After the financial turmoil of the last few years, we learned that Americans yearned to feel in control of their lives again. Lack of trust in institutions and a sense of insecurity about their futures fed this desire. This insight was the seed of our “You’re In Charge” creative platform.

Americans are optimistic by nature, and despite all of the economic turmoil of recent years, 72 percent of Americans are still optimistic about their futures and 68 percent are optimistic about their financial futures, according to our MOOD (Measuring Optimism, Outlook and Direction) of America survey. Whitman Insight Strategies polled 803 adults late last year to uncover these findings, which also revealed that 66 percent of Americans feel in control of their lives.

While others in the category seemed to be drawn to using fear in their advertising, we felt the time was right, given these empowering and inspirational insights, to try a new, more optimistic approach.

On launch day, our new campaign promoted everyone to chief executive officer of his or her own life. Someone we call the “Chief Life Officer.” It recognizes the fact that our lives are in many ways like businesses. We’re in charge of making big decisions, managing finances and keeping employee morale positive. We are chief  401(k) officers, chief turkey-carving officers, chief tuition officers, and chief I really need a vacation officers. Whoever you are, the main message we wanted to get across is that you’re the boss of your life, and Lincoln Financial is here to help you “Take Charge.”

Our Chief Life Officer campaign, created with gyro New York,  is bringing a very different message to consumers because it inspires them by showing them that they are in charge and that they have the tools necessary to build secure financial futures.

Optimists are realists. They take charge of things they can control; they don’t worry about the things they can’t. The Chief Life Officer (You’re In Charge) campaign we created with gyro New York celebrates the richness of life and drives people to take action.

Jamie DePeau, corporate chief marketing officer at Lincoln Financial Group in Radnor, Penn.

Originally published at Ignite Something on the Forbes CMO Network

If we exclude certain extremist movements that are taking advantage of this situation, who, then, are the last emotionalguides of our society? Who or what can create want, satisfy pleasure and decree the keys to the success of individuals and their degree of fulfilment? Who, if not brands and artistes (who have themselves become brands!)?

This statement is an acknowledgment of fact and certainly not a value judgment. It emphasises the role of brands in our society, looking beyond their ability to satisfy needs, which is clear. Each brand has its own universe, which will contribute to fulfilling the consumer’s expectations and existential needs.

The product itself adds to the brand universe, giving it physical form. In the choices made by consumers, the emotional value of the brand takes precedence over the functional value of the product.

And where is the CMO in all that? He will play a new role as a creator of emotions, producing his work through all possible channels of distribution. He will stage the brand through events, shows, films, games and ideological debate. All these productions will pursue the same aim, seeking to attract, group, move and convince consumers.

In making his choices, the producer CMO will seek to expand the brand audience across every channel used. Audience ratings thereby become the new barometer of success. The higher they are, the greater the increase in sales. The power of the audience ratings will influence the quality of product referencing in distribution and could even reverse the balance of power between brands and retail. In this new world, point of sales becomes a theatre that needs the productions created by the CMO in order to bring people in. The world is changing fast. Make way for the show and the audience ratings!

Ladies and gentlemen, waste no time in telling your CEOs that you have become a creator of emotions. They think you’re still a CMO!

by Didier Stora
General Manager – gyro Paris

Cross posted at Ignite Something on the Forbes CMO Network

We can’t assume that life will revert to a mirror image of before the economic difficulty – everyone has learnt some hard lessons from tougher times and these will stay with agencies and clients alike moving forward. What we need to do is assess how the agency model will adopt to this new environment and evolving client needs.

In the agency world, people are our lifeblood. They are what the client buys in to and what determines the success of a client relationship and our research has shown that this is only going to increase in the future.  An in-depth survey of leading brand marketers has revealed that brands are increasingly looking for top talent to be more involved in the day to day delivery of client work. It is not enough for them to be involved at the pitch stage and then take a back seat.

As brands demand more bang for their buck, agencies need to work hard not only to attract the right people but to ensure these recruits are put to work in the right way for the client.  This issue is the tip of the iceberg as to the considerations that we need to make in the coming months but it’s a great place to start in ensuring that we all make the most of the opportunities and challenges coming our way.

By
Richard Perry
Chief Operations Officer
gyro

But is this about to change? The Indian Government has developed a tablet type computer which it wants to manufacture and make available to students across the country.

It seems that this might be the project to finally succeed.  Firstly, it has the support of the Government which makes it a serious proposition from the get-go and importantly opens many doors to implementing a robust manufacturing process to get the product to market.

The other major reason that this has a stronger chance than its predecessors is that it is in tablet form, not PC or even laptop which have come before.  Tablet technology offers a completely new way of engaging in technology easily fulfills the needs of the Indian market as it stands today.  In this way, it’s not just financially viable on a large scale but practically as well.  Just as the iPad is a step-change in media consumption in addition to that which is already so inherent in our lives, so this gadget will be step-change in widespread digital engagement in India.

