Purpose-Driven Marketing All the Rage at ANA

ORLANDO (AdAge.com) -- In the midst of an uncertain economic climate that has the industry hopeful for a rebound, yet nervous enough not to expect it, the Association of National Advertisers celebrated its 100-year anniversary at its annual convention last week with a record-breaking 1,600 attendees. And based on the tone of much of the discussion, the organization might want to consider a new name for the next century: the Association of Purposeful Advertisers. "Purpose isn't just good for the soul, it's actually really good for the bottom line," said Dell's former CMO Erin Nelson, who presented alongside her successor, Karen Quintos. "The purpose can become the filter that says 'do I or do I not invest the resources in getting this done, is it going to help me achieve the purpose for which my company exists every single day.'" Jim Stengel, the former Procter & Gamble Co. Global Marketing Officer who became the guru of "purpose brands" at P&G during his seven-year tenure in that post, which ended in 2008, is now one of the chief movers of the concept as a consultant (for Dell among others). He was registered but couldn't make the conference, he said, apparently pinned down in Cincinnati with a bit of work on purpose-branding consulting. But he said the frequent references to purpose, which he was following via Twitter, were "gratifying." Cindy Gallop, who has founded a purpose-driven venture called IfWeRanTheWorld, went so far as to call it the "future of advertising" and argued it would help reverse the bad connotation the discipline has among consumers. Advertisers must engage with a project that has meaning for consumers or helps them change the world, she said, adding that "action is transformable and bonding." Others discussed the issue of bonding with consumers in more general terms. Marilyn Mersereau, senior VP-corporate marketing for Cisco -- a tech marketer not usually seen as warm and fuzzy -- displayed the consumer-friendly Umi device as a means of connecting families. The key, she said, is discovering "what is the emotional connection that my brand has to its customers." Said Target exec VP-CMO Michael Francis: "Expect more, pay less" isn't just a tagline, it is our emotional connection to our guests." Of course, the economy reared its ugly head in hallways and on stage. In a very gloomy and much-discussed presentation, economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman offered this sober assessment: "History tells us that we should not count on any kind of recovery anytime soon," he said. "The economy is depressed because people don't want to spend." And much of the event, as reflected in talks from Mr. Francis, Fidelity Investments Exec VP-CMO Jim Speros and Geico VP-CMO Ted Ward, was also centered on how to get them to spend. That's as purposeful as it gets. ~ ~ ~ Contributing: Judann Pollack

Purpose-Driven Marketing All the Rage at ANA

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