In a recent round-table discussion I facilitated at a conference an interesting debate opened up about the roles of consumer marketers and shopper marketers. After a while the discussion closed in on one key question – who should be the custodian of the brand. Unanimously there was agreement that consumer marketing held this accountability: unanimous across consumer and shopper marketers respectively. I kept quiet, allowing the debate to continue: but it got me thinking. Should consumer marketers be the custodian of the brand, are they up to the task, and what role in brand management should shopper marketers play?
Want to be a brand manager? Then manage your brand!
I have a belief that the only reason that there was such a strong consensus around the group that consumer marketers are in charge of brands is historical. For a long time consumer marketers have been called brand managers, and that’s just the way it has been. But, for a moment, let’s think about that. What do we mean by ‘brand management’? What does being a brand manager actually mean?
Back in the day when all that mattered to brands was the relationship with the target consumer, the synonymy was acceptable. But in these modern times, businesses recognize that there is more to a brand than its relationship with a target consumer. And there is significant activity and investment that, arguably has little to do with the consumer, and in which the consumer marketer often has little involvement. For example, who is managing the relationship between the brand and the shopper? Who is responsible for the overall profitability of the brand (including its spend with trade customers?) Too many brand managers I come across have little or no awareness of the total cost of their brand’s ‘business’. How can a marketer be a brand manager when they aren’t looking holistically at its finances?
Consumer marketers: if you want to be called brand managers, then you must, ‘manage the brand’ in its entirety, not just the ‘sexy’ bits. Brand management is exactly that. Perhaps it is time we uncoupled the terms brand manager and consumer marketer: reserving the former title only for managers who truly manage all aspects of a brand.
Shopper marketers – you have brand management responsibilities too
But let’s not allow shopper marketers and trade marketers off the hook, either. When introducing RACI as a model for managing projects, we say that whilst multiple parties can be responsible for something, only one can be accountable. This stands true in brand management. Only one person can stand as the true guardian of the brand. But that doesn’t mean that other parties aren’t responsible for its well-being. Too many shopper marketers, trade marketers and sales managers seem to take very little account of the long term health of the brand. It’s your brand too!
What does this mean for marketing organizations?
When I present at conferences and events, one of the most common questions I get is about how shopper marketing should be integrated into the business: should it be within marketing, sales, or as a standalone function. My first answer used to be ‘it depends’ – there are, after all, many examples around the world of each model working effectively. The more I consider this, however, and the more I observe the issues that brands face today, the more I am convinced that shopper marketing is part of brand management, and that shopper marketing should therefore be part of the marketing team’s efforts. And until marketers truly manage all of a brand’s interactions and relationships with a market, perhaps the term ‘brand manager’ should be retired indefinitely!
I publish a post nearly every week on marketing, shopper marketing, and the Total Marketing concept I pioneered with Toby Desforges. To read more, please subscribe to this blog, or visit my company’s site where you’ll find more details and posts!
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