For the Indian market to fulfill the potential that it offers, the population needs to be technologically mobilised and this initiative could be the solution to this.  At the moment it is just a plan but a plan that I for one feel has a good chance of coming to fruition and that can only be a good thing for all of us.

By
Carol O’Mara
gyro London

The recent election brought home just how much power this network has and, quite rightly, the coalition government has recognised that it isn’t something only useful for the election but in the longer term.   It makes perfect sense to use the heightened engagement in politics from the election to retain involvement from a wider audience.  This view is also directly in line with the greater vision of Facebook – it was created as an entity in its own right, far more than just another site because it enables interaction in a more powerful way than any other.

This is because Facebook isn’t just another website or technology, it is a social utility and should be used as such.  No other channel or media offers this direct, real-time dialogue by which the public can be engaged and understood.  Facebook is more than a network of people, it is a tool to reach out to them, share information and gain understanding which can’t be replicated by other tools available but is invaluable to the political sphere.

Of course, it’s not infallible.  The very nature of Facebook means you can’t censor it and you have to take the rough with the smooth.  But that’s just what makes it such a valuable tool for politicians who need to work more transparently than ever to clean up their profile following the scandals of recent months.  The truth is, a political Facebook campaign isn’t a disingenuous attempt at being cool, it is something that any representative body can’t afford not to engage in modern times.

By
Richard Perry
Chief Operating Officer
GyroHSR

Twitter: richjperry
Linkedin: uk.linkedin.com/in/richardjohnperry

We were exceptionally fortunate to secure The Right Honourable The Lord Heseltine as keynote speaker. Lord Heseltine was captivating and spoke at length about the differences and similarities between politics and business. He also gave his personal observations on the economic outlook and what this meant for marketers.

His speech, plus other impressive speakers from businesses like Kyoceta Mita, Pearson, Fujitsu and David Brown, can be viewed at www.brandordemand.com, where you can also weigh in with your own opinions.

I think it’s fair to say that the question of Brand v Demand is something of a false dichotomy, and it was interesting to see some quite strong opinions as to the merits of each. When put to the vote, I think unsurprisingly the consensus was that brand expenditure was more worthy, yet a passing look at market expenditure would suggest otherwise. There seems to be some dissonance between marketers’ espoused views and their own actions.

I’d also add that brand spend isn’t as vulgar or extravagant as some might assume, and while it’s not easy to measure, it can be done. Debates like this will continue until marketing can drag itself up the business food chain: some of the most successful businesses in the world are run by marketers.

As you’ll see, there is no easy answer to the Brand v Demand question, but it made for a fascinating and exciting day. Look out for other similar events in future.

Danny Turnbull
Managing Director, European B-to-B practice leader
GyroHSR North

As I looked on this room of senior-level marketing executives from some of the world’s largest companies, it dawned on me: Governments don’t end recessions. Economists don’t sort it out. Politicians don’t get things moving. Engineers don’t invent our way out. Marketers and advertisers have ended every recession, and they’ll end this one.

Recessions are like a long backup on the highway. You’re driving along at a good clip; then the traffic comes to a standstill. In the big ones you can see cars lined up for miles ahead of you. As the traffic starts to pick up, you eventually move up to the source of the backup and you see that it’s not really the accident that’s slowed things down. It’s all the rubberneckers who have to get a look at what happened. That is, until one driver with intention comes to the head of the line and doesn’t care what happened because he has somewhere he needs to be. He blows on by, and then so does everyone else. And before you know it, you’re at 70 mph again, unless you’re like me, in which case (oops, better not go there)…

The same thing happens in recessions. An event, sometimes catastrophic, interrupts the free flow of exchange. Folks slow down to figure out what happened. They get scared by what they see. But then some marketer says, “I gotta get goin’,” and soon everyone else has picked up the pace. Indeed you look up and say, “Hey, that was my competitor who just raced ahead.” Hit the gas.

In the last few decades the mantra of business education has been risk management and risk mitigation. The job of marketers is risk provocation and risk advocacy. With the possible exception of sales, there is really no other unit in the modern corporation that serves as a reservoir of hope, courage, faith and optimism.

The noise has been loud in 2009. The shrapnel has been flying. The wreckage has been horrific. But it’s time for marketers to lift their heads from their foxholes and propose, recommend, initiate, venture and risk. If you’re going to go down, go down in flames. Some enlightened enterprise is always going to value the heat and light you represent.

The real and only economic stimulus program begins when the marketer gets moving, again.

Rick Segal
Chief Executive, North America
Global Practice Leader, B-to-B Marketing

So how would you feel if you had to start paying for access to online newspapers? You probably wouldn’t care; I certainly wouldn’t, but it seems as if, in these ever increasing hard economic times, it is certainly the route that most newspaper companies are heading, as a way to recoup their falling revenues from advertisers who are abandoning them in their droves, along with the purchasers of their newspapers.

