For Omar de Silva, when launching FourthRev, it was all about reimagining higher education delivering career opportunities and outcomes for modern learners. 

Growing into marketing roles is a different journey for everyone. Some pathways are through higher education, and others land in marketing through their own career journey. When realising that in the industry there is a growing problem with the digital skills gap, de Silva decided it was time to accelerate the careers of those looking to advance their marketing skills.

What is FourthRev?

Created to give access to high-growth digital careers, FourthRev is the brainchild of de Silva and his business partner Jack Hylands. Described as a platform that “delivers life-changing experiences” it combines the best of career-focused education with leading technology companies and academic rigour. In short, FourthRev works with higher education facilities to bring career-focussed marketing, specifically digital marketing, into courses.

Founder de Silva spoke to Marketing mag about how it came to be.

“For us, it is about how we can work with universities to help them set up their students to land the best possible job. In this case, everyone wins,” he tells Marketing. “The universities win because they get to do a better job serving the students on what they are actually looking for. And, finally, the industry wins, because you have more people ready for work. Career-ready progressing and flourishing individuals.”

Partnering with the Melbourne Business School has been a huge win for FourthRev. Being Australia’s number one business school, it was an important opportunity to bring marketing directly into the business conversation. 

“To make it these days, you need to have some marketing knowledge – whether that be formal or informal,” de Silva explains. 

For FourthRev, it isn’t just about the straight textbook knowledge of marketing. It’s combined with the soft skills that marketers have. 

“We aren’t solely focused on the technical skills to do the task,” says de Silva. “We aim to teach you about the business acumen to understand why the task is actually relevant and worthwhile doing,” he finishes.

Making you a team member

The soft skills taught by the FourthRev available courses are also about building personal skills. For those with a wealth of knowledge and experience in marketing, it’s known that interpersonal skills can be just as important as market knowledge. FourthRev’s commitment is about enabling the best, and within that, teamwork and learning how to be within a marketing team is just as important, beyond marketing skills.

“I’m often asked marketing questions in a broad context, or an executive context, such as justifying spend and budget. People need to learn how to communicate these things effectively to their board or their team,” de Silva explains when asked about what is meant by learning more about soft skills.

FourthRev’s journey

Starting in 2019, FourthRev was originally created after sensing an ongoing digital skills gap that the world was facing. And it was an increasing problem. But, de Silva realised there is the opportunity to have programs and classes in place to close this gap. 

Partnering with higher education, FourthRev works with students to enhance their digital and marketing skills. And, he says, career outcomes are what is wanted most from the students. 

Find out more about enhancing your marketing skills.

Marketing and advertising agencies face the challenge of meeting client expectations while not deviating too far from initial service forecasts. Out-of-scope work, anything not agreed upon at the beginning of a project, is a reality for many businesses. Once over-servicing begins it can be difficult to stop.

In this difficult economic climate, every business needs to be cautious not to bleed money.

Marketing spoke to Bronwyn Karaoglu, global vice president of marketing at Ignition, about recent research the company has undertaken as it tries to highlight the extent of the scope creep.

Ninety-two percent of agency leaders said that clients had requested they work on a task that is out of scope, while most agencies reported over-servicing clients “all the time”. According to Karaoglu, it’s often their own fault.

Over-servicing is an industry-wide problem

Karaoglu says the 22 marketing and advertising agencies involved in the Ignition survey were aware of out-of-scope work-related losses and described over-servicing as a major challenge. “It’s costing them a lot,” she says, but does not believe this represents a new trend.

“If you’re not getting paid for your work there are implications on cost, on cash flow and on everything else.”

A third of agency leaders say that unbilled out-of-scope work is costing them up to $5000 per month, while over a quarter say that it is costing them more than $20,000 each month. 

An agency issue Karaoglu identifies is that many clients have become “conditioned” to expect that a lot of related yet unspecified work will be required, and don’t want to pay for it. Over-servicing has been entirely normalised. Thirty-eight percent of agency leaders say clients request out-of-scope work multiple times per week. 

Be mindful of over-servicing immediately

Ignition garnered from its research that the leading catalyst for unbilled out-of-scope work is a misalignment of expectations, with troubling differences between the perspectives of a client and an agency often created at the initial stage of the relationship.

It’s important to have a clear agreement in place from day one that defines all aspects of potential servicing so that both agency and client can remain on the same page, as once issues arise they become harder to address.

