Summary

(02:43) What drew Tessa to the world of brand marketing

• Tessa has worked in the healthcare and communications space

• She is very interested in how we can build a better culture and service for our customers

• She moved into academia a decade ago

(06:32) Is weaving in marketing to all parts of the business more prevalent for US organizations?

• Many marketers have been promoted to c-suite level jobs

• We will experience a shift with new roles such as ‘Chief Experience Officer’

• A lot of training for CIO roles has been skills-orientated, which might be why they are at top-level positions

• It’s super powerful to experience a frontline role for a number of years then do an MBA

(12:28) The Why Test

• It is structured around a means-end theory

• Asking why you do the things you do pushes you into more subconscious connections

• ‘Companies are like people, they have personalities’

• E.g. the core mission of Zappos was to deliver happiness but their means was through selling shoes

(19:22) The relationship between branding and voting

• The Republican brand has been built around Trump over the last few years

• Trump had a brand personality and a core message

• The brand message behind the Democrats was more about the wider society and human rights

(24:29) Regardless of the age profile of US politicians, how do Gen Z voters still resonate with brand messaging?

• They are the first post-digital generation and know how to navigate and access information online better than any other generation

• Gen Z are participants of a global society

(33:05) How an organization can work with influencers

• It’s important to understand your marketing strategy and who you are serving

• Influencers have a lot of trust with their audience and its something companies can leverage from

(36:49) The difference between celebrities and influencers

• It started first with the print and TV media having aspirational messages, then in the 90s it transitioned to celebrities, and now it is influencers born through social media

(41:26) Brands taking a stance with issues

• Brand activism is a relatively new term

• Upwards of 85% of young consumers look to brands instead of governments to have a positive impact on the world

• Always be consistent, direct and transparent with your approach

(50:19) How to rebrand

• Be transparent with your audience as to why you have chosen to rebrand

(53:51) Where are we with eCommerce?

• The traditional non-digital organizations and industries (e.g. healthcare and hospitality) have done well with the eCommerce transformation as it has given them a chance to completely redefine their digital offerings

(56:34) The biggest challenges and opportunities for brick and mortar moving to eCommerce

• It is an opportunity for companies to reinvent online offerings, so organizations that aren’t being innovative will be left behind

• We are able to personalize so much more online through social media and emerging technologies

(01:01:07) Learning from disruptive brands like Uber

• Consumers may be buying your product but not for your primary reason

• Co-create with your consumer

(01:03:45) What makes a long-standing brand

• Nike is a great example: their purpose has always been to enable athletes to compete at their best level ‘ and if you have a body, you’re an athlete, which is a very inclusive message

• Their messaging as evolved and always speaks to their audience