With this pandemic hitting our industry hard, the role of CMOs and marketing leaders has changed, once and for all to expand beyond the spectrum of marketing to a much wider ecosystem, adding brand growth acceleration, community building and disruption to their pockets of responsibilities.
We’ve exclusively chatted with Ebru Tuygun, Regional CMO of Accenture Middle East, on her perspectives on CMOs, brand agility, 5G and more.
BB: The pandemic came unexpectedly, creating unprecedented chaos and uncertainty. To navigate, priorities needed to be rearranged and strategies shifted. What did this mean for CMOs?
ET: Before the pandemic, who could have imagined that QR codes would replace paper menus? Or that picking up online-ordered groceries curbside would become more popular than going into the store? Or that people would buy a car without ever stepping in a showroom or test driving it? We have lived—and are still living—through a time of profound change to everyday existence. As a result, people’s motivations for purchasing and their expectations of what a great brand experience should be like are shifting more than we have seen at any other time in history. The boundaries between so many aspects of life—especially our personal and professional lives—have blurred during the pandemic. So much change so fast has been exhausting. Months of relentless change as customers have radically reevaluated their values and purpose have directly impacted marketers of all business functions. At the same time, shrinking budgets and increased pressure from the business to take the lead on customer experience and drive growth have made marketing even more difficult.
BB: In your opinion, how do u see the mindset and role of the CMO changing as a result of the pandemic? How should they embrace the new reality?
ET: Over the last year and a half, the kitchen became a school, the living room became a gym, and the dining room became an office. The boundaries between so many aspects of life blurred—especially between people’s personal and professional lives. Customers have shifted their mindsets and motivations rapidly and massively; marketing is familiar with quick change, but the speed, scope, and scale of what we’ve seen over the past 18 months is new territory. So, how can marketers expect the status quo to suffice when the people they serve are transforming so definitively? The reality is that as people’s mindsets and buying patterns transform, marketing must follow. Marketers must deeply understand new customer motivations and expectations and respond to them to reach people where they are. If they do not, people will vote with their feet and wallets, choosing to buy from someone who aligns better with their new values.
BB: With things settling down a bit, it is the more agile, the more creative and the more innovative brands that are still standing. In your opinion, how can brands remain agile in the new reality?
ET: Customers worldwide say that the pandemic has caused them to rethink their purpose and reevaluate what is important to them in life. That complexity is here to stay, so we all have to be comfortable with it. That is why CMOs now have to answer the question of how to get reacquainted with their customers. I recommend three strategic actions:
- Focus on what matters – Put customers in the middle by engaging with them— from developing customer advisory boards to giving them a voice in product or service development.
- Discard personas – Humanize customer segmentation, shifting from one-dimensional caricatures to multi-dimensional views and activate them across all initiatives.
- Rewire what is measured – Evolve performance measures to reflect the most important outcomes to customers, not just to the business.
BB: If there is one lesson learned from the pandemic, it is that brands need to shift to a digital-first mindset. How will Accenture help brands accelerate their digital transformation?
ET: A digital-first mindset is, of course, crucial but what marketing needs more of is less. Thriving CMOs know that the world will never go back to how it was. They have seized this reality as permission to redefine what they do, how they do it, and the role of marketing in the business. In essence, they have used the pandemic as a forcing function to say “no more” to the way things have been. Instead of holding on to what is, they are decluttering marketing to manage complexity. They are zeroing in on their customers’ new motivations and what is needed to serve them in smarter, better ways. They focus on what really matters, discard what doesn’t and rewire the rest. Free of meaningless stuff, thriving CMOs and their teams are finding greater meaning in their work. Many marketers have discovered that trying to be all things to all people is messy. It is easy to lose sight of their unique brand purpose. In trying to appeal to everyone, they risk appealing to no one. Now is the time for marketers to discard the long tail of tactics that yield diminishing returns so they can truly own what they stand for in big, bold ways. Accenture Interactive helps CMOs walk this journey together, especially to find their collective difference, move at the pace of change, figure out what no one wants to stand, and support them to own what they want to stand for.
BB: Another buzzing development on the tech scene is the rise of 5G. How do you think 5G will change media, marketing and brand building ?
ET: Brands’ digital presence among various platforms will be even more crucial.With higher loading speeds and better connectivity, people will likely consume even more online content on their various devices. Video consumption, real time live coverage and video advertisement will grow even more. I expect increasing volume of content to be available on AR and VR and we will see advertisement to excel in various platforms and in various forms. I also think that social media companies will redefine their video platforms and they may introduce different new technologies to engage with their audiences and create more interactive experiences.
BB: COVID-19 caused a severe disruption in customer behavior sending Marketers on a race to revamp their customer experience. In your opinion, how can CMOs of the region gain command of the new reality of customer experience ?
ET: CMOs now need to find their collective difference. Every part of the business is hyper-focused on its own priorities and workstreams. However, delivering on differentiation and customer experience takes unity and collaboration. Now is the time to rewire the enterprise around its collective difference—eliminating competing ambitions so that the whole is greater than its parts. Rallying around a common ambition is crucial. CMOs know that experience is inextricably linked to differentiation and growth. Unlocking collective difference means leading with influence outside of the marketing department. Every function in the business has a role in defining and delivering the brand experience to discerning customers.
CMOs must own what they want to stand for. When it comes to new opportunities to stand out to their customers, they need to take them—and own them. In addition, let us not only express brand purpose but let us embody it. Empathizing with your customers is crucial, and CMOs need to feel the deepest connection with their customers. Thriving CMOs believe that most of their customers want more empathy from them. CMOs need to view shifts in customer values coming out of the pandemic as opportunities to rethink marketing’s role in the organization and reimagine their brand purpose in the context of their customers’ and society’s new normal. Moreover, they need to innovate without boundaries. So, it is clear that taking control and decluttering by following their own rules—one step at a time will make them leaders in the market. It is equally crucial to determine what to keep (the responsibilities and tasks that motivate teams, meet customer expectations, and deliver for the business) and what to shift and get rid of certain things produces greater returns, more growth, more meaning and even more joy.
BB: What is the next big step for the Accenture brand in the region?
ET: At Accenture, we leverage change to power our thinking, strategy and how we serve our clients, communities and people. This year is seeing a drastic shift in mindsets and with it, we’re also set to redefine our marketing strategy for our region; agree on what to keep, what to prioritize and get rid of certain things that no longer serve our brand purpose. Our brand strategy will put conversations related to technological innovation in spaces of consumer experiences, cloud, supply chain, and more to the forefront – all business-critical elements that are serving our clients to thrive. In the next six months, as the Digital Premier Partner of Expo 2020 Dubai, we will focus on our marketing activations at EXPO in our dedicated space, called Accenture Exchange, which is a phenomenal space looking over the heart of Expo – Al Wasl Dome, to showcase the most innovative technologies that will impact the business in the next 1-2 years. We are also the Digital Transformation partner of the Louvre Abu Dhabi (LAD) Museum, and we will see more activations with our LAD partnership. We were the Knowledge Partner of G20/B20/W20 in Saudi Arabia, and we will continue to build on our thought leadership and partnerships. We will share our research, reports and thought-provoking insights with prominent regional organizations like the World Government Summit, INSEAD, MISK Foundation and the Future Investment Initiative in Saudi Arabia, in addition to many more which you will witness soon. We will continue to build future ready skills with various organizations to lead the workforce of the future in our region. We supported Women 20 (W20) and various women organizations to grow the next generation of women leaders. More to come on that front. We lead change and aim to make our brand synonymous with innovation by working with our ecosystem partners, government and business leaders and being an integral part of the Middle East’s growth plans while creating great impact in the communities and giving back to the society with our Responsible Business agenda.
