Report: Less than one fifth of Aussie marketers see brand as their most important objective
Only 17% of Australian marketers see building their brand as their most important objective according to a new report launched today by Deloitte, commissioned by Facebook.
The whitepaper, titled ‘Shared stories: building brand in the digital age’, explores the changing marketing landscape and critically analyses the marketing trends that underpin successful marketing strategies in the digital era.
Says Kareene Koh, partner, Deloitte Digital: “Failing to recognise the importance of brand comes at a cost to business. Our survey found that businesses whose brands stagnated over the past year also saw their revenues fall by 13% on average over this period. For a business with annual revenue of $1 billion, this represents a potential fall of $130 million in revenue.
“To build and maintain a strong brand, it is important for businesses to understand the basic principles of advertising, particularly in an evolving marketing landscape whereby new technologies are allowing new ways to reach customers.”
Key findings from the report include highlights from a survey of over 300 senior marketers:
- Four in five marketing professionals believe new technologies will drive change in their marketing strategy in the next five years
- Two in three marketing managers believe that digital and social media are the best channels for building a brand
- Digital marketing and social media marketing are the only two mediums that marketers expect to spend a higher proportion of their budget on over the next two years
- Almost two in five marketing managers think that social media is the most effective medium for building customer engagement
The whitepaper was launched today at the Facebook ‘Brands with a Pulse’ event, held in Sydney and Melbourne.
Says Naomi Shepherd, group industry director, Facebook Australia and New Zealand: “The findings of this report underpin the message we want to share with business. Brands with a Pulse is talking to businesses more broadly about how to grow, sustain and thrive in a rapidly changing environment.
“Consumer behaviour is being driven by technology. One of the biggest behaviour changes of recent times is our love affair with mobile. If brand activity doesn’t keep up with these changing behaviours it risks losing it vitality. It’s about capturing the attention of consumers where they are engaged most, when they are engaged most, and in ways they find the most engaging.
“As Facebook, we want to help brands reach a captive audience. That’s why we constantly update, adapt and introduce new tools and features for business on the platform.”
5 Comments
The benefits of building a brand are only realised over time, and that time far exceeds the tenure of a marketer at a company, so why would they care? More immediate KPIs are always going to be their focus.
And there we have it people why advertising/communications in this country is so appalling!! The rot starts from the beginning. Short term goals are just a race to the bottom. Without a strong brand you’re just a parity sneaker/soft drink/loaf of bread/deodorant/home loan etc. The irony is that every marketer in the survey would kill to have their brand be the Nike/Coke/Disney/Apple of their category but they won’t do the hard yards to invest the time or money. Australian Marketers (and their Financial masters) need a good uppercut.
They’re all too busy bland building.
Digital and social best for building a brand? You kidding?
Nah mate, International Pirate Day does wonders for my Cosmetics brand.
These people are spending too much time on Instagram.
It’s a different story for start ups, where brand is not as critical to growth.
But for more established brands, sorry, you gotta invest in it.
Off course you can build a brand within the digital space, just look at what LEGO do, I noticed today they created another piece of branded content online with the World’s largest Cherry Blossom made from Lego bricks. (Obviously catering for the Asia market) https://youtu.be/tp3ktsWm58A Very watchable and shareable. The trick here that may marketeers forget is truly knowing and understanding your audience, many think their audience is their bosses. Never would like to admit it but it’s true, hence why most work online and offline is dire . Also as pointed out already, nearly all marketeers are in there for the short term ‘wins’. Brand building takes consistency and time, most of our clients and agencies have neither, Lego is one exception. (BTW I don’t work for Lego or have any connections there, I just like their work.)
@kevinferry