attention and contribute positively to sales and branding efforts .
The average tenure of a CMO , according to various business media , has improved in recent years from 23 months to 43 . CMO tenures vary depending on industry . In the automotive industry , average tenure is 25 months . Communications and media CMOs average 33 months , while CMOs in industrial companies log an average of 99 months . So it ’ s a mixed bag .
Regardless of industry , the job of a marketing officer is to consistently come up with amazing concepts , sensible prices , great packaging and designs and hopefully good product ideas . But there are many pitfalls along the way , and you never want to enter the marketing “ hall of shame ”, which would be those annals of embarrassing marketing moves gone west . Many still live on in infamy and when discussed usually end in comments in the line of : “ What were they thinking ?”
So what makes some campaigns brilliant and others so plainly appalling ? Do you want to be known for the famous dancing Faiba or Barclays ATM ads or campaigns that get ripped off the screens for outrageous suggestion ?
How do marketing calamities happen ? To pry out the unfortunate panoply of factors leading up to most disastrous marketing failures would take a committee of expert high-powered marketing practitioners , academics and consultants . Most executives would not want to own up to the inner workings of what went awry . And , realistically , many wouldn ’ t know for certain given the extended teams involved in most marketing endeavors .
However , most marketing failures boil down to erosion of some simple rules for good marketing : solid collaboration among far-flung teams , common sense , diligent advance planning and execution .
Yes , cleverness and creativity are involved , but marketing has become more than just one team of creative types slung on bean bag chairs in front of a white board brainstorming the “ great idea ” that ’ s going to blow the world ’ s mind .
There are so many ingredients - think about the internal teams , finance department , production , staff and personnel , the agencies , the print service providers , the proofers , the film crews , the media , copywriters , et al and so many parties involved in virtually every marketing campaign that it ’ s important to have a very clear and fundamental set of foundational practices and collaboration technologies to ensure that the best ideas rise to the top and are flawlessly executed .
Marketing Failures
Classic examples of marketing failures in local marketing practice include the cases outlined below . Some are grand catastrophes that resulted in complete failure of the business and others are minor infractions that resulted in the ad being pulled and re-issued , or maybe even the product failing but did not impact greatly on the overall business enterprise that owns the brand that ran the marketing activity . A good and well known case in point of these latter ones is Coke ’ s introduction of the Classic version of the drink .
In this case , Coke , seeking to grow its market share amid stiff competition with Pepsi , decided to alter the formula composition of its drink to make it lighter and sweeter . The backlash from loyal consumers saw them hold demonstrations , stage public marches and generally demand loudly that the original formula be returned and retained . The Coca Cola Company , in response , reverted to its original formula for the main brand and introduced other extensions of the brand for different markets and tastes .
It is an example of a poor marketing decision from which the company recovered without significant or lasting negative impact from the public and consumers of the brand .
Korean Airlines
The South Korean airline had a campaign that bombed out even before it had a chance to leave the runway . “ Visit the Country of Primitive Energy ” was a campaign aimed at exploiting the deep cultural heritage and traditional way of life of people like the Maasai , Samburu , Turkana and other indigenous peoples that have retained their traditional ways of life .
Unfortunately it didn ’ t recognize that the Kenyan people , much as they have within their midst traditional peoples , also have deep aspects of modernity and indeed the vast majority of the population and the way of the life in contemporary Kenya and its cities , is as modern as those of any city in the globe .
This is an example of what happens when you read about a country over the internet and in various books and magazines and then try to craft a campaign for the destination without understanding the nuances and cultural sensitivities of the place . The campaign was probably designed and approved in Seoul without any input from a local agent .
Marshalls East Africa
In the early years of independent Kenya Marshalls was the leading car distributor in the country because they were dealers in a very popular product – Peugeot . The Japanese manufacturers then came onto the scene with cheaper , more
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