As a marketer, I have been trying to come up with a definition of marketing, which would encapsulate its essence, but at the same time would clearly demonstrate why I personally have chosen and love marketing as a profession. When I look at various descriptions of marketing, what I see are many plain and uninspiring definitions for a field that is, on the contrary, very creative and inspiring. One such example is the frequently-used American Marketing Association‘s definition of marketing. According to AMA, “marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large” (AMA, 2007).
I do understand the needs to define marketing in a plain, standard format. First, it is important to lay a basic foundation that can be built upon. Second, it is very difficult to come up with a definition that would be considered inspirational by everyone. However, I would like to use this opportunity to articulate my own thoughts on the role of marketing and quote or cite Mr. Ogilvy in support of my arguments. Mr. Ogilvy’s video that I embedded here, is a great educational source for marketers and advertisers. It is a long conversation, almost an hour, but it clearly represents Ogilvy’s genius and his straightforward approach to marketing and advertising. I would highly recommend this video to anyone in this business. I know it is little old but there are timeless lessons to be learned.
Like many other definitions, my definition of marketing is neither perfect nor complete, but it highlights areas that I deem most important and inspirational. I believe marketing is an intelligent and creative discipline, which involves delivering meaningful value for consumers and finding authentic ways to communicate with them on a personal level which will help to educate, inspire and take action. Let me further elaborate on the individual components of this definition, along with specific references to David Ogilvy:
- Meaningful value for consumers
Meaningful value for consumer can be achieved through the products and services provided, as well as all the marketing efforts aimed to benefit consumers in some way. New products and marketing efforts can address an existing, well-defined need or a yet-to-be defined, potential need. In order to identify the first, market research is needed and is extremely important for a company’s success. Ogilvy suggests that successful advertising for any product is based on information about its customers. He credits his past work experience as a young researcher at Gallup research organization for teaching him the basic principle of marketing and advertising “knowing your customers”. For the latter, a marketer needs to see more than what the research indicates. David Ogilvy suggests “good judgment” is the key. Without it, it is impossible to create revolutionary, category defining products and marketing campaigns that actually work. Market research has its limitations when it comes to predicting the future for us.
- Being authentic and communicating on a personal level
Without a real understanding of the consumer and their intimate needs and expectations, we can not be authentic and communicate with the consumers on a personal level. But why is this important in the first place? The reasons are simple. Consumers would like to hear sensible arguments from brands on why they should choose that specific brand over the other. Consumers expect brands to talk to them directly and provide rational reasons, as if she/he is the only customer of that brand.
- Marketing to educate, inspire and take action
Marketing’s role is to educate, inspire and motivate consumers to take action. Educating the consumers is very essential in marketing and is well supported with Ogilvy’s personal experiences. When you look at his well-recognized campaigns such as Guinness Guide to Oysters and Shell campaign, what pops up is the educational aspect of those advertisements. Advertisements, which provide true information, are more likely to resonate with the consumers and have the potential to shift consumer behavior in major ways. Knowledge triggers permanent behavior change.
One critical role of marketing/advertising that is not emphasized enough in the interview by Mr. Ogilvy is the inspirational aspect of it. Our experiences have already shown that, successful brands are the ones who can touch to the minds and hearts of the consumers. Mr. Ogilvy eloquently explains how to reach to the mind of consumers, but does not elaborate on how to capture the hearts, which is equivocally important. I believe this can be attributed mainly to the era he practiced advertising actively. That era did not see as much competition as we see today and products offered notable differences. With the inflation of products and services, real differentiation between the products has been minimized. As a result, the main challenge for marketers has become finding ways to capture the hearts of consumers, through emotional and subconscious connections.
Finally, I think the most important role of Marketing and advertisement is to motivate consumers to take action. As Ogilvy is suggesting, function of marketing is to sell. Without real measurable results, money spent on advertisement is not money well spent. I read a very interesting research on the sales return of creative advertisements that won multiple awards for their creative genius and originality. 84% of the award winning advertisements from 1999 to 2001 incorporated humor, entertainment etc to their ads but only 22% actually made a call to action, meaning increased sales for their brands (Zyman, 2004). This is a very relevant point and certainly, on its own, another topic for a separate discussion.
I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to send your comments on your understanding of the role marketing and advertising.
Tags: Advertising, David Ogilvy, Role of Marketing
April 14, 2009 at 7:45 pm |
I think this is a good way to break down many of the facets that marketing is meant to offer. It’s a very difficult idea to encapsulate by definition, though that won’t stop us from trying.
Good luck to you.