BOCA RATON, FLA. — If it wasn’t for COVID-19, the world’s leading marketing executives and brand strategy executioners would be gathered some three hours to the north, in Orlando, for the ANA Masters of Marketing Conference.
Arguably the best in-person affair for Chief Marketing Officers, brand stewards and media buying and planning leaders, Masters of Marketing — like other major affairs across 2020 — shifted to a highly intricate virtual model. Three days of continuous events kicked off Wednesday morning, and one of the highlights was a presentation from the Global CMO at General Motors.
The key takeaway: looking inward to achieve total growth helped bring GM back from the brink.
GM’s Deborah Wahl offered many takeaways about how an “everybody in” attitude in affecting change at an organization has helped redefine a moribund operation that received federal bailout dollars at the height of the Great Recession of the late 2000s.
With COVID-19 immediately impacting the automotive sector, Wahl, with CEO Mary Barra stewarding all efforts, took a key role in pivoting GM’s messaging to care, empathy and understanding of its customers. This, Wahl noted in a post-presentation interview with Association of National Advertisers CEO Bob Liodice, gave GM a much-needed boost.
“Times of crisis can really show the soul of a brand,” Wahl said, noting that it “really builds a stronger relationship with our consumers,” while aiding in a process that, in simplest terms, can help made a confusing, overwhelmingly difficult world of today a better place.
“We’re in a divisive time, but we’re also in a time of huge potential for companies to change,” Wahl said. “So let’s work together to make it a reality and achieve the change we’ve been talking about for so long.”
In a scripted presentation prior to her interview with Liodice, Wahl offered sentiments on how leadership as influencers can help change from within.
And, as diversity and inclusion initiatives are being seen across broadcast media, it is Wahl’s hope that efforts at GM are one way of achieving a better, more equitable world.
“As marketers, we have the tools, skills, and influence needed to change the direction of our companies,” Wahl said. “It is time for all of us to set the standard we want the world to live by. I hope that everybody is in.”
SOCIAL ISSUES ARISE
Wahl’s comments came following welcome remarks from Liodice, and a Masters of Marketing opening session from Procter & Gamble Co. Global Marketing Officer Marc Pritchard.
Pritchard shared with ANA attendees P&G’s “Force for Good/Force for Growth” approach to its efforts. “There was a time when you wouldn’t go anywhere near social issues [as a brand],” he said. “Now people expect it. They want to know what you’re doing.”
At P&G, the company and and their partners are holding themselves accountable to being more equitable, he noted.
He also addressed the so-called “pipeline myth,” which suggests that there just isn’t enough diverse talent out there. “This is a head fake. It’s just plain wrong,” Pritchard remarked.
Pritchard also warned that “being a force for growth without doing some good is increasingly viewed by consumers as mercenary. Now is the time to use our voice to address the systemic inequities that exist.”
All came following words from Liodice that set the stage for what will be a three-day affair full of virtual sessions, replicating the in-person event at the Rosen Shingle Creek Masters of Marketing normally entails. “It is time for healing and revival, time for economic growth,” he said.
He also offered a COVID-19 lesson from Deloitte Digital Chief Experience Officer Amelia Dunlop:
Other sessions on Day One of the virtual ANA Masters of Marketing Conference saw LVMH Holding Group Global Brand Officer Mathilde Delhoume share how brand heritage and brand purpose, when combined, create strong brand equity.
