to use technology in every portion of their life, whether that
be looking for their retirement plan, helping a child find something for school or helping their parents manage through retirement and older age.” This age range also includes a variety of caretakers: some are still caring for their own children, some have welcomed adult children back home and others are caring for their parents. Women of this generation are often amid a “mom-to-me” shift, the transition between caring for children and focusing on herself, which changes spending habits. “There are major changes in lifestyle that happen when you don’t have to devote all of your resources to the kids,” Barletta says, speaking on buying for the family’s needs versus buying for her own wants. “Now you can devote the resources to yourself again.” While the female boomer may be defined by her age, the group includes variations in education, family management and economic status, to name only a few. They may also be better consumers than their male counterparts. “Not hit as hard during the recession as men, boomer women in particular are reaching their peak career goals and earning potential in their 50s and 60s,” Girlpower Marketing CEO Linda Landers says. “Those that do retire often don’t stop working. Instead, they start their own consultancies or other businesses.”
MARKETING MISSTEPS Statistically, it would appear that baby boomers are an obvious group at which to target marketing efforts, but there would be one major hurdle to that: the 18-to-34-
year-old demographic. This group, currently populated by the millennial generation, is the long-desired consumer. The only (rather major) problem is that they don’t have the spending cash. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows for the second quarter of 2016 that of the 4.995 million men in the workforce ages 20 to 24, the median weekly earning is $516. Of the 15.59 million men in the workforce ages 25 to 34, the median weekly earning is $791. In comparison, of the 8.66 million women in the workforce ages 55 to 64, the median weekly earning is $795. Of the 1.72 million women in the workforce ages 65 and older, the median weekly earning is $736. On average, boomer women are making more than millennial men. This isn’t counting student loans, as The College Investor estimates the average millennial is saddled with loans valuing $30,000. Plus, according to Landers, women older than 50 control an overall net worth of $19 trillion. Despite these figures, the marketing focus remains on the younger generation. “I agree that 18 to 34 is still the celebrated demographic,” says Denise Fedewa, Leo Burnett’s executive vice president and strategy director. “There’s both ageism in our culture and ageism in our profession of marketing. But some of it’s not even malicious ageism. Some of it is just, ‘I want my brand to feel young and modern and youthful, and the only way to do that is to be targeting it to the young and modern and youthful.’ But that’s simplistic thinking.”
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Barletta echoes this, saying the focus on this younger demographic has blinded marketers to the fact that those actually making the most purchases are 50 and older. She gives the example of a recent campaign by a luxury hotel chain that featured a millennial male. The likelihood of someone his age being able to afford such a stay could be disputed, but she wonders whether marketers fear that showing a boomer means a millennial won’t be interested. “You market your product,” Barletta says. “You don’t market to the age group. Somehow people are convinced that if you’re going to market to somebody who’s 50 years old you have to say something about being 50 years old or older. They seem to believe that once you’re 50, you live behind a wall, and you’re completely different from other people in what you want from [products and services].” The conversations about boomer women within agencies also may not be happening because women aren’t always there. Only 11% of creative directors in the U.S. are women, according to The 3% Conference, so named for the number of female creative directors when the conference was launched in 2010. “We could see more women in positions of authority in some of these creative industries and that would probably help,” Fedewa says. “The female point of view is getting into the work, in terms of talking to boomer women, but that ageism is as big an issue as scarcity of female creative directors.”
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THE MYTHS OF THE BOOMER WOMAN For a marketer to begin to understand the female boomer audience, certain misconceptions must be corrected. For instance: that she’ll use the same brand of detergent she started using at age 28. Barletta says there is a myth of brand loyalty surrounding female boomers, which may have been concocted when the market only consisted of a handful of brands. She says brand proliferation has completely changed the marketplace since the tenet of marketing established that once a brand snags a young customer, she is theirs for life. “We do an annual study on marketing trends and the thoughts and feelings of boomers in general,” Austin says. “Well over 80% of respondents said they’re willing to try a new brand or new experience, and not just based on price.” He says his research suggests that more than 70% are willing to try a new brand, particularly if there’s greater value. “And by value, it’s not just a discount,” he says. “They’re willing to try a new brand if there’s better customer service, as opposed to a better price.” Leading to the second myth: boomers are saving for retirement and are not looking to spend their money. “That’s another thing that marketers miss,” Barletta says. “They assume that people in their 50s and 60s, why would they buy anything? They have a house, they have furniture, why would they buy anything? Because it’s our turn now, not the kids’.”
Austin explains that there is a perception that boomers are so-called “early bird specials shoppers,” looking for a deal and not out to spend. “That’s not the case. They’ve worked all their lives to save this money and to spend this money, and they’re looking for new experiences. They’ve lived their past 20 to 30 years raising their families, and now they’ve got—the empty-nesters in particular—time and the dollars to spend, and they’re looking for something new in their lives.” As Barletta notes, the new purchases baby boomers make are often those items they “really” want, now that one of their prime roles is no longer caregiving. Perhaps they are looking to get rid of the minivan and purchase a sportier car, buy nicer furniture to update the house or purchase a new tech device. One of the most common misconceptions of female baby boomers, or any boomer, is that they are the grandparents of yesteryear, wearing cardigans and sitting in rocking chairs as (literally and figuratively) the
Women drive 70% to 80% of all consumer purchasing. Despite these figures, Nielsen estimates that less than 5% of advertising dollars are targeted to adults aged 35 to 64. According to the report, “Once a group of consumers reaches the so-called ‘cut-off’ age of 49, marketers ‘go back to go.’”
