Our business has changed. The role of marketing is no longer to interrupt con versations , but to contagiously ignite them. To shift brands from broadcasters to participants . We believe that the single biggest thing that we need to remember is that modern marketing is about making peoples lives better.

What does that changed dynamic mean for traditional approaches to strategy and creative. What changes, what remains constant?

The Planners View: Focus on Behaviour and Context
As advertising has changed, so have the roles of strategists and planners. We must go ever deeper in pursuit of human understanding, past traditional approaches to customer research and segmentation, beyond understandings of demographics, lifestyles and attitudes. We have to understand why individuals and groups behave as they do in different circumstances and in different contexts. To gather real understanding and insight that can fuel ideas to truly ignite our clients businesses.

Luckily there are tools, frameworks and research to allow us to do just that.
Behavioural Economics for example, that tells us why social, cognitive and emotional factors mean we dont behave as rational Economic models suggest we should.

Whilst, Identity Economics explains why peoplefacing the same economic circumstances make different choices based on our own identities and the norms we encounter in the contexts of our social, family and working lives.

Academic research in both areas throws up fascinating potential for marketers.
Take the example of consumers in the US and Italy, who were asked to either scale up from a plain pizza base by adding toppings or scale down from a fully loaded pizza by removing toppings. In each country consumers ended up with more toppings and a more expensive pizza in the scale down scenario than in the scale up scenario. A result explained through the Behavioural principle of loss aversion.

Or the experiment that showed consumers who paid a discounted price for an energy drink positioned as increasing mental agility derived less actual benefit from drinking it (measured in ability to solve puzzles) than consumers who purchased and consumed the exact same product but paid its regular price. Thus showing how the actual efficacy of products not just the way they make us feel can be changed by marketing actions such as discounting.

Just a little lateral thinking tells you that such Behavioural insights have a plethora of exciting and profitable applications across sectors, from the car industry to retail, software and beyond.

And how, by understanding the role of Behaviours and contexts more deeply, it becomes easier to identify where marketing and marketing communications can play a role, and have the biggest impact in the new normal.

The Creatives View: Dont Advertise, Connect
We shouldnt ask consumers what they want. They dont know. Instead we must apply our creativity to what they need, and will want, then make sure were there, ready. We must think about utility alongside an idea, and increasingly that utility is the idea.

Branded utility is where the brand creates a commitment to a relationship. Its where the brand creates something thats useful to you, something thats a utility in your life. The consumer will feel more confident with the relationship if the brand will continue to be a part of your life.

For those who have worked in marketing for long enough, weve watched this change happen. The definition of what actually constitutes advertising is increasingly broad. Branded touch points now include everything from an online presence to a smiling customer representative, and the band-aid solution of an advertising campaign is no substitute for a holistic, positive experience. If advertising is the end of the chain, then Behaviour is that chain. It is like the missing string theory in science. Its the one thing that binds all other disciplines, thoughts and channels together.

In advertising we have always created work for people, weve used all the kit in a creatives toolbox to try to connect; story telling, charm and humour, to name a few. They worked really well when all we had to think about was a TV ad or radio slot and they can still work well of course, but with so many channels we need to add a lens of relevance to everything we do.

Relevance is complicated though. Not just because people are technologically empowered as never before, but also because they are human. For every consumer behaviour that can be coldly observed and calculated, there is an emotion and attitude that isnt as easily measured or understood.

Understanding people is where the answer lies. We need to create work that is so valuable and useful that people wouldnt want to live without it.

As custodians of brands, if we can harness, understand and apply Behaviour you will have a greater level of clarity around who will be receptive to a brand. We will know when they will want to listen and where they will want to consume what we want to share. Then if we apply emotion, humour, charm, cultural relevance and attitude, in other words the creative touch to that message, you will have much more relevant, powerful and targeted advertising as an output.

As the VP of Nike has said Were not in the business of keeping the media companies alive, Were in the business of connecting with consumers.