As we move towards the end of 2020, nine months into the COVID-19 crisis and with some recent hopeful news about a vaccine, it’s no surprise that the question on many people’s minds is, “When will there be a return to normal?” But, the more relevant and interesting question might be, “Will there be a return to normal?” And taking it one step further, “Do we want a return to normal?”

stephen-pedersen-0gw99zh321a-unsplash.jpg

COVID-19 has clearly been an inflection point, fundamentally reshaping how we live, work and socialize; and leading us to re-evaluate fundamental issues of economic, social and racial equality. Some of the changes wrought will be lasting while others will be temporary. Nine months into the crisis, we don’t quite know yet which is which – including CMOs who list their #1 challenge as, “understanding what consumer behavior is permanent versus temporary.”

But some shifts have come into focus, and you will find them and their repercussions for five sectors detailed and discussed by dentsu strategists and consultants in the next section. 

The theme they all have in common is that COVID-19 and its attending health, economic and political crises are leading us – as both consumers and marketers - to re-evaluate the role that brands could and should play in marshalling a response to the challenges facing us and driving progress on the underlying issue. 

Revolution of
Rising Expectations: The Modern Marketer's Mandate
Dirk Herbert, Chief Strategy Officer, dentsu Americas 

What separates CMOs who feel better prepared to navigate the current crisis from those who don’t?

On the consumer side, this is driven by a number of trends converging into a perfect storm of higher expectations.

Fueled by the crisis, consumers increasingly feel brands not only have permission, but an obligation to contribute in broader ways. Data from our Dentsu Navigator, a monthly sentiment tracker, shows that 46% of consumers report that they are paying MORE attention now versus pre-COVID to what brands are doing to actively support individuals, communities and employees during this crisis. And 57% feel that brands have a responsibility to use their influence to stand up for social issues, speaking to the clear imperative for marketers to connect profit to purpose. But a gap remains: a recent PwC study shows that while 56% of C-suite leaders feel their company has a broader purpose beyond profit, only 24% of consumers agreed. This points to a need for marketers to lead the charge on more closely intertwining brand, purpose and customer experience.

An insistence on purpose.
Silence now comes at a price.  

Brands are facing a catch-22: one the one hand, a majority of consumers want brands to take a stand on a broad range of issues and feel brands have an actual obligation to do so; on the other hand, brands taking a stand in today’s highly polarized and politicized cultural environment risk controversy and backlash. In the past, staying silent was a way to skirt the issue. That “loophole” is quickly closing. Today, at a time of heightened consumer attention and expectations, not saying anything is still saying something. And it increasingly comes at a price: 56% of consumers state that they have no respect for a brand that stays silent on important issues (source: Edelman Trust Barometer); and 50% of consumers in Dentsu’s Navigator survey indicated that when a brand stayed silent on an important issue they either switched to a new brand, told others to boycott the brand, posted about the brand’s silence online or contacted the brand directly to encourage them to speak up. This points to the need for marketers to have a clear understanding of the brand’s purpose and proactively commit to causes aligned to the brand’s values; and embrace the fact that a brand – like a person – cannot be all things to all people.

On the marketer side, we’re seeing a corresponding set of trends converging.  In our 2020 dentsu CMO survey, we looked at what separates CMOs who feel better prepared to navigate the current crisis from those who don’t, and the resulting variables point to a reshaping of marketing’s role in line with changing consumer expectations.

  • Prepared CMOs are actively re-imagining the customer experience – not just incrementally but completely. They’re much more likely to have purpose-driven initiatives at the core of their experience transformation efforts as compared to their unprepared CMO counterparts.

  • Prepared CMOs are much more likely to have succeeded in elevating the role of marketing within their organization – from cost center to indispensable business driver. They’ve been significantly more successful in building alliances across the organization and, therefore, have both the funding and political clout to drive a holistic customer experience agenda across all parts of the business, not just marketing.

  • Finally, prepared CMOs have a much greater focus on being champions of agile innovation. While both prepared and unprepared CMOs are seeking to understand consumer behavior, prepared CMOs are converting insight more quickly into new products, commerce and brand experiences, not just messaging. Simultaneously, they are tackling business fundamentals, such as safeguarding employees and adjusting to the new ways of working.

COVID-related disruptions are shining a spotlight on a number of “behind the scenes” elements of brands – from employee benefit plans and corporate finance decisions to supply chain, manufacturing and work safety issues.  This is happening at the exact moment that consumer expectations and attention paid to brands are rising. The result: consumers are increasingly factoring “non-marketing” decisions into how they form opinions about brands, with formerly fringe concerns around internal operations quickly becoming mainstream considerations. This points to the need for elevating the role of marketing across the organization as shapers and guardians of a customer experience that is both externally and internally consistent.

Everything is marketing.

Do we want a return to normal?

This brings us back to the original question: “Do we want a return to normal?” 