TRAVEL—Baby boomers have the time and the money to
roam—plus most no longer have children begging, “Are we there yet?” According to AARP’s 2016 travel trends, 99% of its boomer survey respondents said they plan to travel this year. “I think the travel industry has recognized that the boomers really are their sweet spot,” says Influent50’s Dave Austin. “Eighty percent of all luxury travel is taken by [people 50 years and older], so they really cater to communicating to this crowd.” AARP’s travel website, which helps users book their trips, includes articles for solo female travelers, suggested “girlfriend getaways” and other female boomerspecific travel recommendations. Travel company VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations doesn’t specify that it markets to boomers on its website, but the photos clearly indicate their active demographic. VBT’s Gregg Marston told The Huffington Post that the company’s average traveler is 64 years old.
KITCHENWARE—Many baby boomers have voiced their interest in remaining in their own homes as they age. Kitchen companies are taking note of this via smart products—which are also cool to younger consumers—and universal design. By definition, universal design means products or places are inherently accessible to older people, as well as people with disabilities. The International Home + Housewares Show, held in March in Chicago, included a seminar called “Aging in Place” and a variety of universal design products. On the forefront of this trend is the OXO Good Grips brand, which was created by Sam Farber when he noticed his wife was having trouble comfortably holding her peeler due to arthritis. PHARMACEUTICALS—“Pharmaceuticals know where
their sweet spot is. They really cater to that crowd,” Austin says. “Some of their advertising really does a nice job of showing a true boomer-whether that be a male or female—in their real life.” Leo Burnett’s Denise Fedewa says the advertising for Pfizer’s Premarin vaginal cream is particularly authentic. “We’re not showing them as super women climbing the face of a rock and we’re not showing them as women who are sitting alone in their house with cats. We’re showing them as vibrant women participating in life—and isn’t that wonderful?”
COSMETICS & SKIN CARE—Before boomer women turned 50, only 31% of beauty-product use came from women 50 and older. As of 2013, that number increased to 44%, according to GfK MRI statistics. Dove caught a lot of attention (both positive and negative) for its 2007 Pro-Age Campaign featuring nude (yet covered) women in their 50s and 60s. More recently, L’Oreal signed 66-year-old Twiggy and 71-year-old Helen Mirren as brand ambassadors. FASHION—Perhaps the most surprising industry on the list,
the fashion world has begun to circle back to many of the women who first inspired it decades earlier. A 66-year-old Sissy Spacek is featured in Marc Jacobs’ fall 2016 campaign, joining other boomer women who have represented Jacobs, such as Cher, Bette Midler and Jessica Lange. New York Magazine’s spring 2015 fashion issue featured 71-year-old boomer icon Joni Mitchell. Even brands that are considered almost exclusively aimed at the millennial market are getting in on the game: H&M featured 60-year-old model and stylist Gillean McLeod for its 2016 swimsuit campaign.
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sun sets. “When boomer women were growing up, women in their 50s were very different than women in their 50s are now,” Barletta says. But marketers haven’t reset their templates for what these women look like. There are plenty of examples of female boomers that marketers can look to, including comedienne Ellen DeGeneres, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and entertainer Madonna. In some cases, advertisers go in the opposite direction from showing female boomers as far older than they are, instead portraying them much younger. They sometimes show them engaged in extreme sports and other high-energy activities. Both types of imagery wind up being incompatible with how many boomers see themselves, says Fedewa. “It’s like they’re either showing them as a feeble person who’s no longer relevant, or you’re showing them as this uber-inshape person who can do what a 25-year-old can do,” she says. “That’s not relevant, and that doesn’t resonate with people, either. Those are some of the clichés we need to overcome.”
Where to Market to Boomer Women
REDISCOVERING A FAVORITE CONSUMER For many years, advertisers were enamored with female boomers. Crisco sought teenage boomer girls in the 1960s to convince their mothers to use Crisco cooking oil. In the 1970s, Ivory suggested young boomer women could keep their skin looking soft with the company’s dishwashing liquid. The generation learned not to leave home without their American Express in the 1980s. “Today’s 50-plus females are the healthiest, wealthiest, most active and influential generation of women in history,” Landers says. “Unlike the generation before them, they wield unprecedented buying power and influence. But with that buying power, they expect the same level of attention from advertisers and marketers that they grew accustomed to in their youth, but are no longer getting. And that’s why 91% of women say they feel marketers don’t understand them.” In addition to boomer women’s spending power, this group also holds an enormous opportunity
According to the Pew Research Center, 38% of daily newspaper readers are ages 55 to 64, while 50% are older than 65. People 50 years and older watch the most television, Nielsen reports. Many of the top 20 magazines in the U.S., according to May data from Statista, have significant female boomer audiences: People: (No. 2 with a reach of 77.5 million people) 73% of the audience are women, and 32% of the audience are baby boomers. Better Homes & Gardens: (No. 6 with a reach of 48.12 million) 81% of its readers are women, median age is 51.5. Time: (No. 7 with a reach of 45.52 million) 48% of its readers are women, median age is 50. AARP: (No. 8 with a reach of 44.78 million) AARP breaks down its readers by age bracket, but 59% of its 50-to-69-year-old audience is women.
