"Integrate and invest for food and drink success", says CIM

 
Marketing investment essential to maintain bottom line growth

In the shadow of a double-dip recession, business should recognise the role of marketing in safeguarding production

Food, drink and agriculture organisations must recognise the direct role that marketing plays in bottom line growth and safeguarding production, according to insight gained at CIM’s Food, Drink and Agriculture Group annual conference held at Imperial College London on 7 April.

To keep relevant and engaging for consumers, brands should make constant and consistent investment in new technologies and techniques to build their brand relationship with consumers.

With government cut backs starting to hit consumer spending, the pressure is mounting for food and drink producers. The threat of a double-dip recession is looming in the UK and speakers argued that the time is now for marketing to prove its worth in the field. Keynote speaker Adam Leyland, editor of The Grocer, emphasised the need for food, drink and agriculture brands to safeguard the supply chain through solid marketing investment; investing in consumer insight to fully understand what their customers want and how to deliver on this at each stage.

The Marketing Century: How Marketing Drives Business and Shapes Society

The Marketing Century (published by John Wiley) will mark the CIM's centenary.

A new book celebrating the 100-year history of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) is being published next month.

The book, The Marketing Century: How Marketing Drives Business and Shapes Society (published by John Wiley on March 10: £19.99) charts the evolution of marketing and follows the history of the CIM from its establishment in 1911 as the Sales Manager’s Association to its position as a global marketing body, promoting education, development, knowledge and insight among some 50,000 members worldwide.

Introduced by CIM chief executive Roderick Wilkes, the book is edited by Jeremy K Kourdi, who brings a précis of his book here.

TheMarketingblog has organised a  special pre-publication price £12.50; plus free postage in the UK. Ring CIM: +44 (0)1628 427427.

'The Marketing Century (published by John Wiley) will mark the CIM's centenary.

WARNING: Nuts - may contain nuts. Has marketing regulation gone nutty? CIM

The Chartered Institute of Marketing kicked off its centenary celebrations this week with a House of Commons debate on the motion 'A century of marketing legislation restricts everyone whilst protecting nobody'. Despite a strong case put forward for the motion, the audience voted overwhelmingly against. While marketers do find regulation cumbersome at times, it is clear that the industry is broadly in support of the last century of marketing legislation.

Alan Stevens, The Media Coach and President of the Global Speakers opened the debate speaking for the motion, noting that 61% of marketers think that the industry is over-regulated, and 94% expected this to get worse. He suggested that marketing legislation is ineffective, and that ‘rogue traders’ will find a way to get around it. Word of mouth, said Mr Stevens, is much more powerful:

“What people say, and which people say it, has a far greater impact than legislation. Take eggs for example, which have been regulated by the most stringent European law to ensure their safety since 1973. But when Edwina Currie asserted that most eggs contain salmonella, egg sales dropped by 60.”

Like his debating partner, Jeremy Jacobs, the award-winning speaker and presenter, also argued that marketing legislation had gone “beyond common sense”, using the archetypal example of packets of nuts carrying the warning “may contain nuts”. As one audience member pointed out, such legislation serves only to make them “feel stupid” and will in fact have a detrimental impact on their relationship with the brand in question.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing reveals true impact of Government marketing

 The Chartered Institute of Marketing has today launched a new paper which examines marketing in central Government. The paper, 'Don't stop me now', explores the value of public sector marketing campaigns and concludes that Government marketing is cost-effective, needs long-term investment and is proven to gain results.

The benefits of public sector campaigning are revealed in the paper, and in light of the current freeze on all 'non-essential' Government marketing, the private sector stands ready to take on the role of delivering these essential and often behavior-changing messages to the public.
The risk of this, warns The CIM, is that marketing campaigns will take on more commercial and profit-led facets rather than focusing on the core social benefit. Looking ahead, using trusted partnerships and stakeholder relationships will aid Government in progressing the public education and behaviour changing message through marketing.

The paper, produced in consultation with many central Government offices, explores the impact of recent campaigns including HMRC�s online tax assessment campaign which, for example, saved Government �1.65 for every pound invested.  Campaigns such as the anti-obesity Change4Life, are also shown to be successful in creating behavior changes - Change4Life has already seen over one million mothers across the country alter their children�s diet or activity levels � which can cut costs to public services such as the NHS in the long term and should therefore be seen as an investment.