Corner Office Conversation: An Interview with Bob Liodice, President and CEO of the Association of National Advertisers

Bob Marold and Angela Martin

In our continuing quest to bring you interviews with leaders in the marketing and advertising world, this quarter’s interview is with Bob Liodice, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA).

Bob Liodice was appointed President and CEO in 2003. He was previously Executive Vice President, responsible for member relations and business development with a primary focus on strengthening relationships with ANA member companies and broadening the membership base. Bob joined the ANA as Senior Vice President in 1995. Prior to the ANA, he was Vice President of Global Marketing and Sales for Grupo Televisa, a major worldwide broadcaster. Previous experience includes more than 15 years in marketing and financial management at Kraft General Foods, including having served as category marketing manager for the Jell-O and Bakers brands. He is a member of the Boards of Directors of The Advertising Council, Advertising Research Foundation, National Advertising Review Council, Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Advertising Educational Foundation and an executive committee member of the World Federation of Advertisers.

Bob holds bachelor degrees in accounting and management and an M.B.A. in finance from New York University.

In this interview Bob Liodice shares his insights on integrated marketing and the importance it plays in today’s marketing industry.

Question: Given that integrated marketing has been discussed and debated by the marketing and advertising community for over 50 years, how should we best define integrated marketing communications now that we are in the midst of a digital revolution?

Liodice: One of the most difficult things in the marketing community is that we don’t always converse well with each other. It’s not that we have difficulty talking but we have difficulty talking in a structured way where we all understand each other and we understand the fundamental levers of how to do effective marketing.

A few years ago while talking to many senior marketers and CMOs I found that it was becoming difficult to structure our conversations due to the architecture of various marketing subjects. You could be referring to 50 to 300 subjects and never really get at the heart and soul of what drives marketing.

So the ANA began thinking about the fundamental pillars of marketing. We basically took the totality of marketing and broke it down into four major buckets. The buckets basically encompass driving brand equity, building revenues, managing costs, and talking about the different media vehicles and the people that influence the management of marketing.

Those four buckets are:

• Brand building
• Integrated marketing communications
• Marketing accountability

• Management of the marketing organization and all of the resources that are attendant to that (such as talent development)

We like to think about any consumer or customer and how they want to be talked to regardless of the media vehicle.

But consumers want to view all of the conversations that come to them from a marketer as ubiquitous; it doesn’t matter what means they get it through – from print, digital, television or radio. It is essentially one common voice that finds a way through the different media to communicate one or maybe two specific messages.

So the various communication vehicles are just simply better ways to reach and target the consumer that’s out there. Our strategy is to integrate the message among multiple media vehicles so that the targeted consumer is effectively reached and so that they walk away with a common message.

Question: Keeping on the integrated marketing theme, when you take a look at the ANA marketing membership and understand how they view the importance of integrated marketing and bringing all the pieces together, why are they passionate about approaching their customers in that one single voice?

Liodice: Marketing has gotten extraordinary, complex and very, very challenging. The ability to reach a consumer target group is very challenging because of the amount of messages that are coming at them from multiple angles. The challenge is reflected by the fact that consumers have greater ability to turn off advertising and marketing.

Think of Do Not Call lists; TiVo and DVRs; the ad blocking power of the Internet; satellite radio and other forms of communication that don’t necessarily embrace advertising and give the consumer the ability to turn it off.

If you have limited opportunities, or the ability to reach consumers is very, very narrow, you have to be absolutely sure that when the message is delivered that it is a message they understand and embrace. Then you’ve ‘made the sale’.

But that’s not easy to do since they want the message to be targeted and delivered directly to them.

All consumers are not adverse to advertising and marketing but what they do want is marketing when they want it, how they want to receive it and, if in fact they want that at all. So they are truly in control of the messages that they want to receive and the messages that they don’t and the vehicles that deliver them.

If we do truly believe that this is an interactive community and we want them to go visit our Web site and be involved in our products and services through an ongoing dialogue, then we have to be sure that they get the message quickly, without any clutter and miscommunication. The ability to do that has to come from multiple touch points and multiple vehicles, and that message has to be crystal clear.

And that’s why marketers have to be passionate about integrated communications and believe in the organized structure necessary to manage the message with clarity. If we don’t do this, we run the risk of getting the message all muddied up.

Question: Regarding how to develop and manage a process to deliver best in class integrated marketing communications, is it a discipline that ultimately will be handled at the client level or can clients working in partnership with their network of agencies manage this jointly?

Liodice: I don’t think there’s any other way to do it than with the marketer in combination with the agency.

If you had asked me the same question five years ago I would have told you that there was probably a fairly good risk that agencies were going to be disintermediated because they were losing their respective relevance at that point in time.