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Good Housekeeping: (No. 13 with a reach of 30.2 million) 88.3% of readers are women, median age is 57.4. Country Living: (No. 15 with a reach of 27.14 million) 77% of readers are women, median age is 54.4. Reader’s Digest: (No. 16 with a reach of 25.01 million) 63% of readers are women, median age is 57. Bon Appetit/Epicurious: (No. 17 with a reach of 24.3 million) 74.6% of Bon Appetit readers are women, median age is 50.94. Woman’s Day: (No. 19 with a reach of 22.26 million) 96% of readers are women, median age is 56.6.
“There is a constant attempt by marketers to say their marketing efforts for the 18- to 34-year-old is going to hit the boomer, which just isn’t true,” Austin says. “They need to see themselves in the advertising, and they need to be spoken to directly.” for marketers across categories such as luxury goods, consumer technology and financial services, Landers says. The trick is knowing how, exactly, to speak to the audience. “There is a constant attempt by marketers to say their marketing efforts for the 18- to 34-year-old is going to hit the boomer, which just isn’t true,” Austin says. “They need to see themselves in the advertising, and they need to be spoken to directly.” Landers says boomers see themselves as a decade or more younger than they actually are, so she cautions against referring to them as golden, mature or senior. She recommends using the appropriate imagery, which means showing boomer women pursuing their own interests, not just appearing as part of a couple. Landers adds that marketers looking to target women should be authentic, relevant and transparent. She also recommends using a boomer woman’s peers. “Peer influencers have a much greater impact than young celebrities,” she says. Girlpower Marketing offered an example in its report on the power of speaking directly to boomer women. The Dove “Campaign for Real Beauty,” launched by Unilever in 2004, featured women of all shapes, ages and races. Within the first two months of the campaign’s launch, product sales rose 600% in the U.S. Conversely, there may be ways to reach the female boomer without specifically naming her or featuring her image. Fedewa ran LeoShe, a Leo Burnett effort that focused on marketing to women 45 years and older. The study found that women took pride in their wisdom, experience and in feeling good about their current phase in life.
“Yes, it would be nice for society and culture to acknowledge boomers a little more, show them a little more inclusively, to include them in visuals and so on,” she says. “But there are also certain universal insights, certain formative times in your life, that people have. They continue to be able to relate to those experiences for the rest of their lives. I don’t want to say the only way to appeal to boomers is to show boomers or to portray insights about boomers, because sometimes it’s just human experience insights that will resonate with them, too.” Landers explains it by way of the strong right-brain connections women have. This, she says, is the home of emotional memory, intuition and experience, so marketers should tell boomer women a story and explain why the brand is relevant to them. These women know who they are and what they want, and they do not appear interested in letting marketers define their demographic for them. A common theme of AARP is to disrupt aging. As Austin explains it, this is particularly about disrupting the perception of what it means to age. “Get rid of the stereotypes,” Austin says. “There is some advertising out there that puts boomers and women in such a negative light that it’s going to actually hurt their brand and acquisition efforts.” Fedewa says much of her work at Leo Burnett has considered the voice of the female consumer and the older consumer, and she also espouses the idea of changing the story. “We feel really energized by this opportunity to change the conversation,” she says. “We have almost taken it on as a mission for ourselves.”m
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knowledgebase
POLITICAL MARKETING
10 Minutes with
Bruce Newman Marketing has revolutionized politics. An expert discusses how it’s affecting November’s election. BY HAL CONICK | STAFF WRITER
hconick@ama.org
T
he paradigm has shifted in U.S. politics. Out-of-nowhere candidates— such as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic-socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders—have grown less from the political canon and more from the will of the people. Marketing has been at the heart of this shift, according to Bruce Newman, professor of marketing and a Wicklander Fellow in business ethics at the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University in Chicago. In Newman’s latest book, The Marketing Revolution in Politics, he writes that President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns changed how politicians use marketing. Obama’s campaigns used the latest in marketing technology, Newman says, including microtargeting, social media and Big Data, which he calls the “strategic triad.” Newman’s book juxtaposes how these forms have worked in for-profit, nonprofit and political sectors. The use of marketing in politics has been considered outdated for years, Newman says, but the Obama campaigns flipped that concept. Newman says a “shift that took place in ‘08 and ‘12 was so sophisticated that now the for-profit and the nonprofit sectors have a lot to learn from what we’ve been doing in politics.” Marketing News spoke with Newman about the “marketing revolution” in politics, how marketers are using the marketing tactics of politicians and what to expect in future elections.
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knowledgebase
POLITICAL MARKETING
Q
Can you explain what the “Obama Method” is and why it worked so well in his 2008 and 2012 campaigns?
