by Geoff Pickering

CMO Simon Clift delivered a message at the Ad Age conference a few months ago that really resonated with me and our beliefs here at Adamson.

“Brands aren’t simply brands anymore. They are the center of a maelstrom of social and political dialogue made possible by digital media,” said Unilever Chief Marketing Officer Simon Clift, who warned that marketers who do not recognize that — and adapt their marketing — are in grave peril. “No matter how big your advertising spending, small groups of consumers on a tiny budget might hijack the conversation,” he said. “So this internet thing is much bigger and more interesting than just finding successors to TV advertising.”

Reading excerpts from the conference it was clear that Mr. Clift is fully aware of the environment in the marketing world today and basically outlined a cautionary tale to those in the audience (and beyond) that are thinking and acting differently. According to Ad Age, his address did much to define an internet-driven sea change that’s put consumers in control and at times threatened to overwhelm marketers and their agencies, who — despite frequent protestations to the contrary — are still rather partial to the idea that they define their brands.

Again, reported by Ad Age, Mr. Clift added: “brands are now becoming conversation factors where academics, celebrities, experts and key opinion formers discuss functional, emotional and, more interestingly, social concerns,” and “of course, the conversation is no longer one way or 30 seconds. … You may want to talk about sport and just doing it, and the consumer raises the uncomfortable question of sweatshops.”

Our industry has had a century of doing things a certain way so I understand the pain of changing, but the issue is, it is time to change or perish.

I’m excited that the direction and intent of Adamson is to help those interested in addressing the market issues head on and succeeding. Those not interested in success need not contact me.

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