How marketers can profit from slowing down the ‘cycle of more’
By Richard Germain on Wednesday, 7 February 2024
What’s going on?
Mental availability is at an all-time low. A diminished ability of not only brands but everything – from celebs to world events – to own our attention. There’s just too much stuff grabbing at our consciousness. Many businesses are now lost in what Gartner’s recent CMO Quarterly calls an unprofitable ‘cycle of more’ – more comms, more messages, less engagement.[1] Being so preoccupied with scattergun content, advertisers have neglected a simple truth: fame sells. It’s why forward-thinking brands, including our clients, are focusing on creating ‘catalytic customer experiences’; fewer, but more meaningful, interactions that have an emotional impact, motivating action and driving profits.
Why does it matter?
Anyone can create content. But can they disrupt and engage? It’s a crucial question for financial services and B2B brands. But if they can, the rewards are substantial and enduring – with Gartner finding that a single ‘catalytic’ interaction can increase a person’s commitment to a previously unknown brand by up to 52%.[2] CMOs are under pressure to deliver more value with less budget. But as our fame approach with ABI’s ‘Pension Attention’ campaign and Tesco pet insurance shows, ads at their most powerful can make people stop, think and act. They can generate their own headlines and, most importantly, results.
What can we do?
- Kick off the comfort blanket of ‘more’ for fewer, more creative, fame-inducing campaigns.
- Focus on how your brand creates genuinely distinctive value for customers. Create fame not infamy – borrowed interest always needs to be paid back – with interest.
- Maintain the courage of your convictions; defending your decision to go bold while being sensitive to business constraints, championing strategically important and high-impact activities.
- Create something that people really enjoy watching or reading, underpinned by distinctive assets that anchor your brand in their brains. Give people ways to engage and share. Because fame doesn’t exist in one mind, but many.
For more from our 2024 Signals Report, read the full piece here. Or if you’d like to discuss the impact of these signals on your business contact us at hello@teamspirit.co.uk.
