Making Content Relevant to the C-Suite
By: Chris Grabarkiewicz-Davis, President, Client Intelligence; Past President, AMA Cincinnati
Do you wonder: Why is business up this week? Why is brand equity down this quarter? Where should I invest marketing dollars to build my brand and business? At the January 24, 2018, Marketing Research Shared Interest Group Community meeting, Chris Grabarkiewicz-Davis shared Luxottica Retail’s journey in answering these questions.
Luxottica Retail’s Story
As Director of Consumer Insights and Marketing Analytics at Luxottica Retail, I championed a transformation where the business went from reporting financial, customer satisfaction, marketing analytics, operations, and brand equity results separately to an integrated approach that allowed them to understand and act on what was driving the business. The outcome was business growth, organizational alignment, and improved effectiveness.
One upshot of this work was that content stood out as a means for building business. Our new business forecasting approach gave us the ability to measure the value of insight-based content. As a result, the organization changed the creative development process and adopted criteria for airing television ads.
How can you make content relevant in your organization?
1. Harness the power of insight
a. An insight is the “Why” behind the “What.” Demonstrate these principals by sharing YouTube videos with key decision makers that illustrate the difference between emotionally and rationally based advertising.
2. Iterate your content
a. There is a great deal of pressure to move faster and skip hearing from consumers as part of the creative development process, but that is selling your organization short. One way to establish the need is to share eye-tracking or neuro results that convey that how the brain processes visual content greatly impacts results.
3. Connect to business results
a. Jerry Maguire’s job to “Show Me the Money” is your CEO’s mantra. Look for ways to link your content to business performance.
b. Tell a story that shows investing early in consumer research (when you’re in the insight or campaign idea development phase) can potentially save a lot of money later.
In closing, remember business leaders are consumers, too. The most effective way to engage business leaders is to use storytelling techniques and not just spreadsheets to make your content goals a reality.
About Chris Grabarkiewicz-Davis
Chris Grabarkiewicz-Davis is the President of Client Intelligence, and the former Director of Consumer Insights and Marketing Analytics at Luxottica Retail. She is also a Past President of AMA Cincinnati.