As opposed to Karl Rove saying, “We need 3 million A new voters to register,” the Obama people said, “We need these specifically targeted voters in these particular Q areas of the country, and in order to do that we have to use microtargeted messages to get through to them.” A
Essentially, what he did was use technological skills to go through every step any company would go through, which I refer to as a “lesson.” Each lesson represents a different chapter in [my] book, beginning with identifying the marketing concept, using the research strategically, creating a unique brand identity, coming up with a winning advertising strategy, developing a relationship with your customer and being able to act in a crisis. How far forward did the Obama campaigns in ‘08 and ‘12 push these marketing techniques? I recall George W. Bush’s chief campiagn strategist Karl Rove was lauded for his use of data during the 2000 and 2004 campaigns. What’s the difference?
What Karl Rove did in 2000 and 2004 with Bush was use numbers and mathematics to determine what it was they had to do to win in the general election. I can tell you from personal experience, as I was in Mexico City in 2004 and [Bush’s 2004 campaign chief strategist] Matthew Dowd was one of several speakers invited to speak to about 300 politicians. What was very interesting was that as I sat and listened to his keynote speech—I had never heard about this in the media in the U.S.—he said they realized after they won in 2000 that in order to win in 2004 they needed 3 million new voters. The way they did that was to go to the evangelical leaders across the country in the churches. They requested that each evangelical religious leader enroll 10, 20, 30 people from their church to register to vote. Sure enough, Karl Rove was very clever; they did in fact win in 2004 by exactly 3 million votes. They also made the point that after they won in 2000, it didn’t
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POLITICAL MARKETING
matter who the opponent was. As long as they could get the extra 3 million votes, they could do it. Karl Rove used numbers and mathematics to come up with a quantitative orientation to the campaign. What changed in 2008 was Obama realized that it wasn’t necessarily important to win the popular vote by a certain number of votes, but his people knew he had to win in the Electoral College vote. If you go back to 2012, for example, Obama won the popular vote by about a 3% margin, but he won the Electoral College vote by a 30% margin. … How did that happen? It happened because they used microtargeting and Big Data to send selected targeted messages the way we do in the marketing of any product or any service. They carefully targeted those voting blocs around the country that they knew were on the fence. All they had to do was win those people over to win [the election]. As opposed to Karl Rove saying, “We need 3 million new voters to register,” the Obama people said, “We need these specifically targeted voters in these particular areas of the country, and in order to do that we have to use microtargeted messages to get through to them.” The other difference was fundraising. The Obama campaign used very sophisticated experimentation to determine how to go about sending e-mail messages for fundraising. For example, they would send out [thousands of] e-mails with different words in the subject line in order to perfect exactly which wording brought about the most funds.
Q
Have you seen anything in this year’s campaign that has taken the Obama Method and run with it? I’ve read that Ted Cruz’s campaign used microtargeting in the primaries.
A
What Ted Cruz did, which was an anomaly on the Republican side, is he merged Big Data with personal data. What Cruz would do is have
anyone who came to his rallies provide their personal Facebook accounts. [The campaign] would take that information and they would merge the personal Facebook accounts with the Big Data information they had. They then sent messages to each person who came to the rally and to all of their friends who were on their Facebook accounts, magnifying geometrically the number of people they were able to target. Another big change we saw—and this is how the title of the book reflects what’s happening now—is the ability of the candidate to go directly to the voter in no different way than Amazon
knowledgebase
has gone directly to the book customer and in no different way than Uber has gone directly to the person who wants transportation. This direct distribution channel, which we have seen evolve on the commercial side, has now been transplanted to the political side, and it’s allowed someone like Donald Trump to circumvent the political party apparatus and go directly to the voter and very effectively utilize tweets to drive the debate in the news. [Trump] has 12 million followers right now; Hillary [Clinton] has about 8 million. To this day and throughout the
Obama won the popular vote by about a 3% margin, but he won the Electoral College vote by a 30% margin. … It happened because they used microtargeting and Big Data to send selected targeted messages the way we do in the marketing of any product or any service. OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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POLITICAL MARKETING
Republican primary, Trump has used tweeting in a way that we didn’t see in 2008 and 2012.
Q
Is it a more personal style of tweeting?
A
It’s personal, but it also brings the message back to the entrepreneur. ... You have to have a narrative that people respond to, a narrative that creates an emotional connection with the people listening. This was the genius of the branding expertise of Donald Trump. But the interesting story from the marketing standpoint is that in marketing, you can use branding very effectively. You can use all the tools we have—which Donald Trump doesn’t rely on; he’s not relying on microtargeting, he doesn’t believe in Big Data, whereas Hillary Clinton is [and does]—and you can be the best brand or advertiser in the world, but if you want to be a good marketer, you have to have a good product. What people are realizing now is that Donald Trump was able to use
a unique brand identity to get the attention of the media and the people, to respond to a movement in the country where there are people upset with how much money they’re making and the threat of ISIS and other foreign interventions. [However,] if under the spotlight you cannot come up with answers to questions and people say, “I don’t think he really knows what he’s talking about,” suddenly all the great advertising and branding means nothing if you don’t have a good product. And that’s what’s happened to Donald Trump.