I can understand why people would pay for financial information etc., but why would we bother to pay for general news stories, which form the bulk of the copy, when we’ve got used to having instant access to information via mobiles as well as our computers? With the onslaught of Twitter and other social networking sites, the world can know about events from people who are there, long before the news networks get their people on location. For example, news of Michael Jackson’s death appeared on both, hours before the story was covered by official news sources.

In my opinion, the newspapers need to think ‘outside the box’ in the same way that glossy magazines did a few years ago. The relatively ‘cheap treat’ for a woman of buying a magazine that she can pick up and read wherever she wants (which now also come in different sizes, so you can even choose one that even fits in your handbag!) will always exist; but when a monthly magazine has long lead times, the website offers the perfect channel for covering all sorts of stories that would otherwise be ignored as old news by the time the next issue was going to the printers.

The successful launch of the UK Vogue site some years ago allowed different editorial content to be created, so that fashionistas could have a daily fix of fashion news which complemented their monthly magazine read. It ensured that the catwalk shows could be covered instantly, with image and video coverage of not just the clothes, but interviews with the designers and coverage of who was attending which shows and with whom – all compulsive information for people in and lovers of the fashion industry!

But the secret to their success was providing something new and different that readers couldn’t easily get from other sources. With a dedicated team with their fingers on the pulse, they could provide all the inside track on their site, but free of charge. Although online newspapers can potentially do the same thing, why on earth would we ever be persuaded to pay for news that we can get from lots of other sources? Beats me…

Jill Thater
Client Services Director
Bluhalo Ltd

An outcome of all our attempts to achieve a safe society is that we in fact often get the very opposite results to those we intended.

Being an adult is fun but tough and it hurts both physically and emotionally. Still, we hide this fact from our kids. And since we forbid our kids to, say, ride a bike without a helmet, cross the road without parents, hold a knife, walk through the park, talk to strangers, watch TV for more than 30 minutes etc, we also trick them into constantly feeling safe. We lull them into the belief that nothing hurts, and that nothing is tough or bad out there. Is this really good for them?

The same people are saying that, as a result, we are now in danger of having an entire generation to never become adults. Today these youngsters are coming to the psychiatric emergency wards for stress symptoms way before they even start to work. Why is that? How can you be that stressed when you are young and without real responsibilities? How come this never happened before? For instance – the medical term of being “stressed out” is that you have to work for many years (think it was 10) every day and long hours and with no rest whatsoever. And as said – we still get youngsters claiming they are stressed out before they have even worked one single day in their life.

The reason is simple; we have not prepared them for real life. For life as adults. We over-protect them on their way to becoming adults and once they begin to realize that it’s a tough world we all live in, and that it does hurt a lot…they simply cannot cope with the mental pressure.

So, what has all of this to do with today’s topic? Well, we all read the stories in the news about the current global financial situation, with many companies needing to cut back. In Sweden, now is the time to take market share – especially since some of our laws will make things even more difficult than they already are for these struggling companies.

And there is one law that is a great example of the many stupid rules that attempt to protect us, but actually result in the opposite. In my mind at least, this is very much related to the above.

You decide: In Sweden if a company is experiencing a shortage of work and needs to reduce its size, we have a law that protects the staff with seniority over qualification/skill/expertise. SENIORITY OVER EXPERTISE. Yes, you heard it right. Good for the senior people at least you might think. But I say it´s a very unfortunate law for everyone. Including the very same senior people the law tries to protect. Here is how I see it in a very simplified and shortened version: When companies are being forced to get rid of the young, vibrant, hungry and often more skilled people (and ones that you just hand picked with great care) as opposed to the ones that have been at the company the longest, you take away the edge of your company. And if you are a high performance service organization – you take away the edge of the very product you are selling, as well as getting rid of the part you have most recently invested in building up. By doing so, you obviously lose quality and alongside losing quality, it is inevitable that you will lose revenue and eventually the all-important clients. Once you begin to lose clients, you are in a very unfortunate downward spiral… And so it begins again. You have to fire some more people, starting again with the people last in…

This means that even the senior staff that initially thought they were safe will eventually have to go. And with them, potentially the entire company!

The worst part of this is that the ‘market value’ of the senior people is often lower than that of the less experienced. This is due to the fact that Sweden has made them slower, less hungry, less competitive, more comfortable and safe. And in business that is never a good thing. In business we always have to outperform the others, we always have to outsmart our competitors and even our colleagues, we have to run, be proactive and not reactive, break barriers, coming up with the smartest solutions… I think you get my point by now.

I will not run my life or my company based on safety alone. Just being safe is boring, by being safe you will never expand, safety alone will not take you anywhere, being safe will not break any barriers, safe ideas are rarely the winning ideas, safe is not a feeling that will drive a company. Or an industry. And definitely not a society.

As said above, now IS the time to take market shares. The best talents are now available, the clients are looking for stable organizations and the downward spiral has started for those in trouble.

Life is fun and tough. Not safe.

Claës af Buren
Chief Executive
GyroHSR Scandinavia