So that was 2007. As usual, there were a host of marketing mistakes and a few moments of genius. Let’s celebrate the latter first, as they are rare gems.
My first pick is AG Lafley, chief executive of Procter & Gamble, and still the world’s greatest marketer. Another stellar year for him saw P&G continue to grow profits and share price while reducing the number of brands in its portfolio. Lafley is the antidote to the financially oriented chief executives on this side of the pond. He came from marketing, and has driven P&G forward with a simple message of focus on customers and innovation around their needs. He’s no slouch when it comes to organizational issues, either: the mission of absorbing the 30,000 employees and 50,000 product codes that came with the acquisition of Gillette is complete, one year ahead of schedule.
My next pick is Robert Polet, the chief executive of the Gucci group. No one expected the former Unilever executive to be able to walk into the world of luxury branding and be so successful so quickly. But by introducing leaner production systems and encouraging the great house of Gucci and its other luxury stablemates to incorporate consumer insights into their strategies, Polet is proving phenomenally successful.
My final pick for the maestros is the eight-strong brand team at Innocent. It has been a hot brand since its inception in 1999, but 2007 marked its maturity into a real player in CPG / FMCG. The founders have chosen not to sell out, believing their brand has the legs for the long term. A wise move, as 2007 saw the brand grow its share of the sector to 72% and break through the £100m revenue figure.
This is all despite its key competitor PJ’s having been acquired by PepsiCo in 2005. A recent survey of 100 marketers revealed more would like to work for Innocent than any other brand – no wonder. Let’s hope it stays independent and keeps showing the rest of us how to build brands.
But who are the year’s marketing muppets? Let’s start with the 2012 logo debacle. The client, LOCOG, got it wrong by stipulating a brief based on access, participation and making the games belong to everyone, and then hired exclusive London design agency Wolff Olins. The agency chairman, Bryan Boylan, got it wrong by going into hiding and not defending his work after his company’s design was met by public uproar. Then Wolff Olins’ former founding partner Michael Wolff got it wrong by stepping into the vacuum created by Boylan’s silence, accusing critics of being ‘comfortable and lazy’ and generally making a bad situation worse. The brand of branding was damaged this year.
Robert A. Eckert, chief executive of Mattel, also handled a mishap badly. Faced with a series of product recalls, he demonstrated how not to do crisis management. First, he blamed China and its sloppy production methods in a public apology. Next, he apologized to the US Senate and admitted half of Mattel’s Chinese production was owned and operated by the company and therefore his direct responsibility. Finally, Mattel was forced into another humiliating apology to the Chinese government over any aspersions it may have cast on the country that accounts for two-thirds of its production.
But the biggest muppet of 2007 was Northern Rock chairman Matt Ridley. It was his very well-paid job to oversee the company properly. Ridley holds a PhD in zoology, so it’s perhaps not surprising he did such an awful job. I have a PhD in marketing, but if you put me in charge of the monkey house at London Zoo, I am sure the result would be equally disastrous.
30 SECONDS ON … THE MUPPETS
– The Muppets are a group of puppet characters invented by the late Jim Henson in the 60s.
– The word ‘muppet’ was said by Henson to be a combination of the words ‘marionette’ and ‘puppet’.
– The Muppet Show, which ran from 1976 to 1981, often included recurring skits featuring Muppet characters, including ‘Pigs in Space’ – a parody of science fiction shows – and ‘The Swedish Chef’.
– Using the camera frame as the ‘stage’, with the puppeteers hidden from view, was a fresh approach.
– Kermit the Frog, Henson’s most beloved creation, first appeared in a five-minute puppet show for WRC-TV’s Sam and Friends in 1955. Voiced by Henson until his death in 1990, Kermit has since been voiced by Steve Whitmire.
– The Muppets brand now includes spin-off series, films, TV specials,toys and games, as well as two attractions at US theme parks.
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