Q
Back to the Obama model, have you seen many companies or marketers use it in their own business?
A
Well, on the corporate and nonprofit side they’re not breaking down the boundaries. In the Obama campaigns, they had people sitting around a table from different departments. The strategists, the consultants, the pollsters, the advertising people, they all broke down the departmental barriers and they
all worked together. They had an open mind about bringing in new solutions to problems, they began to use advertising in a way that wasn’t used on the commercial side. What we see on the commercial side is that all of these technologies are being used, but they’re not being used in a creative way as the Obama people used them in 2008 and 2012.
Q
What’s behind that creativity? Is it the simple act of getting everyone in a room?
A
It is. It’s all about bringing people in from outside in a creative way. We as marketers have to have a much more open mind about allowing the CMO to interact with the CIO, CEO and CFO in a way that most corporations don’t. Yes, the corporate world is using it but they have not come to a point that … Obama did in his two campaigns. For example, Jet Blue Airlines is using technology so the person at the gate has information loaded in their handheld computer and they have visual capabilities of identifying their loyal customers as they walk up to get
What we do in marketing is very fascinating on the political side. What you have in a political campaign is an organization in crisis mode from day one. … [How does an organization respond to crisis?] What’s the most effective way to communicate? 70
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knowledgebase
is an organization in crisis mode from day one. … I talk about how an organization responds to crisis. What’s the most effective way to communicate? Who should you put on the television screen? How fast should you respond in crisis? Do you open yourself up and the people in your organization to the crisis? Do you raise expectation in some level that leads the public to expect too much from you? … There’s no other sector in society that’s exposed to crisis in a way a political campaign is, especially at the presidential level.
Q into the jet. They were saying, “Hello, Mr. Jones. I’m glad you’re back on our flight today.” That was being used but then people were feeling like, my God, my privacy. You can take [the technology] and use it up to a point.
Q
Does that speak to why Cruz’s campaign ultimately wasn’t successful? When you said he used campaign stops to collect Facebook pages, it struck me as something people may consider creepy.
A
He was much more advanced than his opponents during the primary, and that helped him. But his basic problem was that he wasn’t able to measure up under the microscope when he was compared to Donald Trump. Donald Trump [picked on] each one of his opponents one at a time. Unfortunately for Ted Cruz, he wasn’t tough enough and didn’t stand
up to Donald Trump. … A big part of effectiveness in marketing is matching the right message with the right messenger, something Donald Trump has had throughout the campaign. … Trump was more effective at becoming the face of the movement in no different way than Obama was the face of [his movement], bringing people of all different races and creeds together. [Obama’s] jingle, “Change We Can Believe In,” epitomized his message very effectively. Donald Trump, up to this point, has been very effective at looking like the leader who could “Make America Great Again” if you think America isn’t great. Of course Hillary Clinton is juxtaposing that messaging by saying, “What’s wrong with America? It’s been great for a long time. There’s no need to make it great again.” What we do in marketing is very fascinating on the political side. What you have in a political campaign
Trump and Sanders were out-of-nowhere candidates this year. Could this innovative use of data eventually translate to a third-party candidate picking up steam?
A
It’s going to be a couple cycles down the road, but we’re moving in a direction—in no different a way than we see in the book industry, music industry, transportation and real estate—[where] it’s becoming possible for an outside organization, a micro organization, to make an inroad into a market. You have this organization oligopoly controled by just a few corporations that did not allow for that to happen. Those barriers are being broke down in sector after sector.
Q
What do you see happening on Election Day?
A
There’s no doubt in my mind, and I’ve been forecasting this, that it’s going to be a landslide victory for Hillary Clinton … in no different a way than in the Electoral College vote that Obama won in 2008 and 2012. m
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PROFESSOR VS. PRACTITIONER
To Teach, or Not to Teach How to know when you should make the leap from practitioner to professor BY SCOTT FIENE | CONTRIBUTOR
safiene@olemiss.edu
T
he first 25 years of my career were spent in corporate marketing communications, public relations and consulting roles. It paid the bills. When I’d attend retirement receptions for coworkers who had done it for longer than I, they’d make a little speech while their spouse and adult children stood dutifully next to the cake and I’d think, yep, that’ll be me someday. But on the side, I was moonlighting. I’d started teaching college classes. I loved interacting with and getting to know the students. They’d ask challenging questions and keep me on my toes. Sometimes, they’d ask for career advice. Once in a while, I’d see a light bulb go on—a student who didn’t grasp something finally got it—and that was more fulfilling than any reward I ever got in my day job. So I began purposely steering my career in an academic direction. I taught a little more often. I served on an advisory committee for another nearby university. I also began scheduling coffee with nearly every professor I knew so that I could pick his or her brain about how to transition into teaching. Several scoffed at me for even trying, mostly because I didn’t have a Ph.D. and wasn’t trained to be an academic. Finally, in January 2012, I landed my dream job as an assistant professor and director for a new program at a major university. It’s a great fit, but it’s also been more learning and longer hours than I ever thought imaginable. I realize now that although I knew how to teach, I didn’t really know much about academia. Sometimes I still feel like a fish out of water. But the satisfaction is incredible, and making the switch was the best career move I ever made.
