Marcom Execs Sound Off on Innovation
Oxford Communications attended a recent Philly Ad Club (@PhillyAdClub) event highlighting the
challenges and innovations confronting marcom executives.
The following are key takeaways from their remarks.
Bob Clark, VP of
Marketing - Herr Foods
Current challenge:
Targeting young customers
Staying true to a 70- year-old brand while simultaneously
targeting new, younger consumers.
Solution: Fun
Herr Foods innovates and unveils between 10-12 new flavors
each year. To catch the attention of millennial and Gen Z consumers, the
company developed a series of brief, whimsical and targeted social media videos
that include CEO Ed Herr in the call to action (CTA). Having the “boss” involved
in the videos – a similar strategy used by Sam Adams – connects the legacy of
the brand with the next-gen approach.
Jen Denis, Chief
Brand Officer – Honeygrow
Current challenge:
Employee training
Fast-growing company needs to train employees to provide
consistent service at all new locations.
Solution: VR
Honeygrow is using VR to train its new employees. The tech
allows employees to look around the restaurant environment to see exactly how
work is done:
Lauren Eni, VP Brand
Strategy – Dietz & Watson
Current challenge:
Reinvigorating the brand
Dietz & Watson had no marketing strategy for 70 years.
The family-run company is now 75-years-old and is finding itself caught between
the push and pull of innovation and tradition.
Solution:
Listening
Eni told the Philly Ad Club audience that a company doesn’t
have to disrupt to innovate. In her view, she feels the best approach for the
traditional Dietz & Watson brand will be based on consumer research and
listening. Thus far, as a result of this active listening strategy, Dietz &
Watson has partnered with Amazon to deliver its products. The result has been a
better-than-expected sales increase.
Jaine Lucas, Chief
Marketing and Communications Officer, La Salle University
Current challenge:
Getting students to apply to La Salle
Solution: Going big
on video and digital
Lucas joked that typical academic marketing revolves around a
paradigm she calls, “3 and a tree,” a tongue-in-cheek phrase to describe a
photograph of three diverse students smiling while sitting under a campus tree.
“In today’s competitive academic landscape,” said Lucas, “3 and a tree doesn’t
cut it.”
Under her stewardship, La Salle increased applications by
16% with a heavy investment in targeted mobile ads, digital video ads and a
two-tiered approach that combined pre-film movie theatre commercials with
geo-fenced video ads.
This La Salle video picked up 140k views on the day it was
released:
Samuel Monnie,
Marketing Capability Director – Campbell Soup Company
Current Challenge:
Streamlining internal communication
Helping a large company to communicate more efficiently
Solution: Workforce
by Facebook
Monnie discussed how Campbell’s now uses Workplace by
Facebook to communicate internally. As a result, old school 3-page PDF memos
that no one would have cared to open have been replaced by 60-second shareable
videos.
Jose Velez-Silva, VP
Multicultural Marketing Communications – Comcast
Current Challenge:
Growth
Getting Hispanics to sign up for Comcast.
Solution: Eradicate
fear
Velez-Silva didn’t want to work for Comcast. He confessed to
the Philly Ad Club audience, “I was living the dream, running my own agency in
New York, working with big brands.” When he was interviewed for his role with
Comcast, Velez-Silva felt he had nothing to lose. In his words, “I proceeded to
tell executives at Comcast everything they were doing wrong with multicultural
marketing.” Velez-Silva not only got the job, but has also helped increase
Comcast’s Hispanic audiences by 420%. Part of the secret was developing
creative ad spots like this one that embraces the multicultural nature of the Hispanic
market: https://ispot.tv/a/AEn_
For additional case studies and insights of brilliant work,
checkout Oxford’s blog: http://bit.ly/2sUTqNO
You can also learn more about the Philly Ad Club and events like the recent
innovation panel on the organization’s website: https://phillyadclub.com/
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