As bracing as the crisis has been, it is transforming what consumers expect of us as an industry and what we should expect of ourselves as marketers. Marketing as a discipline is being given – and is expected to deliver –against an increasingly broader remit: with brands no longer being mere providers of products and services, but as change agents of our cultural, social and economic context. 

Yes, we all will have to work harder, faster and smarter to live up to higher expectations.  But what marketer worth their salt would pass up the opportunity to be champions for meaningful progress? At dentsu, we relish this opportunity.

dirk.png
Dirk Herbert, Chief Strategy Officer,
dentsu Americas 
circle1.jpg

As we move towards the end of 2020, nine months into the COVID-19 crisis and with some recent hopeful news about a vaccine, it’s no surprise that the question on many people’s minds is, “when will there be a return to normal?” But the more relevant and interesting question might be, “Will there be a return to normal?” And taking it one step further, “Do we want a return to normal?”

stephen-pedersen-0gw99zh321a-unsplash.jpg

COVID-19 has clearly been an inflection point, fundamentally reshaping how we live, work and socialize; and leading us to re-evaluate fundamental issues of economic, social and racial equality. Some of the changes wrought will be lasting while others will be temporary. Nine months into the crisis, we don’t quite know yet which is which – including CMOs who list their #1 challenge as, “understanding what consumer behavior is permanent versus temporary.”

But some shifts have come into focus, and you will find them and their repercussions for five sectors detailed and discussed by dentsu strategists and consultants in the next section. 

The theme they all have in common is that COVID-19 and its attending health, economic and political crises are leading us – as both consumers and marketers - to re-evaluate the role that brands could and should play in marshalling a response to the challenges facing us and driving progress on the underlying issue. 

Revolution of
Rising Expectations: The Modern Marketer's Mandate
Dirk Herbert, Chief Strategy Officer, dentsu Americas 

On the consumer side, this is driven by a number of trends converging into a perfect storm of higher expectations.

Fueled by the crisis, consumers increasingly feel brands not only have permission, but an obligation to contribute in broader ways. Data from our Dentsu Navigator, a monthly sentiment tracker, shows that 46% of consumers report that they are paying MORE attention now versus pre-COVID to what brands are doing to actively support individuals, communities and employees during this crisis. And 57% feel that brands have a responsibility to use their influence to stand up for social issues, speaking to the clear imperative for marketers to connect profit to purpose. But a gap remains: a recent PwC study shows that while 56% of C-suite leaders feel their company has a broader purpose beyond profit, only 24% of consumers agreed. This points to a need for marketers to lead the charge on more closely intertwining brand, purpose and customer experience.

An insistence
on purpose.
Silence now comes at a price.  
Everything is marketing.

Brands are facing a catch-22: one the one hand, a majority of consumers want brands to take a stand on a broad range of issues and feel brands have an actual obligation to do so; on the other hand, brands taking a stand in today’s highly polarized and politicized cultural environment risk controversy and backlash. In the past, staying silent was a way to skirt the issue. That “loophole” is quickly closing. Today, at a time of heightened consumer attention and expectations, not saying anything is still saying something. And it increasingly comes at a price: 56% of consumers state that they have no respect for a brand that stays silent on important issues (source: Edelman Trust Barometer); and 50% of consumers in Dentsu’s Navigator survey indicated that when a brand stayed silent on an important issue they either switched to a new brand, told others to boycott the brand, posted about the brand’s silence online or contacted the brand directly to encourage them to speak up. This points to the need for marketers to have a clear understanding of the brand’s purpose and proactively commit to causes aligned to the brand’s values; and embrace the fact that a brand – like a person – cannot be all things to all people.

COVID-related disruptions are shining a spotlight on a number of “behind the scenes” elements of brands – from employee benefit plans and corporate finance decisions to supply chain, manufacturing and work safety issues.  This is happening at the exact moment that consumer expectations and attention paid to brands are rising. The result: consumers are increasingly factoring “non-marketing” decisions into how they form opinions about brands, with formerly fringe concerns around internal operations quickly becoming mainstream considerations. This points to the need for elevating the role of marketing across the organization as shapers and guardians of a customer experience that is both externally and internally consistent.

What separates CMOs who feel better prepared to navigate the current crisis from those who don’t?

On the marketer side, we’re seeing a corresponding set of trends converging.  We looked at what separates CMOs who feel better prepared to navigate the current crisis from those who don’t, and the resulting variables point to a reshaping of marketing’s role in line with changing consumer expectations.

  • Prepared CMOs are actively re-imagining the customer experience – not just incrementally but completely. They’re much more likely to have purpose-driven initiatives at the core of their experience transformation efforts as compared to their unprepared CMO counterparts.

  • Prepared CMOs are much more likely to have succeeded in elevating the role of marketing within their organization – from cost center to indispensable business driver. They’ve been significantly more successful in building alliances across the organization and, therefore, have both the funding and political clout to drive a holistic customer experience agenda across all parts of the business, not just marketing.