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I now meet many other mid-career marketing professionals who contemplate a similar transition. What follows are some things I wish I had better understood a few years ago.
Feel the Passion
First and foremost, those who want to teach should have a passion for it. It’s hard work, and it’s likely you’ll take a pay cut to do it. Once in a while, I talk to people whose motivation to teach appears to be finding a safe haven from corporate downsizings or the appeal of summers off. They’d be surprised to learn that teaching rarely offers either. If you’re not sure how you’d do, or wonder about the passion, give it a try. I’ve found it’s not too difficult for marketing professionals to land a stint teaching a college class as a part-time adjunct instructor. If you like it and do well the first semester, you can leverage the experience and try again the next.
Academic Ranks
Marketing professionals seeking to break into academic should look for these positions: Adjunct: An adjunct is someone hired to
teach for a short-term period, contracted for a semester or year. Many adjuncts teach multiple courses, frequently at multiple institutions. Adjuncts often also work outside academia.
Instructor/Lecturer: The focus of an instructor or lecturer (different title, but similar roles) is typically on teaching a full load. This is not a “tenure-track” position, so there is no expectation for research output.
Assistant Professor: This is a “tenure-
track” faculty member who teaches and is also expected to do scholarly research and publish. The tenure process usually takes five to seven years. If tenure is granted, it leads to promotion to associate and, perhaps eventually, full professorships. If tenure isn’t achieved, the job often ends. Although tenure-track positions are historically the gold standard for joining the ranks of academia, there are fewer of these positions available as institutions more heavily rely on adjuncts, instructors and lecturers. Studies show that at many
PROFESSOR VS. PRACTITIONER
schools, part-timers and instructors or lecturers—those without tenure or hope of getting it—comprise about half the faculty. Visiting Professor/Professor in Residence: The title varies, but this
is usually a nontenured position. The position may lead to a permanent appointment, but often is designed to fill short-term curriculum gaps. Clinical Professor/Professor of Practice: Primarily for professionals
with extensive skills and experience. The focus is on teaching, engagement with
the industry and perhaps professional productivity, but without the research expectations that tenured or tenuretrack roles entail.
Time Commitment
Some people think academics don’t work hard and have easy schedules. That’s a myth. I work more now than I ever did in my former jobs. I spend about nine hours per week, per course, planning, preparing lectures, answering questions outside of class, creating assignments and grading. Additionally, I spend about three hours per week teaching each class.
amacareers
Full-time adjuncts and instructors usually teach at least four courses per semester. Do the math: Eight hours (minimum) of prep plus three hours of teaching multiplied by four courses is more than a 40-hour week. Add in meetings and advising students and the workweek can easily top 50 hours. Tenure and tenure-track faculty teach fewer courses because of the need to do research and publish. Still, they are busy. A study at Boise State University last year found faculty at the assistant professor level and above work an average of 61 hours per week, with about OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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PROFESSOR VS. PRACTITIONER
No one teaches just for the money. I teach marketing communications in a school of journalism, and I’m making about half of what I made a decade ago in corporate marketing, but I’m about twice as happy. 10 of those hours typically occurring on the weekend. Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows faculty there spend about 50 to 70 hours per week teaching, supporting students and conducting research. And there’s pressure to teach even more. Proposals in several states have called for public university faculty to take on greater teaching loads. No matter the rank, academics already work long hours. “Summers off ” is misleading, too. Most teaching contracts are for nine months, meaning the paycheck stops in May and resumes in August, so some faculty teach extra courses during summer to supplement their pay. Summer is also when tenured or tenuretrack professors are expected to work on their research and writing. As I have learned, you might be off the payroll for a while but you’re rarely off the clock.
Credentials
Sometimes the people who would make excellent teachers—those who have excelled in their field, who are passionate about the prospect of giving back to their profession and who have a knack for connecting with and inspiring students— are the people who were busy climbing the ladder, not piling on an advanced degree. In fact, a U.S. News report shows not all CEOs of Fortune 500 companies even have college degrees. As a result, many people who would make great teachers are not qualified for the classroom because they don’t have enough formal education. I am proof that you don’t always need a terminal
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degree (usually that’s a Ph.D. I have a master’s) to enter the ranks of academia, although preferences vary by institution, department and even the dean. But the more education you have, the more doors will open. Without exception, a master’s degree is almost always required, even for adjunct positions. If you don’t have one, get one. It’s unlikely you’ll hit the radar of a search committee without it.
Compensation
How much money you will make depends on many things. It’s unlike public school teachers’ earnings, where there are often state-mandated starting salaries and formulas for automatic pay increases based on seniority and additional education. No one teaches just for the money. I teach marketing communications in a school of journalism, and I’m making about half of what I made a decade ago in corporate marketing, but I’m about twice as happy. Some of my students who recently graduated are interviewing for positions with pay ranges close to mine. Those who graduated just a couple of years ago may already be making more than I do now. If I taught in a school of business I would likely make more. The pay for adjunct positions is per class. Data published in 2012 by the Collation on the Academic Workforce found the median monthly pay for an adjunct teaching a 3-credit hour course ranged from about $2,235 at 2-year colleges to $3,400 at 4-year research universities. I know some schools pay more than that, but not many.