But it's five years later and I’m happy to say that I think the agency community is alive and well because they are embracing the fully integrated marketing platform. They’re no longer TV centric, print centric or radio centric - they are all marketing vehicle centric. In so doing, marketers have moved to embrace a fully integrated relationship with their agency partners. And agencies are again becoming the stewards of the brand message working collaboratively with the marketers and with their media agency partners.

Question: Our readers are always interested in building measurable results into their marketing communications programs. Do you have an integrated marketing case history that you can share inclusive of successful results?

Liodice: I’ll give a couple examples with no prejudice to any particular media form.

• One that quickly comes to mind is MasterCard, with its ‘Priceless’ campaign, which it has fully interwoven through multiple media channels to deliver a brand message. ‘Priceless’ has translated incredibly well not only in the United States but 105 countries in 48 languages around the world.

• Another great example is American Express, which has basically moved away from exclusive use of network television. Ten years ago they spent 85% of their marketing dollars on network TV; today that’s down to 30% and they are very much involved in doing things such as the Jerry Seinfeld Webisode, the Sheryl Crow concert in the park, an Ellen DeGeneres (avatar) and one of their more recent initiatives, The GivingExpress® program, where members actually direct where American Express’ charitable contributions go.

• Burger King has basically turned its marketing over to the consumer with ‘The King’ as its hero. They’ve created ‘The King’ video games and Diddy (Sean “Diddy” Combs) TV over on YouTube. And I think ‘The King’ actually has a MySpace profile.

• One of my favorites is Procter & Gamble Pampers - they’ve actually changed how they communicate to their customers. Their message had always been on dry babies and Pampers as the most effective diaper to keep your baby dry. This has evolved to a very holistic conversation about baby wellness and baby care. Parents are turning to Procter & Gamble for information and insights on babies. Moms & Dads basically work with Procter & Gamble through their Web sites and their consumer centers on holistic baby care.

Question: You are so connected to what’s happening in the advertising industry, what do you think is the next ‘big idea’ and why?

Liodice: I’ve actually been shocked at how far marketing has come. If you would have asked me three to five years ago whether I would have envisioned the current marketing landscape the way it’s evolved today, I would have said you’re absolutely insane. Marketing has changed more in the last five years than in the previous 30.

And the ability to project how consumers have taken control; the amount of marketing vehicles that are out there, the ability to think about mobile advertising and social networking and things of that nature where you have the ability to create true communities amazes me.

The notion of having effective integrated communities is one of the most exciting things to have taken place.

And I’ll give you two examples that have taken place:

• BMW’s Mini Cooper automobile - it’s amazing the collaboration they have with their consumers. It’s like a fabulous club where the drivers actually tell BMW or the Mini Cooper division what they like about the car and help provide design elements for the car. They all enjoy it and the relationship is truly a social event.

• The same goes for Harley-Davidson. They’ve actually been at this for years through everybody being a ‘HOG’ member (Harley Owners Group) and if you’re a ‘HOG’, you’re in the club.

I think that’s what’s happening – marketers are moving away from just building awareness and moving toward engagement. So it’s not so much blasting with GRPs to make consumers aware of your brand. Some of the big brands don’t really need greater awareness – they need to be able to have better quality relationships with their consumers.

I’m not exactly sure how that’s going to continue to evolve, but look at the way some of the media are evolving. For example, in television you’ve got the convergence of television and the Internet, which they’re calling IPTV.

Video on demand is another key way. Look at the outdoor world and the digital transformation that is taking place. In fact, Nike held a “build your own shoe” promotion in Times Square that allowed passersby to design their own sneaker using a cell phone, which then built the image onto a giant screen on the side of the Reuters building. The consumer then received an SMS message with a picture of the shoe, along with the Web address where it could be purchased.

It blows you away the way marketers are engaging consumers. And it’s creative, it’s insightful, it’s fun.

I couldn’t even envision this stuff a year ago, not to mention three to five years ago. So to be able to truly project the next ‘big idea’ is incredibly complex.

Question: Are you surprised at how integrated the Internet has become in our daily lives and how much we rely on it for advertising and information? What do you believe is the next phase for this medium?

Liodice: I think the Internet is truly integrated. In fact, as we discussed before in some of those examples, the robust Web sites and even more efficient search advertising and display advertising are just several of the options now available.

The relationship that you now have is one of incredible power. Take a look at the travel industry; it would be dead without the Internet. And shopping for and buying a car over the Internet, you’re just going to the dealer to sign the paperwork.

Those are just easy examples of how those connections have taken place since there are seamless collaborations with the company that you’re involved with.

And that whole dynamic has changed the relationships of brand loyalties. Consumers now are finding out about brands and developing those insights primarily through the Internet because that’s the source of so much information. Consumers are finding out the information, determining what the best choice is for them and then going and executing their sale accordingly.

And what’s fabulous is that the Internet has essentially moved from desktop to mobiles. We’re so reliant upon our BlackBerry - your life is truly in your hand – not your hands but your hand.

