SPEAKER SERIES: IMPACT OF BRAND PURPOSE ON THE ADVERTISING MODEL

 
On 23 July 2014, the AANA was pleased to host a group of marketers at Lion to an exclusive panel discussion where speakers explored The Impact of Brand Purpose on the Advertising Model.

Brand purpose is a phrase which increasingly frequents marketing conversations, with a growing body of evidence that it contributes significantly to the bottom line. But a recent study led by the World Federation of Advertisers, which AANA Members participated in, highlighted that if brands don’t clearly communicate their purpose, the commercial effect is lost (AANA members can request a link to this report via email).

The challenge for marketers is not only communicating brand purpose effectively – with emotion and integrity – but understanding whether this means a total departure from the traditional route to market – advertising.

Attendees had the opportunity to hear Westpac’s Lisa Ronson, Head of Mass Marketing Services, Strategic Marketing, Australian Financial Services, share how Westpac created the Air Rescue series – the fully ad-funded observational documentary series that smashed ratings projections on prime-time TV. Lisa shared the new capabilities required of your marketing team from creative judgement to selling into the board, the effects of the series internally and why a 60 second spot wouldn’t have done the job.

Russel Howcroft, Executive General Manager of Channel 10, and Board Member of Free TV Australia, shared how television, the most emotive medium we have, is responding to the brand purpose groundswell with programming expertise and innovative formats.

Telstra’s Andy Bateman, Director of Segment Marketing, joined the panel and explored the difference between company purpose, which he believes is absolutely essential, and the trend towards “brand purpose”, which so often feels like an artificial “social” purpose grafted onto a brand strategy.

To navigate this session, our speakers were joined by James Hier, Chief Strategy Officer at MEC Global, who asked panelists whether this work is an outlier or if it’s a sustainable route to market for all brands.