For full-time faculty, pay rises with rank. Of course it depends on the field, the institution, geography and more. But a recent report from the American Association of University Professors indicates that on average, lecturers can generally expect to make about $54,000 to $69,000 annually; assistant professors, $64,000 to $79,000; associate professors, $77,000 to $94,000; and full professors, from $102,000 to $148,000. In general, those at private schools make the most.
The Hiring Process
If you’ve never taught before, test the waters by looking for an adjunct position teaching one class. Contact the dean or a department chair at a local college and let them know of your interest. I’ve found that for adjunct positions, HR staffers don’t usually recruit, they just handle the paperwork. A full-time position will be nearly impossible to land without at least some teaching experience. If you’ve got that, and are ready to jump on board, it’s the same as hunting for any job: network. Monitor “help wanted” ads in magazines and academic trade publications. Teaching is one arena where classified advertising is still very effective. Expect a search committee of three to six individuals to screen applications, interview and make the hiring recommendation. Because multiple people are involved, the process can move slowly. Sometimes the recommendation on who to hire isn’t unanimous, so don’t start your new job assuming that everyone on your search team passionately advocated for you. Most schools begin searching in fall or winter to fill full-time positions that start the following fall, although some full-time positions do start in January. Adjuncts are needed on an ongoing basis to fill semester, summer or intersession courses, so there’s a less defined hiring cycle. Course schedules are usually planned about six months in advance, but things do fall through and instructors may be needed at the last minute. That’s why it’s good to get
to know deans and department chairs, so if they’re scrambling to hire, they will know you exist. You’ll need to provide a college transcript, even if you’ve been out of college for decades and even if it’s just for an adjunct position teaching one class. It’s not about reviewing forgotten GPAs, it’s about the verification of credentials.
Joining the Faculty
Working in academics is different from working in industry in some very significant ways. A few things I’ve learned: Governance is shared. While on an organizational chart a department chair or dean is ultimately in charge, faculty vote on most decisions: committee
service, strategic plans, courses offered and curriculum changes. Decisions are made slowly, but are well vetted. Faculty have voices. This is also the only environment I’ve ever worked in where the rank-and-file (faculty) get to vote on the hiring and retention of the bosses (the deans and other leaders). While university administration ultimately make those decisions, the voices of faculty carry weight. Politics are politics. Prior to being in academia, I’d heard horror stories. Maybe it’s because I spent more than two decades in the corporate world and saw it all, but university politics don’t seem that much different from other places I’ve worked.
Hierarchy matters. There’s more formality and hierarchy than I’ve had in my other jobs. Things like who gets to vote on what issues, what kinds of caps and regalia are worn at graduation ceremonies and how people are addressed are important. I’d make this career switch again in a heartbeat. I’m tenure-track, which means I have just a couple more years to prove myself. I hope it works. If not, my stint in academia might switch gears or be short-lived. But even if so, I’ll still know I experienced something more rewarding than I ever could have imagined when I started my professional career. And maybe I’ll have done something that made a real difference.m OCTOBER 2016 | MARKETING NEWS
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ADVERTISERS’ INDEX
Quick source for contacting the suppliers in the October 2016 issue of Marketing News.
October 2016 Advertiser Index AMA Advertising School of Marketing............. p. 72 Burke Institute......................................... inside cover Ph. 1-800-543-8635 Phone: 1-800-AMA-1150 http://www.burkeinstitute.com http://www.ama.org AMA Fall 2016 Marketing Workshop..................p. 57 CASRO.................................................................... p. 53 Ph. 1-631-928-6954 Ph. 1-617-227-8600 http://www.casro.org https://www.ama.org/fallworkshop AMA Higher Ed Conference......... inside back cover Market Probe......................................................... p. 47 Ph. 1-414-778-6000 Ph. 1-800-262-1150 http://www.marketprobe.com https://www.ama.org/highered AMA Job Board..................................................... p. 73 MetrixLab............................................................... p. 23 Ph. 1-415-957-2200 Ph. 1-800-AMA-1150 http://www.metrixlab.com http://jobs.ama.org
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AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
amacommunity
Valuing Diversity Ph.D Scholarships
A
t the 2016 Summer AMA Awards Luncheon, the AMA and the American Marketing Association Foundation (AMAF) announced the six recipients of its annual Valuing Diversity Ph.D Scholarships and named three winners of the Valuing
Valuing Diversity Ph.D Scholarships
Diversity New Faculty Research Grant. Additionally, J osé Antonio Rosa, a professor and dean’s fellow in marketing at Iowa State University, was recognized as the recipient of the Williams-Qualls-Spratlen (WQS) Multicultural Mentoring Award of Excellence.
