The biggest sporting event on earth – the World Cup – reveals two distinctly different approaches to soccer: the German style, with its tight structure, strong defense, short passes and low risk; and the Latin style, which is much more individual, free-wheeling and creative, but susceptible to dangerous counter attacks.
Maybe I need to get a life, but it seems that these two soccer styles describe the evolution of marketing communications over the past few decades. Not so long ago, marketers tightly controlled brand image and messaging. We told consumers what our brands represent, explained the product benefits, and dictated how those messages would be delivered. Short, safe passes in a tightly organized structure.
A new game
Marketers today no longer have complete control of brand messaging. Our customers tell us what our brands represent. Through blogs, forums and social media, they communicate our product benefits to others. It’s a wide-open world, full of inventive consumers eager to join the conversation. Our rigid control of marketing messages is a thing of the past. The game has changed.
This new game is more challenging for marketers, but it’s also more fun for consumers and they’re far more engaged. Just as soccer fans prefer the inventive, flashy play of Brazil over the solid, safe play of Germany, the give and take of brand communications is more exciting when more players get involved in the action.
The passionate fan
As marketers, we’ve learned to join the conversation and guide its direction instead of orchestrating every detail from our ivory towers. We’ve learned to embrace the power of consumers and let them show the passion they feel for our brands. They’ve become our evangelists. And they don’t even want a paycheck.
However, there are risks. Allowing consumers to participate in “our” marketing programs exposes our brands to dangerous counterattacks. We’re vulnerable to unfair criticism and misinterpretation. But if the brand is strong and the team is vigilant, we can succeed on a level unimaginable 20 years ago. Our role, as coach, is to field our resources and manage the whole team – including consumers – so we can achieve victory in the marketplace.
Now if we could just do something about those damn horns…
Marketing Lessons from the World Cup
The biggest sporting event on earth – the World Cup – reveals two distinctly different approaches to soccer: the German style, with its tight structure, strong defense, short passes and low risk; and the Latin style, which is much more individual, free-wheeling and creative, but susceptible to dangerous counter attacks.
Maybe I need to get a life, but it seems that these two soccer styles describe the evolution of marketing communications over the past few decades. Not so long ago, marketers tightly controlled brand image and messaging. We told consumers what our brands represent, explained the product benefits, and dictated how those messages would be delivered. Short, safe passes in a tightly organized structure.
A new game
Marketers today no longer have complete control of brand messaging. Our customers tell us what our brands represent. Through blogs, forums and social media, they communicate our product benefits to others. It’s a wide-open world, full of inventive consumers eager to join the conversation. Our rigid control of marketing messages is a thing of the past. The game has changed.
This new game is more challenging for marketers, but it’s also more fun for consumers and they’re far more engaged. Just as soccer fans prefer the inventive, flashy play of Brazil over the solid, safe play of Germany, the give and take of brand communications is more exciting when more players get involved in the action.
The passionate fan
As marketers, we’ve learned to join the conversation and guide its direction instead of orchestrating every detail from our ivory towers. We’ve learned to embrace the power of consumers and let them show the passion they feel for our brands. They’ve become our evangelists. And they don’t even want a paycheck.
However, there are risks. Allowing consumers to participate in “our” marketing programs exposes our brands to dangerous counterattacks. We’re vulnerable to unfair criticism and misinterpretation. But if the brand is strong and the team is vigilant, we can succeed on a level unimaginable 20 years ago. Our role, as coach, is to field our resources and manage the whole team – including consumers – so we can achieve victory in the marketplace.
Now if we could just do something about those damn horns…