Is your marketing cap black?

I was talking to a finance director recently at a dinner and he asked me “so, which color of cap would you wear in these times Mr CMO?” Strange question. How does it matter? He elaborated “It may determine how your business fares in 2009”. Right, but hold on, how did a finance director turn more imaginative than a marketing guy?

My agency friends would be vehement in denying the logic of cutting down on advertising in tough times. Indeed, as one of my agency CEO friends recently argued, “What’s the point in talking ourselves into recession?” The underlying logic is that keeping wallet strings untied can keep the demand flowing. I think I noticed a news item recently on advertising giant Ogilvy planning to roll-out books to put-forth ways to get through tough times. So would it affect my budget behind advertising this year?

Yes and no. Tough times are good to get noticed and get good advertising “output” without the clutter of an all color ad on every other page. However, these are also times when the customer is putting you under a sharper scrutiny. He or she is looking for the offer you are making in a much more critical way. Why, didn’t you begin to notice the price boards at petrol stations more closely earlier this year when prices hit $147 a barrel, than you had ever done when fuel prices were below $50 a barrel (or now, when they are indeed below $34)? Need for gratification somehow turns more rational in these times. For one, I have started looking beyond the inside front cover when I buy books now a days.

Marketing to generate demand actually grows its value in these times. And it can be done in markedly different ways. Look at how Air Asia chief Tony Fernandes is cutting down on the fuels surcharges and ordering new aircrafts. While I see fewer Air Asia ads, Tony is making headlines in press and his argument that budget airlines should thrive especially during tough times actually makes sense, and Air Asia begins to emerge as a choice for those of us who may not have looked at it in a serious way.

I don’t imply all marketing has to be cold, hard, rational stuff in these times. But they have to “make sense” to the consumer. I guess in a value-cost dimension, value has to assume a greater part even if it is emotional. Tata Consultancy Services has just signed a sponsorship deal with Ferrari and it lifts the mood for many in the sports sponsorship industry. I would be damned if it makes terrific sense to TCS’ customers though, unless the company is able to demonstrate how its association with Ferrari demonstrates the best in IT consultancy it brings to the table.

Call it my red marketing cap giving way to a black one. Or call it a sharp move to “outcome-driven” marketing. I am putting a critique of the messages we are giving out as marketers to ensure they make better case for the consumer’s hard-earned, and in these times a lot more valued, penny. And indeed, ensure the highly valued penny of my own company is earning immediate and visible returns.