Building a brand is a long-term endeavour, and companies often sabotage themselves. This was also discussed at the Marketing Longevity Expert Summit, whereJakub Petřina (PPF), Jan Binar (McCann Prague), Vojtěch Prokeš (Behavio) and Dominik Neckař (Proficio) took part in a discussion. The discussion took place as part of this year's Czech Online Expo (CEO).
According to Jakub Petřina, it is almost impossible to build long-term marketing in an environment where KPIs change every quarter. "This is a consequence of poor strategy and unclear direction," he said. According to him, the task of marketing management is to set a clear direction and stick to it.
Jan Binar pointed out that from a communication perspective, short-term thinking is "suicide." It can take up to two years before a campaign really starts to work. If projects are stopped after a few months, it is difficult for a company to return to long-term brand building.
Vojtěch Prokeš added that marketing teams must therefore work with evidence-based models and be able to justify why it is worth waiting.
The language used by management is also key. Jan Binar and Dominik Neckař agreed that marketing must relate its activities to KPIs that the board understands – i.e. growth, margin or return on investment. Without a clearly defined time frame, tension and mistrust only grow.
What looks good in a report but damages the brand
The speakers also touched on decisions that "work" in the short term but damage the company in the long term. Binar mentioned, for example, the obsessive battle for shelf space. Petřina opened the topic of reluctance to raise prices. According to him, marketing should actively seek ways to justify prices and increase them in the long term. This is the engine of margins and further growth.
According to the panellists, the common denominator of the problems is fragmentation. Companies tend to do too many activities at once. "Killing activities is just as important as coming up with them," they said. Instead of dozens of initiatives,
it is better to choose four or five priorities that the company will really stand behind. Prioritisation and clear "what if" scenarios should be the basis of management.
A brand takes years to build
Building a strong brand is more difficult today due to media fragmentation, but it is still possible. According to Binar, it is necessary to think in terms of five to ten years – that is how long it takes for a brand to become engraved in people's memories. Every major change means going back years.
Prokeš emphasised the importance of mental availability and distinctive assets. According to him, consistently built distinctiveness is the key to high penetration even in today's environment.
The panellists agreed that the essence of marketing remains the same: understanding the market and the customer and meeting their needs. The tools and communication mix are changing, not the basic principles.
According to Petřina, AI will enhance the real customer experience, and both satisfaction and dissatisfaction will be rapidly amplified. This will make authenticity and consistency all the more important. Brands that remain distinctive and patient will grow. Those that break down into a "million activities" will gradually disappear, according to the speakers.
Source: mediaguru.cz