“Let’s go back to the drawing board,” Marcom executives call for a more nuanced marketing approach
By Zion Rufus
Entertainment and communication executives advocate for a comprehensive understanding of marketing intricacies and the revision of segmentation models to enhance effectiveness while decrying the decline of proper marketing diagnostics.
Amidst the rapid transition to digital marketing, they noted, this shift has overshadowed the essence of comprehensively understanding a brand’s uniqueness and effectively addressing its market challenges.
Championing a more nuanced and tailored approach at various touchpoints, these industry leaders stressed that each brand is unique, and not all require a social media or digital marketing solution.
“A marketing professional should be able to constructively present a solution after thorough analysis, understanding, and diagnosis of a brand’s problem,” said Tunji Adeyinka.
During his keynote address at the closing ceremony of the Aim One Marketing Mentorship Program, Adeyinka emphasized that to truly embody professionalism in marketing, one must grasp the fundamental knowledge and complexities of the field, understanding its nuances and intricacies thoroughly.
This, he stated, ensures that each brand’s challenges are approached with tailored solutions, rather than a generic, one-size-fits-all perspective.
Deola Art Alade also believes a one-size-fits-all approach will surely be “inadequate when proffering solutions that meet a brand’s needs and ensures ROI for their marketing spend.”
According to the Livespot360 GCEO, genuine success hinges on several factors, including the implementation of tailored messaging, the diversification of channel planning, the strategic use of paid media as essential elements of the overall brand experience, the adoption of a dynamic and interconnected approach, the application of refined and contemporary strategies, and the continuous measurement of effectiveness.
“A meaningful change is needed this year, and it is achievable if we proactively pursue it. There is a shift towards prioritizing outcomes over outputs, entertainment beyond concerts, and experiences that surpass aesthetics as people begin to seek more meaningful engagements. I propose a solution that involves reimagining these events to ensure sustainability for both the audience and the business. This could begin with crafting highly relevant, engaging experiences, fostering immersive interactions, and creating opportunities for connection,” she stated.
Commenting on the significance of entertainment extending beyond mere concerts, Art Alade advocated for a comprehensive approach that encompasses the entire lifecycle of the experience, rather than focusing solely on aesthetic pleasure and flawlessly executed marketing events.
“This is where in-depth knowledge of segmentation becomes important. We also need to continuously take note of our audience’s nuances, their favourite channels, how they consume media, and where they spend time together, among other factors. We are all unique. Use these insights to prioritize channels and develop plans. Remember, not everyone uses the same platforms for the same reasons. Leveraging this approach ensures resonance with the appropriate audience in the most effective locations,” she added.
But before we can talk about Segmentation, Adeyinka buttressed the need for marketers to first understand that there is a process between where marketing begins, where it ends, and all the iterations in between.
“I call it the strategic path of marketing,” he said.
“The first thing you should know is that the bedrock of your marketing strategy is diagnosis. So, you have Diagnosis, Segmentation, then Targeting which involves deciding who your target market is, and this is a decision that you can only make after proper segmentation. The next step is Positioning which is a summary of what makes us distinct from everyone else, how you want your customers to perceive you, and what represents you in the mind of your audience. The next stage is Tactics, where we can talk about pricing, place, and promotion, and then finally Execution, which is where you launch your campaign, measure its effectiveness, and so on.”
Marcus Collins, however, thinks it goes deeper than that.
“Our approach to segmentation is in desperate need of an overhaul,” Collins said during a session at the WOBI World Business Forum.
In his argument, Collins quoted 1956 when Prof. Wendell Smith introduced the idea of “market segmentation” as a marketing strategy to take a heterogeneous market-where everyone is different-and put them in homogenous clusters-where everyone is more alike based on a defined set of characteristics within a specific consumption context. This was expected to make the process of selecting a target more advantageous because you would be selecting a group of people who are more inclined to adopt a particular behaviour based on the defining characteristics of the segment.
“Unfortunately, although our understanding of people and what influences their behaviour has evolved tremendously since the idea of segmentation was brought forward so many years ago, our segmentation practices have not kept up,” said Collins.
“Here’s a way to leapfrog our latency.”
“Our identities drive the way we see the world, which informs how we behave in the world. This fundamentally challenges our traditional conception of segmentation. Segmentation where heterogeneous market. We identify homogeneous-like clusters and that is who we target. And savvy business folks say, well, demographics are terrible, so we focus on psychographics. That is the penultimate of how we describe people based on their interests, their attitude, their beliefs. But what informs those things are cultural subscriptions. Psychographics are byproducts of who we are. Because of who we are, we navigate the world the way we do. Not because of what it is, but because of who we are. Which makes culture a far more powerful and predictive way of describing people. Because we act based on what is normal for people. People like us.”
Preetesh Sewraj, CEO of Loeries takes us on a journey to understanding the need for marketers to experiment with AI and how Generative AI will be a valuable tool in increasing creative productivity and as a complementary tool that enhances their decision-making capabilities.
Today, he explained, relying solely on traditional strategies with reactive approaches and generic messaging may fall short as personalized experiences have now taken precedence, demanding a shift in tactics.
As a result, marketers aiming to stay competitive must recognize AI as an asset and adapt strategies to leverage its predictive capabilities effectively. This involves investing in AI-driven tools, refining data collection and analysis methods, and reframing marketing campaigns with a customer-centric focus.
“AI has the potential to enhance human abilities, enable marketers to process vast amounts of data and uncover trends that might elude human analysis alone. This collaboration between AI and human marketers can lead to more impactful strategies, improving engagement and conversion rates significantly. AI can analyse vast amounts of data to identify patterns and preferences, enabling businesses to make data-driven decisions that align with consumer preferences. This means that marketing strategies can become more targeted and effective, reducing the reliance on intuition and guesswork.”
But human intuition will still play a crucial role in decision-making, Sewraj continued, particularly in areas where AI may not be able to fully understand human emotions and behaviours. For instance, human marketers can provide valuable insights into consumer motivations and emotions, helping to create more compelling marketing messages and campaigns.”
Deola Art Alade shares this sentiment.
“I also believe AI will have a significant impact on the entertainment and creative industry, streamlining processes and allowing creatives to focus on storytelling while AI handles the intricate technical data work that brings those stories to life. Exciting times lie ahead.”
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