Speaking at Media 360 in Brighton today, Tony Holdway, chief marketing officer for Domino's, said the best brands do things that have impact beyond their product category. He explained: "Sponsorship links us with the passion points of the audience."
But, Holdway warned: "Econometric modelling will make you stray away from risky and innovative marketing and that is a real danger for all brands. There has to be some room for gut feel left in marketing, we still need to make choices based on consumer excitement."
This sentiment was echoed by Matt Adams, chief executive of Havas Media UK and International, who said: "Digital measurement makes decisions binary when really the world is a mosaic."
When it comes to entertainment marketing, Adams continued, brands must ensure they have the right to play in the space and ensure they are adding something to the consumer experience.
Beyond paid media
The omnipresent drive by brands to achieve more for less was also addressed by the panel. "We look at budgets as paid media; but there is a huge amount of work that can be done with what you have in activating existing assets," Adams said.
He described paid media as a "weapon" but urged brands not to fixate on budgets alone but instead look at consumer passion points. He continued: "I think personally we are seeing brands become much smarter. It is less about how much you spend in a media marketplace all brands have assets they can use better."
Storytelling in a changing world
The lively panel debate, chaired by Gemma Charles, acting UK editor of Campaign, also addressed the thorny issue of creating cut through in an age where everyone is a content creator, yet consumer attention is finite. Brands are increasingly facing the challenge of creating a vast supply of content for which there is very little consumer demands.
The audience was reminded that while everyone is now a self-styled content creator; the art and talent of great storytelling remains a scarce resource in an age of digital oversupply.
