Advertising Age reports that Jim Stengel, Procter & Gamble’s chief marketing officer, delivered a speech to the 4A's Media Conference and Trade Show in Las Vegas saying that the nature of advertising has changed in a fundamental way, and that P&G has been converted from being a one-way communicator into being a “starter of conversations and a solver of consumers' problems.”
“It's not about telling and selling," Stengel said. "It's about bringing a relationship mind-set to everything we do." And, he suggested that the near future could see the "complete irrelevance of what we call traditional media."
“It's not about telling and selling," Stengel said. "It's about bringing a relationship mind-set to everything we do." And, he suggested that the near future could see the "complete irrelevance of what we call traditional media."
- KC's View:
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Clearly we agree with Stengel’s remarks, since MNB sort of specializes in being a starter of conversations.
The P&G perception is interesting in terms of some of the other stories that have popped up here in the last week or so. For example, you have the competition between Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts…in which we think it is fair to say that Starbucks is a company that positions itself as a “starter of conversations and a solver of consumers' problems” while Dunkin’ Donuts is a deliverer of product.
Now, this would account for why one retailers appeals to some people (like us) and the other retailer appeals to different people.
It is simplistic to assume that there is one kind of marketing that will appeal to all people. People are too different, with too many different needs, to count on one kind of marketing. That said, they also are getting more sophisticated, and simply won’t accept what marketers tell them as gospel.