I think the whole future of where marketing is going to happen is with your handheld device, whatever that may be. That technology has greatly improved. You’re now reading The New York Times online with your iPhone.

The advent that mobile technology is going to be leveraging the Internet brings this full circle. The Internet combined with more mobile devices is the next generation.

Question: Can you give a recent example of a company that you think has done a great job at branding and why?

Liodice: I think marketers are starting to relearn about brand and the power of the brand. Some of the examples I mentioned, like MasterCard’s ‘Priceless’ campaign, have worked very effectively to rebuild brand. To me, brand is the greatest component of loyalty. If you’re going to gain consumers and customer loyalty, they need to know your brand and understand your brand, to get romantic with your brand; everything that you envision, it really has to emanate from the brand.

Where you see a tremendous change is in the insurance industry. There are a lot of great examples out there in terms of engineering some great brand loyalty. To mention a few:

• Geico – Some may call their advertising “gimmicky”, but people know it through their caveman campaign and the gecko campaign. They’ve really gotten people to understand Geico.

• The Aflac Duck – “Aflac, Aflac, Aflac” and you get it. For years we didn’t know what Aflac was, but then through the duck, we realized that it was an insurance company.

• Allstate has done a magnificent job in branding itself and truly gaining consumer trust through its Dennis Haysbert commercials and engineering the Allstate brand name.

• Liberty Mutual has done a fantastic job through their social responsibility efforts. They have really set themselves apart through a very deeply personal campaign that I think is really connecting consumers to their respective brand entities.

So they’re all doing it in very different ways but reinforcing brand as their core tenant and core belief.

Question: What are you passionate about in the world of advertising and marketing?

Liodice: From a marketing industry standpoint I am very passionate about trying to build greater alignment within the entire marketing industry. This will become more apparent over time as part of the ANA’s agenda.

There are a host of organizations – such as the ANA, the 4 A’s, the ARF, the AEF, the TVB, the CAB, and others – and all of us are not always in alignment. We need to continue to work collaboratively, not only to manage the future of the industry, but also to manage our respective constituencies and what’s important to them.

I do feel that we’ve made a lot of progress but there’s still a substantial level of waste, inefficiency and a lack of productivity out there. That goes to the entire marketing supply chain, which is the other thing I’m passionate about – there is this notion called a supply chain, which starts with a great idea and ends with a media execution that’s delivered to a consumer.

With all the individual steps that have to take place along the way, it’s an extraordinarily complex supply chain. And we don’t always recognize that there are multiple points along the way, which is the reason why we’ve never been able to talk about marketing ROI. Right now marketing ROI is not something that can be done.

We certainly measure returns on various components of the supply chain but not as part of the total supply chain. And that’s because we look at things in very, very small components. But in order to be able to advance our knowledge, education and appreciation of that we have to fully understand and embrace what that supply chain is about.

When we start to measure all of those things, and down the road, 5, 10, 15 years from now we will be having a common language as people have a full appreciation of that supply chain across all the various media channels out there. The next generation of marketing and media managers is going to be far brighter than the current set we have right now.

Question: Any “words of wisdom” for our readers that will help them be even more successful moving forward with their advertising/marketing efforts?

Liodice: Measure, measure, measure, data, facts, measurements, the old saying, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” it’s very, very true.

Marketers’ natural tendency is to fly blind because we get so captured by the creative idea and the creative execution that we don’t always test and measure, and we don’t always get the feedback loop in place. Accountability is such an important philosophy. It’s very important for marketers and agencies to have the appropriate measurement systems that provide reinforcement as to the efficiency and effectiveness of their marketing.

We need to look for measurements across the board. And that even extends beyond just the marketers themselves to Nielsen providing TV commercial ratings, Arbitron for radio and the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Everywhere that there is a major media, there should be an effective measurement system to support the marketer’s efforts to truly understand the full deployment of what is out there.

A lot of marketers have created a culture of accountability. By having that culture of accountability and by having particularly the Chief Marketing Officer and to some extent the Chief Executive Officer at the helm of driving measurement, they have been extraordinarily effective in ratcheting up accountability processes.

Now we’ve made great progress, but 42% of marketers, according to a recent ANA study, have indicated that they are still not satisfied with their accountability performance. At least there is motivation out there to continue to drive accountability within an organization.

But we’re never going to know whether we’ve been efficient or effective in our marketing efforts if we do not have the right accountability program that’s out there.

Bob Marold joined Valassis in 2007 as National Agency Sales Director. He leads the company’s agency initiative. Bob has worked with agencies for over 20 years representing various magazine publishers. He also worked for The Media Edge, one of the leading media service networks in the US.

Angela Martin is the Editor of Marketing Solutions and Marketing Communications Manager for Valassis. She has over 20 years experience in marketing in the specialty retail and food service industries.