Dominque Braxton, University of California at Irvine (secondyear doctoral student)
Dionne Nickerson, Georgia Institute of Technology (secondyear doctoral student)
Ilana Shanks, Florida State University (firstyear doctoral student)
Lez Trujillo Tores, University of Illinois at Chicago (secondyear doctoral student)
Maria Rodas, University of Minnesota, (third-year doctoral student) Valuing Diversity New Faculty Research Grant
Rebeca Perren, Assistant Professor of Marketing, California State University
Sidney Anderson, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Texas State University
Jennifer Zarzosa, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Henderson State University
Aaron Barnes, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (secondyear doctoral student)
Lez Trujillo Tores, University of Illinois at Chicago (secondyear doctoral student) William Qualls-Spratlen, Multicultural Mentoring Award For Art recipient
AMA Journal Awards
E
ach year, the editors of the AMA’s four journals present awards to authors of top papers. At the 2016 Summer AMA Awards Luncheon in Atlanta, a new cohort of award winners were honored.
Christian Homburg, Martin Schwemmle and Christina Kuehnl Journal of Marketing: May 2015 • 2015 Marketing Science Institute/ H. Paul Root Award “A Meta-Analysis of Electronic Word-ofMouth Elasticity” Ya You, Gautham G. Vadakkepatt and Amit M. Joshi Journal of Marketing: March 2015
• 2016 Sheth Foundation/ Journal of Marketing Award “Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Relationship Marketing: A Meta-Analysis” Robert W. Palmatier, Rajiv P. Dant, Dhruv Grewal and Kenneth R. Evans Journal of Marketing: October 2006
• 2015 Paul E. Green Award “A Bounded Rationality Model of Information Search and Choice in Preference Measurement” Liu (Cathy) Yang, Olivier Toubia and Martijn G. De Jong Journal of Marketing Research: April 2015
• 2015 Shelby D. Hunt/ Harold H. Maynard Award “New Product Design: Concept, Measurement, and Consequences”
• 2016 William F. O’Dell Award “From Generic to Branded: A Model of Spillover in Paid Search Advertising” Oliver J. Rutz and Randolph E. Bucklin Journal of Marketing Research: February 2011
• 2015 S. Tamer Cavusgil Award “Drivers of Local Relative to Global Brand Purchases: A Contingency Approach” Yuliya Strizhakova and Robin A. Coulter Journal of International Marketing: March 2015 • 2016 Hans B. Thorelli Award “Cosmopolitanism, Consumer Ethnocentrism, and Materialism: An Eight-Country Study of Antecedents and Outcomes” Mark Cleveland, Michel Laroche and Nicolas Papadopoulos Journal of International Marketing: March 2009 • 2016 Thomas C. Kinnear Award “Broadening the Paradigm of Marketing as Exchange: A Public Policy and Marketing Perspective” Ronald Paul Hill and Kelly D. Martin Journal of Public Policy & Marketing: Spring 2014
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EXECUTIVE INSIGHTS
TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED, and continues to change, the ways that people interact with each other, our brands and the world.
Q
The AMA says that generating and using insights to shape marketing strategy is a big problem facing marketers. As the marketing leader in your organization, what are some of the issues you see related to this topic? BACKGROUND
InsightsCentral, Inc. recently spoke with Sylvia Buxton, a strategic global marketing executive with more than 25 years of experience in fastmoving consumer goods, shepherding high-profile brands such as Mentos, Hershey’s and Airwick. Buxton’s career spans the U.S. and Canada, as well as global and regional roles. She currently leads U.S. marketing for Perfetti Van Melle, the third-largest global candy and chewing gum manufacturer.
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A
Certainly this can be a very challenging aspect of marketing in today’s reality. The key focus areas for me are how to manage the everincreasing volume of data, as well as the rapid pace of technological and social change. Technology has changed and continues to change the ways that people interact with each other, our brands and the world. It is changing how people behave. On top of that, the rapid growth of the digital and social marketing environment has fueled a glut of data. Honing in and generating insights from all this data is a challenge. It’s like trying to drink from a fire hose. There is so much information available, how do you avoid paralysis by analysis? With this technology-driven glut of information, the challenges can also be capability-based. Do we have the right people with the right skills in marketing and marketing research to understand the difference between data and insights? There are also systems and process challenges in generating insights from the vast amounts of available data and
Q
How has your product category—candy, gum and mints—changed recently, and how are you adapting?
A
For those of us working in an impulse-purchase category, we are also impacted by technologydriven changes in shopping habits. Self-scanning checkout lines, buying online and home delivery of groceries are all growing trends that remove our consumer from easy access to purchase our candy products at checkout displays. Another marketing challenge related to advancing technology is the increasing pace of life. Everything is faster. Attention spans used to be 15 seconds; studies have shown they are now down to eight seconds. How do you communicate with consumers about your brand given those new realities? And by the time you test a new media communication approach, 50 more options have popped up. In the past, many brands lived to be 100 years old. Now, the brand cycle is two to five years—10 if you’re lucky. Companies have to think creatively and do things less expensively because the investment needs to pay back in a much shorter time frame. m
One of the AMA’s Seven Big Problems facing marketing leaders is “generating and using insights to shape marketing practice.”
information. Are we utilizing the best technology to facilitate synthesizing data from multiple sources, allowing our team to generate usable insights?