  • Finally, prepared CMOs have a much greater focus on being champions of agile innovation. While both prepared and unprepared CMOs are seeking to understand consumer behavior, prepared CMOs are converting insight more quickly into new products, commerce and brand experiences, not just messaging. Simultaneously, they are tackling business fundamentals, such as safeguarding employees and adjusting to the new ways of working.

Do we want a return to normal?

This brings us back to the original question: “Do we want a return to normal?” 

As bracing as the crisis has been, it is transforming what consumers expect of us as an industry and what we should expect of ourselves as marketers. Marketing as a discipline is being given – and is expected to deliver –against an increasingly broader remit: with brands no longer being mere providers of products and services, but as change agents of our cultural, social and economic context. 

Yes, we all will have to work harder, faster and smarter to live up to higher expectations.  But what marketer worth their salt would pass up the opportunity to be champions for meaningful progress? At dentsu, we relish this opportunity.

#DentsuYearInReview

Revolution of Rising Expectations

Consumers' expectations of brands, government and society are rising. Dentsu strategists reflect on the moments that changed marketing in 2020, and share 2021 predictions for the next frontier of marketing.

Lessons from leading in a crisis: CEO note

Jacki Kelley reflects on her first year as CEO of dentsu Americas, shares insights on why we became dentsu and where the business is headed in 2021.

We are dentsu

Becoming dentsu represents an important milestone in the evolution of our international business as we build on dentsu’s rich legacy of innovation and industry leadership along with the dynamic growth story of Dentsu Aegis Network. Our business provides our clients and our people with the best of both worlds, helping them to achieve meaningful progress against a backdrop of unprecedented change and disruption.

Leading with diversity, equity and inclusion

Christena Pyle, the new Chief Equity Officer of dentsu America sheds light on an inside-out approach to creating a diverse and equitable business.

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Revolution
of rising expectations

Dirk Herbert, Chief Strategy Officer, dentsu Americas reflects on how the modern marketer's mandate has changed. He shares three consumer expectations of brands and three  qualities of a prepared CMO.

5

Industries that will change for the better

What does the future hold for 'The Big Three' in telecommunications? How will consumer shopping behaviors shift in 2021? With B2B travel on pause, how will travel and hospitality resurrect itself? We tapped strategists across our network to share their predictions for 2021.

The role of CXM across industries in

Technology and marketing are becoming synonymous. The role of tech partners such as Salesforce, Adobe and Google are increasingly becoming a part of the frontier marketer's remit. Read our view on where CXM is headed in 2021.

Press inquiries
Become a client

Jennifer Ferguson
Chief Communications Officer
dentsu Americas
Phone: 1-917-797-6038
Email: Jennifer.Ferguson@dentsu.com

Mike Russell
Chief Growth Officer
dentsu Americas
Phone: 1-917-513-0008
Email: clientsUSA@dentsu.com

© dentsu 2020   |   dentsu privacy policy  |  Visit dentsu website  |  Twitter  |  Instagram 

#DentsuYearInReview

Revolution of Rising Expectations

Consumers' expectations of brands, government and society are rising. Dentsu strategists reflect on the moments that changed marketing in 2020, and share 2021 predictions for the next frontier of marketing.

Lessons from leading in a crisis: CEO note

Jacki Kelley reflects on her first year as CEO of dentsu Americas, shares insights on why we became dentsu and where the business is headed in 2021.

We are dentsu

Becoming dentsu represents an important milestone in the evolution of our international business as we build on dentsu’s rich legacy of innovation and industry leadership along with the dynamic growth story of Dentsu Aegis Network. Our business provides our clients and our people with the best of both worlds, helping them to achieve meaningful progress against a backdrop of unprecedented change and disruption.

Leading with diversity, equity and inclusion

Christena Pyle, the new Chief Equity Officer of dentsu America sheds light on an inside-out approach to creating a diverse and equitable business.

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Revolution
of rising expectations

Dirk Herbert, Chief Strategy Officer, dentsu Americas reflects on how the modern marketer's mandate has changed. He shares three consumer expectations of brands and three  qualities of a prepared CMO.

5

Industries that will change for the better

What does the future hold for 'The Big Three' in telecommunications? How will consumer shopping behaviors shift in 2021? With B2B travel on pause, how will travel and hospitality resurrect itself? We tapped strategists across our network to share their predictions for 2021.

The role of CXM across industries in

Technology and marketing are becoming synonymous. The role of tech partners such as Salesforce, Adobe and Google are increasingly becoming a part of the frontier marketer's remit. Read our view on where CXM is headed in 2021.

Press inquiries
Become a client

Jennifer Ferguson
Chief Communications Officer
dentsu Americas
Phone: 1-917-797-6038
Email: Jennifer.Ferguson@dentsu.com

Mike Russell
Chief Growth Officer
dentsu Americas
Phone: 1-917-513-0008
Email: clientsUSA@dentsu.com

© dentsu 2020   |   dentsu privacy policy  |  Visit dentsu website  |  Twitter  |  Instagram