“If you’ve started to over-service a client and suddenly stop, it can have a negative effect on the relationship with that client,” says Karaoglu, warning agencies to be careful about how they manage the issue.

She believes the signed agreement should be regarded by both parties as “the single source of truth”. It is the nature of a business relationship to be dynamic, but if a client demands constant changes it creates a vicious cycle of over-delivering and underperforming.

The agency-client relationship as the critical asset

Karaoglu thinks agencies prioritise preserving relationships with clients, which creates a hesitancy to push back against unexpected requests. Twenty-four percent of agency leaders told Ignition that demonstrating the value of their work to clients is difficult, while 38 percent think retaining clients will be a challenge agencies face in their next 12 months.

But provided compensation is assured, out-of-scope work can be a valuable opening.

“It really signals an opportunity for organic growth, for agency leaders and owners to negotiate that additional revenue with their clients and build on that relationship. However the challenge is that many of them simply absorb the cost, and just take on the extra time,” Karaoglu says.

Often the fallout of avoiding awkward conversations with clients falls back on employees of an agency, with Karaoglu saying that it can lead to burnout, increased absenteeism and even a staff exodus.

The challenge of over-servicing clients can be seen in other industries. Ignition previously analysed its incidence in the accounting industry, where over $100,000 from unbilled out-of-scope work was being left on the table by agencies every month.

Ignition recommends automating invoicing and payment systems through a client-engagement platform so that other issues with servicing can be removed, as marketing and advertising agencies also described struggling with overdue payments.

Most agencies reported dealing with payments more than 10 days overdue.

Despite clear communication being essential for any marketing specialist, complicated marketing jargon is still widely used in many marketing strategies and proposals in 2023. Google Ads and digital marketing specialist Kaity Griffin looks at why it is unnecessary, confusing and can potentially be damaging to a marketer.

I was recently speaking to an ex-Google Ads student of mine who asked for my advice on an agency proposal promising great results by utilising “DSP technology”.

To be honest, I had no idea what this “DSP technology” was – I don’t speak corporate fluently, and most of my conversations around Google Ads and digital marketing are with people that aren’t knee-deep in ad accounts every day.

So even though ads jargon is featured heavily in my comms (ROAS, CPA etc) – I try to avoid marketing lingo when speaking to students and clients for two main reasons. Firstly, I don’t want to confuse people. And secondly, I think a lot of the time using big words is just a bit of competition in order to make yourself look smart (which I’m not opposed to from time to time! I do like to look smart!).

How is complicated marketing jargon being used? 

After doing a little digging on Google and uncovering that “DSP technology” either refers to “Demand Side Platform” or “Digital Signal Processing”, the conversation quickly turned to the broader scope of the marketing proposal (specifically for Google Ads), and I was frustrated by the language being used. 

The proposal stated that the goal of the “DSP technology” was to “maximise conversions.” This goal was to be achieved through “various tactical digital capabilities across programmatic remarketing” with the secondary goal focusing on “driving high quality website traffic, among the targeting audiences, focusing on high clicks likelihood, therefore the key KPI is generating conversion”. And these examples were just a small selection from a nine page, jargon filled proposal. 

Quite frankly, this word salad is difficult to process for myself as a seasoned marketer, let alone for a new client unfamiliar with this specialist area. This type of complicated jargon is just riddled with ambiguity, and some of this language really just sensationalises some core functions of a Google Ads specialist. For example, to “maximise conversions” is a given and is the goal of every Google Ads account. It should not be painted in a way that takes a core function out of context.

Complicated and unnecessary language is a red flag 

Using complicated and unnecessary language when propping a client is really a red flag. 

By way of comparison, the above could be easily summarised to read: “Our goal is to increase sales (conversions) by remarketing across Google to a variety of audiences.” This is clear, uncomplicated language that avoids confusion around the job and its main purpose. 

There really is no need to use bogus terminology – that doesn’t even make sense – in order to woo a client. It’s unethical as it can mislead a client about the actual benefits, features, or limitations of a product or service. Such practices can also undermine trust and can lead to dissatisfaction or disappointment when clients realise they were not provided with clear and accurate information.

Confusion and bamboozling may work initially to win a client, but it’ll damage your long term relationship as it’ll never breed trust and safety which can also have a knock-on effect when it comes to referrals and the overarching brand credibility of a business. 

Clarity over confusion

The good news is that you can easily demonstrate your knowledge through language that doesn’t confuse clients, while still positioning yourself as an expert. For example, If you’re a marketing specialist – meet your client where they’re at in your comms. If they’re totally brand new to ads, talk in terms that make sense to them. Use “sales” instead of “conversions” or “revenue” instead of “conversion value”.

Connection plays a huge role in our ability to work with and retain clients. The more you can shapeshift your communication according to the client experience, the safer your client will feel. Choosing clarity over confusion everyday of the week will build honesty, accessibility, transparency and connection into your everyday work processes and wider business practices. 

Kaity Griffin is Australia’s leading Google Ads expert and trainer.

Marketers love a happy customer. If you’re contending with a dissatisfied throng, in addition to every other challenge, then marketing can be like pushing shit uphill.

Getting customers is the first hurdle. If only keeping them was as easy as the tactics employed by massive gym franchises, where you basically need your own death certificate to get out of the contract. 

Instead, you’ve got one shot to prove yourself. And then if you do a good job, you can start building up the goodwill in the relationship. 

I’ve worked in the marketing and tech industry for a long time, and while there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, here’s a few strategies I’ve found helpful.

Set expectations and stick to them

Following through with what you say you’re going to do is a low bar that you should step over comfortably, yet it trips up many businesses. Overpromising to close the sale is only going to cause pain later. Once you’ve found your winning product/service, keep it consistent! Systemise as much of your business as possible to take the guesswork out of meeting customer expectations.

Deliver great customer service

It’s well known that good service drives loyalty. Recent research indicates that 83 percent of customers identify customer service as a strong driver of loyalty. But good service can vary significantly from business to business. So, to build on point one—set expectations and follow through. Commit to how quickly you’ll respond to enquiries, the quality of your product, or the amount of your time you’re offering, then hold yourself accountable. 

Demonstrate social responsibility

Inject some feel-good into purchasing decisions by demonstrating values alignment with your customers. You could donate to charity, but it doesn’t have to be purely financial. Think ethical procurement, mentoring, volunteering, or even values-aligned employee benefits. 

Measure satisfaction, but not too much

A short survey is a good survey. Shorter surveys have higher completion rates and SurveyMonkey identified 10 questions as the sweet spot… But can you go lower? Start with the baseline data necessary to measure trends, then think about what you’re actually able to change in the next 12 months. By focusing on the questions that will inform your strategy, you’re more likely to receive better, more actionable responses. There’s no point in asking 20 questions if you don’t have the capacity to act on the data.

Incentivise existing customers

Great deals are commonly used to entice new customers, and it can be frustrating for existing customers when they aren’t extended the same consideration. So, decide whether a fixed or variable reward system is most relevant to your business, and show your customers some love. After all, Australia has the highest number of consumers who participate in loyalty programs, so give the people what they want!

Reward email opens

Email marketing is a huge driver of sales for many businesses, with most people’s inboxes being the collateral damage. Incentivising email list sign ups is a common tactic, but have you tried incentivising opens? Try delivering member rewards or discounts with unique reward codes for each subscriber. Then take your customer psychology to the next level by varying your rewards—research shows that uncertain rewards can increase repetitive actions.

Champion your customers

It’s a fantastic milestone when you successfully convert customers into fans, and companies will expend tremendous effort to do just that. Ultimately, people want to feel valued. So, flip the script and show your customers you’re their biggest fan. Share their success, acknowledge their milestones, and maybe they’ll reciprocate with some of that golden user generated content. But even if they don’t, you’ve still gone a long way to build up goodwill in the relationship.

That’s a lot to try. But the good news is that you should only introduce one or two tactics at a time. Note down your hypothesis, establish some reporting mechanisms, and give it a good 6-12 months to assess. This isn’t a conversion strategy, where results can be faster. Now you’re trying to meaningfully move the needle on customer happiness, and that takes consistency over time. 

Gillian Laging is co-founder and director of Scopey.co.

June is Pride Month. The month that celebrates and supports the LGBTQIA+ community, Pride is a time for allies to show their support. More than ever, brands are also signalling support, but for some it’s seen as ‘rainbow washing’, but what is rainbow washing? And how do brands really show allyship?

As soon as it clocks over to 1 June, social media managers all over the world are prompted to change the icons across platforms to a rainbow variation of the normal logo. It’s in solidarity, recognition and celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community. But, it’s also criticised by some as not being the display of allyship brands might think it is.

What is rainbow washing? 

To understand if you’re doing rainbow washing, it’s important to understand what it is. Diligent.com defines it as “remaining politically and socially neutral while still sporting rainbow colours,” and ThisIsGendered defines says that rainbow washing is “referring to the act of using or adding rainbow colours and/or imagery to advertising, apparel, accessories, landmarks, in order to indicate progressive support for LGBTQIA+ equality – but with minimal effort or pragmatic result.”

Marketing mag spoke to experts in branding who represent the LGBTQIA+ community on how brands can better show allyship and how to avoid rainbow washing. It’s about authenticity.

Shift of focus onto authenticity rather than just representation 

For Alison Erlanger, creative director of ae creative space, businesses who choose to ‘celebrate’ pride, the focus shouldn’t be on what they’re selling, but more about what they’re doing.

“Selling a product with a rainbow on it is cheap and ineffective at making meaningful systemic change,” Erlanger says. “It’s no longer enough to just talk the talk, particularly you’re capitalising off it.”

Hugh Crothers, queer founder of inclusive sexual wellbeing brand drip, says that it’s about self-reflection for brands to unpack authenticity. 

“Reflecting internally and externally about the progress of a business or brand to be more inclusive shows authenticity. It shows a long-term commitment to making a positive impact,” Crothers tells Marketing. 

Erlanger and Crothers both shared sentiments about a focus on the inclusivity of teams that can also prove an authentic allyship. 

“Perhaps your team has seen significant year-on-year growth hiring from diverse and LGBTQIA+ backgrounds. Perhaps it’s about taking the steps to make queer and trans staff feel safe at work,” says Crothers when prompted about creating an authentic and inclusive space. 

Erlanger also believes that allyship starts from the inside out, “How many queer people do you work with? What are the values of the brands and clients you align with? How do you make your workplace safe and inclusive? What allyship training do you provide to your staff?” she questions when looking at how authentic a brand is when it’s showing outward support.

And, for Crothers, it’s not just about the staff, but also the outward facing work done as well, “Maybe you have impressive statistics around successful campaign engagement seen when working with queer or trans talent – these are accomplishments to be celebrated or shared,” Crothers explains.

Spotting a red flag

As companies’ propensity to be part of social movements grows year-on-year, so do attempts of jumping on the bandwagon. But it’s growing increasingly obvious to spot businesses who are more disingenuous with support. 

“Virtue signalling support for the LGBTQIA+ community alongside performative allyship during Pride is far more noticeable than businesses and brands may recognise,” Crothers says.

“The queer community is increasingly sceptical of rainbow marketing, and the ways in which businesses choose to engage with the community across the breadth of the year, not just celebratory months,” he continues, explaining that it’s about speaking up year round. 

“Not just slapping a rainbow sticker on your marketing materials for one month of the year.”

For interior designer Michael Boer, his focus also goes beyond Pride, as he says he’s always watching  what companies are doing socially, “We’re watching how communities act all year round,” Boer tells Marketing. “What political parties are being donated to, who is on the board of directors. Even which athletes they support and how they react to world crises,” he continues.

This dictates how these businesses are viewed when it comes to Pride. “We know which companies are queer allies outside of Pride Month, and we know which ones are the fake allies when they try to capitalise off us inside of Pride,” Boer finishes.

And for Erlanger, it was the same. The flow on effect for year-round activities is what helps to make a judgement call during Pride, “I saw a lot of brands release products with rainbow colours shortly post-plebiscite. To me this was an offensive, low-hanging attempt at cash grabs,” explains Erlanger when it comes to seeking authentic behaviour. “Calculated activism after you have the security of knowing the majority of the country is on the same side as you isn’t really activism. It’s capitalism. Where were those brands when we were fighting for our freedoms, not just celebrating them?”

How can brands do better? 

“Celebrating Pride is often depicted in mainstream media as parties, glitter and feathers,” says Crothers. “However, for businesses to truly show genuine allyship to LGBTQIA+ staff, and the wider community, there’s a lot more that can be done to celebrate,” he reiterates.

“Brene Brown has a great quote, and it’s ‘I’m not trying to be right, I’m trying to get it right,’ which is something to remember in the ways we engage both with the community and when celebrating Pride” Crothers continues. 

For brands to really prove the importance of social activism, the consensus is clear: year-long engagement. And, interestingly, it’s also about acknowledging the past. Brands have taken years to use LGBTQIA+ couples in campaigns. In 1994, IKEA featured the first gay couple in the ad spot ‘Dining Table’. As more businesses use diversity in campaigns, it’s also about acknowledging that this wasn’t always the case, and reflecting on it.

“Use Pride Month as an opportunity to plan how you engage with the queer community in consistent and meaningful ways over the course of the year, not just for one month – acknowledging past mistakes and how you’ve worked together to rectify them,” Crothers recommends to brands. 

Boer agrees, “If you want to support LGBTQIA+, we don’t want a cute month-long rebrand,” Boer explains. “Our community needs donations. We need sponsorships. We need you to support queer artists, community outreach. Hire some drag queens. Protect trans kids. Go to rallies. Protest. If you want to align yourself with our community, you have to engage with it,” he finishes.

Erlanger says it’s going back to basics, “Put your money where your pride is,” she tells Marketing. “If you really care about a cause, and you are in a financial position to continue it, don’t try to make more sales for your own profit. Use your sales and influence as an opportunity to create change,” she continues.

Her final word for brands is simple, “Having rainbow colours in your logo is fine. It addresses the question of what you believe in. but it’s not as simple as that. The second part of the question you should be asking yourself as a business is ‘What are you doing about it?’ And – you better have a bloody good answer.”

It’s a Sunday afternoon and you’ve finally had time to browse for that new home appliance you’ve  been meaning to buy for some time. After doing some research, you find an option, only to be hit with a deluge of pop-up ads, two data collection forms and a maze of pages and questions to get to check out. Testing your patience, you close the page as quickly as you open it: “Fine, I won’t buy it  yet, I might need it, but I just don’t feel good about parting with the cash.” 

It’s a familiar experience – and a warning sign that businesses must improve their ecommerce experiences or risk losing customers. 

Access to information and options is endless in a digital world. The recent NAB Consumer Sentiment Survey revealed that Australian consumers have become more concerned with their spending, with four in ten adjusting their budget. With the cost of living crisis, customer loyalty is wavering, meaning brands must work harder to stand out and keep their customers. It’s clear that the days of impulse buying are ending, and any purchases made must be worth the investment. 

Responding to that by assuming customers will click around and jump through hoops to spend their  money with you is a slack, detached marketing approach that needs to show more consumer  understanding. It also needs to show more understanding of the market, especially given the likes of Amazon have a ‘click to buy now’ button. But it’s not only retail that will be taking the hit of abandoned carts – gyms, ticketed events, and even insurers are sacrificing sales due to cheap digital experiences. 

Our current economic climate could tempt businesses to slash their marketing and digital budgets,  but it’s more important than ever for CMOs to invest in digital, ensuring that it reflects consumer  needs like transparency, ease and speed, and personalisation. 

Companies should focus on enhancing digital experiences and making things as engaging, supportive and easy as possible for time-poor consumers, who are often stressed about parting with their money. Improving the UX of customer journeys can decrease bounce rates by about a quarter and deliver a minimum 50 percent increase in conversion rates.  

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Some brands and companies are getting it right and creating  great digital experiences for their customers. 

The F1 Australian Grand Prix (F1AUSGP) has nailed it when it comes to user friendliness. What sets the F1AUSGP apart? Interaction with its website is easy to navigate, the ticket booking process is a breeze, and it has engaging and easy-to-find tips and tricks as well as frequently asked questions.

F1AUSGP also has an interactive ticket booking feature, where the customer can see how much of the track they can view for the price of their ticket. This level of user friendliness is an excellent example of how a large-scale event can create an easy to navigate ticket booking  process.

Australia’s Four Pillars Gin company is another example of a successful customer journey due to its  personalisation and customisation. It seamlessly continues the experience from digital to physical,  creating a VIP experience for its customers. Online purchases connect to its venues for table  bookings and gin experiences, and Four Pillars offers customers specific cocktails and flavours to match their taste.

Both companies are creating a digital experience that puts the customer first. Whether through  user-friendly interfaces, personalised communications, or customisation options, these businesses  have found ways to make the online shopping experience enjoyable and stress free. And in today’s  market, that’s crucial in building brand loyalty and retaining customers. 

The evolving market and turbulence of consumer sentiment will continue, and the digital world will  continue. If CMOs keep up with the pace of change and adapt quickly to new consumer needs in an  economy in flux, they will be able to stand out to new customers and avoid losing loyal ones.

Without a considered and personal digital experience, consumers leave faster than you can say ‘proceed to checkout’.

James Noble is Chief Experience Officer APAC at WONGDOODY, a Human Experience agency with local roots powered by a global network and digital consulting firm Infosys. The company harnesses insights and creativity to reimagine digital brand and employee experiences, making them more human and better integrated with the physical world. James has been acknowledged as a creative leader, representing Australia for Digital Craft at Cannes Lions, as well as being a UX advisor to Adobe for the XD platform, and a long-standing Webby Awards judge.

The ‘hopeful monster’ theory in biology suggests that evolutionary changes can occur in abrupt leaps, allowing organisms to survive and changing their lineage forever. This controversial idea of macroevolution goes against the belief that evolution is a gradual process of microevolutions. 

Communications agency Magnum & Co. recently underwent its own evolution, relaunching as Hopeful Monsters. Self-described as a “challenger agency for challenger-minded brands”, Hopeful Monsters has a refreshed ambition to help brands affect radical change in their categories.

The agency has been founded to help clients lead and influence culture, something managing partner Carl Moggridge believes has been “misappropriated” by the advertising industry. Marketing caught up with Moggridge to find out more about how Hopeful Monsters hopes to redefine culture in marketing.

Marketing Mag: You’re passionate about the topic of culture and say that this word has been misappropriated by the advertising industry. What do you mean by that?

Carl Moggridge: It’s a bold statement to make but it’s true. When you think about culture, what comes to mind, how would you define it? It’s a tricky one.

There are over 150 definitions of the word in the English language and we throw it around to describe anything from the arts to the latest cool things young people are doing or suffering from, such as FOMO.

Given we’re an industry that over-indexes in its use and the fact we’re a little loose in how we use it, it isn’t a surprise serious marketers roll their eyes every time someone says the ‘c-word’.

For most brands, culture isn’t a serious business. It’s a fluffy and vague concept because that’s how we treat it, even though it’s the biggest influence on human behaviour – probably bigger than Byron Sharp.

MM: How does the industry currently view culture?

CM: There isn’t a brand in the world whose future isn’t reliant on understanding or influencing culture. The best and most effective brands we admire, as marketers and consumers, do this.

Yes, how we invest in media is important. Yes, marketing science is helpful. But for an industry where changes in culture impact a brand, we don’t spend much time really understanding it. We’re far too focused on ploughing through the various advertising methods, frameworks, processes and rules. 

At the end of the day, people don’t really care about brands, they care about their own problems and themselves. It isn’t always about big existential stuff either. Like climate change or the myriad issues, brands are jumping on. It’s everyday stuff, like not getting shot playing video games when snacking.

The majority of marketing communications do not do this. The general convention is for brands to simply tell people what they want them to hear. Chasing them down an abstract funnel, crossing off problems flagged in a brand tracker. 

MM: How should the marketing industry define culture?

CM: The word culture is loaded with baggage, however, the most practical definition of culture is: “the shared values, attitudes and behaviour of a group of people“.

When you view culture with this definition, it becomes useful. By understanding people and what makes them tick, you have a far better chance of influencing these attributes. 

MM: What are some examples of when brands have influenced culture, rather than reflected it back?

CM: Apart from our work with Converse, one of my all-time favourite examples is from outdoor retailer, REI, whose mission is to get people outside. 

On Black Friday – traditionally a day dedicated to shopping indoors – REI chose not to open its stores on the biggest shopping day of the year and actually paid its staff to take the day off.

They announced they were closed for the day and encouraged people to #optoutside. Other retailers joined their movement by closing for the day and state parks even opened for free to help people spend the day outside.

They understood that their customers and staff don’t want to be stuck inside for the day. They’d used the power of their people’s insights to start a movement.

MM: How have marketing science and digital metrics affected marketers’ approach to culture?

The stark reality is, a lot of hardcore marketing work gets in the way of understanding the culture of a category: from market segmentation to analytics, sales funnel analysis, media investment analysis, brand tracking, econometrics, ad testing and the application of marketing science, to name a few. 

For everything this gives us, such as keeping us on the straight and narrow, stopping us from doing silly things, and ensuring we’re efficient with our spend, it has probably taken an important thing away. Our imagination and deep understanding of people are worryingly diminishing every day. We tend to have the answers before we’ve really understood anything at all. 

That isn’t to suggest we should dismiss it, we just shouldn’t always use reason to deliver creativity. 

MM: How does Hopeful Monster plan to help brands influence culture?

CM: We believe culture is a serious business and it’s at the heart of everything we do at Hopeful Monsters. In our humble opinion, there is no force on human behaviour bigger than culture.

At the end of the day, marketing communications is about understanding people. Communicating with them and through them. Yet our industry continues to make it unnecessarily complicated and increasingly detached from people.

Ultimately, a rebalancing of the adtech-obsessed, hyper-rationalised way of marketing is needed, at a time when its effectiveness is on the decline. 

Brands should not only leverage it more, but a better business case needs to be made for it. We might not have a fancy pants regression analysis chart, but saying our behaviour is not disproportionately influenced by culture, is like saying the world is flat. 

We specialise in culture – the biggest influence on human behaviour – and when a brand affects the culture of a category, there’s a big commercial upside.

Hayley Mitchell knows events. She’s spent two decades working in them, specialising in event logistics and operations, currently for integrated creative communications agency Think HQ. 

I’m also Mum to Charlie (4) and Vera (2) and step-mum to Oscar (16) and Emma (13). 

Recently, I had the opportunity to bring a seminal national disability support event to life. The challenge for us as event managers was to create a fully inclusive, hybrid event. Almost all keynote and guest panellists and attendees were expected to identify as having a disability, with each having specific accessibility requirements, both for the in-person and online components.

While each event is its own special high-wire act, this was a challenge I readily accepted. 

Because, when Charlie was six months old, we learned that he’d had a prenatal stroke, and he was diagnosed with Left Hemiplegic, Cerebral Palsy. 

Charlie and Vera.

Charlie’s disability is just part of his unique story – you won’t meet anyone else like him. He’s our cheeky, funny, clever, silly, naughty boy. He loves to sing. To dance. To draw, write, jump and play superhero. He’s learning to ride his bike. 

No two people are the same, of course, and this holds true for people with a disability. No two people with the same diagnosis will present or feel the same, or face the same challenges. If you take nothing else away from my story, I hope it’s understanding that people just can’t be grouped together like that. Learning this has completely changed the way I approach events.

Life as an event manager is all about planning. Contingencies, strategies, tactics and backup plans. Life as a mum is the same. It’s so complicated for families and individuals to navigate the new normal of a diagnosis, or a place where their unique requirements are not accommodated.

The national disability support event ended up a success, receiving positive feedback from the client and attendees. That took collaboration and attention to detail, and we’re proud of the result. 

Here are some lessons I’ve taken away from this event, as I work towards a more inclusive practice. 

Don’t ask people to tell you if they have accessibility requirements, proactively ask.

A common response from venues, caterers and event organisers when accessibility needs are not met is ‘we weren’t made aware of the specific needs and therefore couldn’t accommodate them’ or ‘what we have done previously for a similar event worked fine’. The expectation has too often been placed on the guest or speaker to let event managers and venues know about their accessibility needs. 

It may be impossible to fully accommodate every single person at your event, however, it is much better to create an inclusive event from the outset, applying layers of support to how it is run, rather than attempting to respond to individual requests from a client or attendee at the last minute.

Having a deep understanding of the event and your expected audience, and taking a proactive approach to accessibility challenges in the planning stage, will have a huge impact on the success of your event.

Create accessible content before, after and during the event.

In addition to physical requirements, it is important to consider the accessibility of all content  produced to support an event – before, during and after. For the national disability support hybrid event, this was done through small additions such as:

• Using an online platform accredited to WCAG2.20 AAA level.
• Ensuring that the online platform is compatible with a screen reader program, and that text could be enlarged up to size 400.
• Embedding an Auslan video describing the event on the registration page for attendees to view prior to registration.
• Providing downloadable versions of the forum agenda in Standard, Easy Read and Word, all with embedded alt-text to the images.
• Implementing sensory aids and processes, including providing sensory stress balls, a quiet space, and a low-sensory space for guests.
• Creating seating plans that were specifically created for guests with wheelchairs and those who brought along support animals.
• Briefing the team and relevant individuals, such as the event staff or waitstaff, of all possible requirements for the guests so they were prepared to accommodate everyone.
• Creating multiple catering stations to alleviate time pressures for accessing refreshments throughout the event
• Implementing a ‘dot system’ to allow guests to discreetly select their preferences for engagement during the event. For example, adding a pink dot sticker to a guest’s lanyard to indicate that a particular guest did not want their image taken.
• Installing screens specifically for closed captioning in multiple locations of the venue. 
• Adequately identifying the seating spaces to include hearing loop technology and ensuring staff are on-hand to help attendees use it.

Think HQ’s Hayley Mitchell.

Remember, no two people are the same or have the same abilities.

When planning an accessible event, try to think of every inclusion, not just a ramp.

For example, I once watched Charlie feel excluded from a birthday party game of pass the parcel, just because there hadn’t been any thought given to him needing a tiny bit more time to open the wrapping on his turn. These things need not be too arduous, they just require that extra consideration.

By sharing my experience, I hope that as Charlie grows up he will feel confident in his ability to attend any event he chooses, big or small, and that every event setting will have catered for not only Charlie’s needs, but the needs of all those living with a visible or hidden disability. A world where we all focus on what we can do, not what we can’t.

I write this not as the authority on disability, but as Charlie’s mum.

Squarespace is no stranger to the spectacle of the Super Bowl. This year, the American website hosting-turned all-in-one platform launched its ninth Super Bowl campaign with ​​‘The Singularity’ starring actor Adam Driver. 

The in-game spot, directed by award-winning filmmaker Aoife McArdle, has Driver playing multiple versions of himself, struck by the idea that Squarespace is a website that makes websites. As he follows that line of thinking down the rabbit hole, reality itself begins to unravel, triggering a singularity event.

Ben Hughes, vice president of creative at Squarespace, is one of the brains behind ‘The Singularity’. He helps run the company’s in-house creative department, which is responsible for global advertising, brand design and content across different markets, including Australia.

Marketing spoke to Hughes for a peek behind the curtain at how a multi-million dollar Super Bowl campaign like ‘The Singularity’ comes together.

Marketing Mag: What first inspired the idea for ‘The Singularity’? How many ideas were left on the cutting room floor?

Ben Hughes: We create hundreds of ideas for each Super Bowl and a big part of the creative process is progressively whittling the field down to get to the very best one. Here, the inspiration came from our own founding story. This year marks the twentieth anniversary of Squarespace and our founder used this to pitch the company to people as “a website that makes websites”. When we heard that, we knew it would make for an incredible ad. 

MM: From idea to campaign launch, how long did it take Squarespace to create ‘The Singularity’?

BH: It was about nine months from initial briefing to final delivery. That includes all of the creative rounds to arrive at the idea, locking in the director and talent, production, post-production and trafficking. 

MM: Squarespace’s Super Bowl ads often feature A-List celebrities. This year, did you explore the option of not featuring a celebrity? Why did you choose to feature one in the end?

BH: Our brand is all about creativity and we’re lucky to be able to attract partners who are artists at the pinnacle of their crafts. Every year, we always look at some ideas that don’t involve celebrity talent, so it’s definitely not a mandate, but the combination of Adam and the Singularity script seemed to click perfectly. Fortunately, he agreed.

MM: Why was Adam Driver the right brand ambassador?

BH: We don’t really think about him as a brand ambassador. It’s more that he was the right partner to tell the story we wanted to tell. Something we realised early on about this year’s idea was that the straighter you play it, the funnier it becomes. Adam is known for his intensity as an actor, but he’s also extremely funny, and we felt like he would totally commit to the absurdity of the idea. 

MM: Do you think Super Bowl audiences will ever get tired of ads that are oversaturated with celebrities? 

BH: As long as there are Super Bowl ads, there will be celebrity Super Bowl ads. The human desire to watch famous people doing silly things is endless, not to mention that they come with their own audiences and passionate fan bases built in. 

MM: How do you characterise and then approach the Super Bowl’s audience?

BH: I think it’s the last true mass audience. It’s very rare these days for so many people to be looking at the same thing at the same time. That being said, we’re always trying to make an ad that’s the best expression of the brand, not the thing that we think the most people will like. 

MM: How do you think ‘The Singularity’ stood out among the noise of other Super Bowl ads and entertainment?

BH: I think it was both the simplest ad in the game and the most visually rich.

MM: Squarespace released the behind-the-scenes teaser ahead of the big game. What does the company hope to achieve by releasing teaser content early, rather than waiting to launch on the big day?

BH: All of the content we create for the Super Bowl is rolled out in a very deliberate way. This year, we led with our behind-the-scenes film, which we used as a talent reveal moment. It wasn’t originally designed to be a campaign teaser, but it ended up being a perfect way to bring people into the world of the campaign without giving away too much.

MM: What constitutes a successful Super Bowl ad in your eyes?  

BH: If we can make an ad that we love, that’s a great expression of the brand and that people talk about and write about, we consider that a success.

Ben Hughes

For an analysis on why Super Bowl ads are dropping earlier and feature so many celebrities, read ‘The Super Bowl tease’.