The Next Evolution of Marketing

Citation

Campbell, J.M. (2010), "The Next Evolution of Marketing", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 27 No. 7, pp. 649-650. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363761011086416

The Next Evolution of Marketing by Bob Gilbreath takes a fresh look at an age‐old problem for marketing professionals: How to better connect with consumers in an era where print and television advertising continues to be more of an inconvenience rather than an informative means of communication. Gilbreath argues for a new approach by marketing professionals, where “marketing with meaning” takes center stage in developing strong and lasting connections between companies and their ever‐adapting customers. The book is divided into two parts; Chapters 1‐5 focusing on defining “marketing with meaning,” and Chapters 6‐10 establishing ways to integrate this concept into practice.

What is “marketing with meaning”? The concept is used consistently throughout the book and is synonymous with terms such as engagement, value‐added, and relationship marketing, although the author makes it clear that these are only small parts of the meaningful way in which companies and marketers can help to improve people's lives. The expectation of this approach is that the customers will reward you financially for helping improve their lives through products and services, the approach will create a positive business culture throughout your organization.

Gilbreath's experience as a brand manager at Proctor & Gamble and as Chief Marketing Strategist at Bridge Worldwide has provided unique and relevant background for writing this book. Particularly effective are the various company and industry examples he uses to support his points throughout. Given his prior work experience, it is no surprise that the book is heavily weighted with examples from Procter & Gamble, and the author appears to have a specific liking for Nike and Apple as they are mentioned frequently. These examples, however, did not noticeably detract in any way.

Chapters 1 and 2 explore the problems with “traditional” marketing techniques (opting out, constant interruption) and how adding “meaning” to marketing can positively influence the customer. As stated: “Marketing with meaning is the antidote to (consumers) opting out; it adds value to people's lives independent of purchase – which, as it turns out, is far more likely to win their business” (p. 33). In defining meaning, the author discusses “personal value” (p. 33), since not all consumers view or respond to the messages in the same manner. An important and often overlooked concept in marketing that Gilbreath captures is the idea that consumers, when interrupted in an activity by an advertisement, often look past the advertisement and end up becoming annoyed with the distraction. This fact, coupled with products being forced upon consumers rather than consumers asking for them, has created a rise in products such as DVR's, Adblock, and other technology to avoid the marketing message altogether. Gilbreath introduces a “Hierarchy of meaningful marketing” (p. 47) that borrows from Maslow' hierarchy of needs and from specific brand features to create one pyramid of “Solution marketing, connection marketing, and achievement marketing” (pp. 47‐48). This pyramid forms the basis of helping consumers get to marketing that satisfies, influences, and adds value.

Chapters 3 through 5 discuss the pyramid phases individually (Solution, Connection, and Achievement). Chapter 3 cited important solutions such as extra incentives and services, free samples, and relevant information for the consumers. Through various examples, Gilbreath stresses the ability for businesses to problem‐solve, admit mistakes, and rectify errors. Chapter 4 focuses on “entertaining” customers, and suggests that marketers should focus on experience creation (p. 95) as a way to differentiate. He also suggests continued partnerships between businesses so that they may create a “mutual experience that benefits both brands and their joint customers” (p. 102). Additionally, he suggests personalization of products and services and focusing on ways to help consumers connect with others as key factors for marketing improvements. Finally, Chapter 5 discusses achievement, and reaching the pinnacle of helping consumers improve themselves, family, and others around. This concept is reinforced by Home Depot's “how‐to” efforts, Allstate's program to help teen drivers, and cause‐marketing efforts by Yoplait for the Susan G. Komen Foundation supporting breast cancer awareness and treatment. Gilbreath stresses that this type of marketing needs to be long‐term, “provide benefit even without purchase,” and become part of the company culture to be successful.

Section 2 (Chapters 6‐10) of the book focuses on the implementation of a “marketing with meaning” program. For effectiveness, Gilbreath suggests in Chapter 6 to “start at the end” (p. 147). By supporting the concept of the “purchase funnel”, the author focuses on key concepts such as awareness, consideration, trial, loyalty, and advocacy in helping to define specific marketing objectives. If the end result is long‐term loyalty or brand equity, then marketers should focus on those strategies to increase brand equity and awareness, and to leverage both customer feedback and upper management support. In Chapter 7, Gilbreath discusses ways to learn about today's customers, suggesting that target markets are redefined, appropriate research be done on these markets, and that lab and natural environment studies are beneficial. Jim Stengel, former Global Marketing Officer of P&G, suggests the following: “Spend quality time with consumers, not just asking how they use your products, but how they live their lives” (p. 182). These consumers, Gilbreath asserts, often lead to insights that can be acted upon through innovative strategies. Such was the case for Doritos, which employed creative target consumers to develop a successful four month advertising campaign culminating on Super Bowl.

Chapters 8 and 9 discuss idea generation and testing, focusing more on the specifics of executing the launch strategies. After discussing the marketing “launch”, Gilbreath spends a few pages reviewing how to measure engagement, also referred to as the “consumer involvement with your marketing” (p. 219). This appears to be the key concept in determining how well the marketing‐with‐meaning message has been received. A brief discussion of business result measurement (p. 229) was also helpful in the review of goals and overall program effectiveness.

Chapter 10 concluded with a look into the future of “marketing with meaning”. Not surprising, the role of mobile media, social networking, and how the current millennial generation has “leapfrogged” over traditional marketing media outlets like television into internet and mobile media has created new challenges for marketers. The author predicts that Google will continue to be a leader that “can figure out how to tie together multiple media with individual personalization” (p. 261). Clearly, Gilbreath believes that Google will forge into new areas of “marketing with meaning”, and can lead other marketers into new waters away from interruptive marketing.

Gilbreath's discussion of The Next Evolution of Marketing is a fresh look at how companies need to become more “co‐creators” with their target audience and less about traditional “hits”. The underlying theme is that positive experiences by consumers will lead to greater word‐of‐mouth recommendations, which is ultimately cheaper and more effective for marketers. While this concept is not new, how companies choose to implement such a strategy is often difficult and mismanaged. Gilbreath provides a plethora of relevant case examples to highlight his concept. He does not, however, go into as much detail concerning globalization and culture differences that may impact how “meaning” is interpreted. Only briefly does he consider marketing to third world countries, and a more in‐depth analysis or discussion would have added an important perspective. Why this was included at the end of the book is a mystery, though it did not detract from the overall message. With the target audience of the book being marketing professionals in a number of different industries, the concept can be useful to anyone who studies or is interested in the new direction that marketing is heading. Taking the time to read this book will definitely force the reader to consider which companies are winning, which are losing, and which will be most impactful to their own lives moving forward. I guess Gilbreath did succeed in utilizing marketing to “improve people's lives.”