What do I wish I knew about marketing 10 years ago?

In a previous posting and podcast I have spoken about the talk at the Richmond Events Marketing Forum 2007 by the ex Marketing Director for the successful London 2012 Olympics bid (David Magliano). In this talk he spoke about the 10 things he wished he had known 10 years ago.

I was also a speaker on the forum on the topic of What makes you different, and so was interviewed by Marketing magazine journalist Amanda Nottage on my thoughts on the 10 things I wish I had known 10 years ago.

In her final article which appeared in the magazine of 17 October 2007 called If I could turn back time.. She referred to three of the areas I spoke about:

This is what she wrote:

Gary Bembridge, vice president of global beauty care at Johnson and Johnson, yearns for his younger self to have appreciated the basics. 'When I look at competencies, particularly among senior management, it is the core competencies that they get rusty on, such as market research terminology' he claims. 'We spend time training them on the marketing fundamentals, such as negotiating skills.'

Then later she writes

Bembridge, meanwhile, regrets not appreciating the importance of total brand experience. 'I didn't think about how people would interact with our products 365 days of the year,' he says. 'That is why so many struggle with integrated communications. We've got to stop calling it that - just call it communications. When marketers talk about brand experience, they're talking about bought media, rather than all the touch points. In the FMCG sector, we don't do enough on total experience. In 10 years time, we'll still be saying that.'

And finally:

Bembridge cites digital as a key element in the power of buzz marketing. 'I grew up at Unilever and Johnson & Johnson believing in TV, with maybe a bit of print and promotions,' he admits. Now, he says. he knows how vital social media and independent sources are in generating brand buzz.

'If I can get products used by the right people in the right places, and independent people writing about them, that is very powerful. Look at Boots and its No 7 anti-ageing beauty serum,' he says, pointing to the sales surge that followed positive reviews by an independent researcher in a BBC programme on beauty. Products were later sold on eBay while Boots struggled to re-stock shelves.

Those are the 3 of my 10 she chose to fit into her article. Interested in hearing about the other 8?

What is the one thing you wish you had known 10 years ago? Leave a comment or send me an email.