Unify Tech 2015 hosted Deanie Elsner, Industry Veteran; Former EVP and CMO of Kraft Food Group, as their keynote speaker of the day during Tapad‘s recent second annual summit focused on the cross screen conversation.
Elsner addressed the audience and said that, “Never has the time been more right for the marriage of arts and sciences, with regard to marketing and communications.” She also stated that almost 50 percent of all media today, is consumed digitally. Over half of that digitally consumed media is delivered through mobile.
She went on to talk about marketing models and how they have changed over time. She said that the marketing today are completely broken. The companies that do not reinvent these models over time are going to become irrelevant.
Elsner reflected on her background as a CMO and stated that from a marketing stand point, she has seen a transformational shift take place. She wants to help the audience understand, how to improve the information about making marketing decisions.
She said that there are three pillars of every business:
- Consumer
- Customers – in which the consumer buys products
- Communication
The consumer is made up of two categories. This consists of the millennial and the Latina/Latino. The millennial is the new mainstream. They are five percent bigger as a demographic. Between the ages of 18 to 34, 34 percent of millennial’s have families, are tech savvy, and they adapt to brands differently, than baby boomers.
Latinas/Latinos make up about 17 percent of the US. Over the next ten to fifteen years, they are going to represent over 75 percent of the growth in the US.
Elsner continued to discuss the importance of consumer and marketing. She said that the consumer has as much influence over a brand that a marketer does. The consumer has become the new CEO. She said that, “They are setting the agenda for the products they want.” They have become the head of distribution.
She went on to state that marketers have a growth problem and that companies have to shift to new models, to keep up with the business.
There are 4 P’s of marketing: Product, Place, Promotion, and Price. New inputs, such as data, tech, cohort, media vehicles, and retail channels, require new capabilities. These new capabilities include, insight, targeting, engagement, and real-time decisions. If you do this right, you can increase the return on investments, across every aspect of your brand.
She stressed that being able to see the individual is important. Seeing the individual allows her to identify real behaviors that can drive her toward real insights. This enables her to shift her brand and become more relevant to a new consumer in a new way.
This is called Agile and Addressable Marketing. This means, getting the right message to the right person, at the right moment to drive a purchase.
There are three pillars to Agile and Addressable Marketing:
- Data – to fuel the engine
- Infrastructure – to harness data
- Content – must be relevant, flexible, and efficient
She thoroughly discussed each pillar and how it relates to Kraft Foods. She said that for the consumer, “Sometimes the most effective consumer is not to most efficient consumer.”
She used three examples of how Kraft targets consumers. She used example of the Bunny cake, Crystal Light,“ Kraft Salad Dressing, and Planters Peanuts. Each example used customer segments, tailored messaging to drive activation, and precision targeting to create dynamic content. She also used curated content to increase relevance.
She went on to talk more about infrastructure and that building content for engaged consumers, means more data. She said that to make Kraft Foods successful, “We went on to build a self sufficient ecosystem.”
In closing, Elsner listed Five Requirements for Marketers Going Forward:
- Addressability replaces digitalization. “Cross-device identification becomes imperative. Understanding who the consumer is, and what the device he or she is matched to will improve activation and analytics.”
- One-on-one content at scale. The new customer expectation.
- Consumer is the new channel. “Understanding how the consumer gets information will dictate the media strategy that you’re going after.”
- Transparency: Brands & Company. This new consumer (millennial) wants to know all about the brand.
- Marketers are required to marry art & science. New skill set will require integration of marketing and IT capabilities. This includes simple ingredients, happy employees, and community involvement.
Elsner ends the keynote by stating that, you have to have these skills, to have a successful model.
You can view the entire presentation below:
