By Mike Howes, Creative Partner, krow.x
Whatever your taste in music, U2 undeniably deserve their place in the pantheon of rock gods based on output, global popularity and longevity alone. What’s less certain is the group’s level of marketing expertise.
An old but good example nearly a decade ago Apple decided to push U2’s new album into iCloud libraries on millions of iPhones – with the band’s blessing and whether users wanted the tracks or not.Cue confusion, anger and privacy concerns from swathes of people who had expressed no desire to discover the unfortunately titled Songs of Innocence in their downloads.
Despite being rooted in noble intentions to showcase tech and marketing innovation, the act has since been discussed and ridiculed at length as an example of how not to surprise and delight customers. If Steve and Bono had listened to the customer earlier this may never have happened.
Yet so many brands, marketers and agencies are still falling into the same trap.Far too often, creative is spawned from client and agency ‘logic’ rather than customer insight. Work is tailored to – often short-term – marketing priorities rather than target audiences, or simply pumped out as creative for its own sake.
Creative strategies are frequently developed in silo, too, meaning the thread of activity happening around the piece in question becomes lost. A disjointed, disgruntling customer experience ensues.
It’s far better to consider a holistic approach to understanding the reasons a customer forms their opinion of, and ultimately chooses, a brand. Someone might love an ad but hate customer service – and vice versa. If one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing, negative experience is likely to cancel out positive response.
Seeing through customers’ eyes
Fusing customer insight and creative strategy much earlier in the process is crucial to avoid these mistakes and instead deliver memorable marketing that sells the product or service, breeding long-term loyalty.
That might seem easy; it usually isn’t.What is simple, however, is remembering to ask the right people the right questions before reaching for an answer to a problem not yet defined. Speaking directly to the customer, user or audience in question and brands will get off to the right start because people reveal exactly what they do or don’t want or need.
The next step is to interpret their feedback with a dual mindset of strategy and empathy that effectively blends science and art. The sweetspot that’s uncovered in this analysis is the element that creatives should explore and elevate; a focused area of creative communications, driven by a clear purpose and a holistic approach to reaching target audiences.
The secret to success with this ‘creative CX’ model is closer collaboration not just between brand and agency, but the customer too. It’s long been clear that customers’ needs are the surest signpost to the correct creative approach. Combining that with a deep dive into brands’ current needs – less irrelevant ‘big idea’, more efficient and lasting ROI across multiple channels – ties everything together.
To give an example, we recently repositioned a global b2b company. Our creative CX approach was employed in two ways. Firstly, to understand the needs and wants of its external market, and secondly to glean the same insight from existing employees.
Through workshops and stakeholder involvement we were able to land a positioning and visual identity that felt inclusive and answered the questions employees had, leaving them behind the brand and raring to go forward; while also launching a new proposition to the market that felt cutting-edge, authentic and in tune with sector needs.
Reaching the end of the rainbow
As barriers between creative and insight teams are torn down guesswork is removed from the process of developing ideas and running campaigns, connecting brands and consumers so they all benefit.
For firms, the goal of greater engagement is achievable. So, too, is stronger customer understanding and advocacy. This is the output of more efficient marketing that is firmly rooted in the real wants and needs of the target market.
Customers, meanwhile, reap the rewards of a slicker, better experience as brands shape themselves around relevant insights about their interests and requirements.
On its own creative can sometimes miss the mark. But combined with the rigour and focus of a CX-led approach, it can be the driver of truly meaningful, effective communications.
The big campaign may have been fashionable for brands and agencies in the past as a way of grabbing attention, but these days cool and original doesn’t always deliver – as Apple and U2 found to their embarrassment.
By dovetailing insight and creative ideas, brands can still be fashionable and unique, but also ensure their marketing meets the needs of the target market, giving them a better experience and boosting the bottom line.
