Ignored and distrusted: marketing, rebrand thyself!

• Author: Hall, Robert

It has not always been this way. Marketing and especially advertising have historically played a powerful role in the growth of national brands and large consumer businesses. But in recent years the brand of those in the business of "branding" is up against hardened targets.

Consumers have hit the gag point for absorbing our messages and trusting our purpose, and have become pros at ignoring us, abetted by technology such as TiVo, spam blockers, caller ID and plain old indifference. According to a New York Times ID article (1/15/07) "Yankelovich, a marketing research firm estimates that a person living in a city 30 years ago saw up to 2,000 ad messages a day, compared with up to 5,000 today. About hall the 4,110 people surveyed last spring said they thought marketing and advertising today was out of control."

Too often, marketing itself has unwittingly taken on a new branded identity in the eyes of consumers: "ignored and distrusted." Ads ad nauseam, direct mail that requires shredding, solicitation calls that interrupt, in-person sales people who push product while ignoring customer needs, and telephone technology that forces customers to navigate mindless menus. All of these send an unmistakable message: You cannot trust "them" because they are putting their needs ahead of yours.

This estrangement is evident in the decline in the growth of marketing spending. According to TNS Media Intelligence: "Total U.S. advertising spending is expected to increase 2.6 percent in 2007 to $153.7 billion ... this anticipated tepid gain is the smallest since the media economy emerged from the 2001 recession." As a percent of GDP, advertising is expected to grow 2.2 percent in 2007 continuing a trend of growing at a lower rate than GDP seven of the past eight years.

What must change to enable marketing to regain greater influence and build relationships? The default position for many mature companies is to spend less on advertising and promotion. Yet this is a dilemma for organizations with pressure to grow revenue. Interestingly enough, the message-clutter and lost credibility creates more, not less, need for marketing that differentiates and is trusted. I propose there are four concepts that will be key to the rebranding and rehabilitation of marketing:

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