"If you don’t get it, don’t get into it"

“If you don’t get it, don’t get into it,” that was the key sharing by Eugene Lee, international CMO of McDonald’s at a recent ATMs conference in Singapore. Lee who took on the role of international CMO for the international developmental licensed (IDL) segment in 2023 was asked what is the difference between authenticity and performative engagement.

He added that often brand simply jump onto bandwagons and trends be it in gaming, music, or sports because that is what is hot at that moment. “And they do so without really being authentic to the audience, because they themselves don’t get the trend. So, I just hate it, and hate is a strong word, when brands just plaster a logo onto an event just for the sake of it,” he said.

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Speaking separately with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Lee shared that while he personally doesn’t have to face the pressures of management urging him to experiment or face the fear of missing out, he does acknowledge that it is a common phenomenon in the marketing world.

“Marketers can be quick to get bored of our own work, well before the customer has told us they are bored,” he said, but the truth is there are new trends and platforms cropping up all the time, and marketers need to be discerning about it.

“To me, the most important question is whether your brand has the permission to play in that new space, or are you just “invading” it an inauthentic way that might backfire,” he said.

When asked how one can decide where to invest in, he goes back to his base statement of “If you don’t get it, don’t get into it”.

“There has to be a brand and business case before we invest in a new area. Clear KPIs need to be laid out so it’s not just a passion project by a person on the team,” he said.

“Exploring new opportunities is definitely welcomed and I also encourage innovation. But it always needs to be backed by facts and not just be because it is cool right now,” he added.

McDonald’s currently works with OMD as its media agency partner. Omnicom Media Group APAC CEO Tony Harradine also weighed in on the conversation saying that it is important to have a game plan that aligns with the overall brand vision, KPIs, and media mix.

“Authenticity is also crucial and this requires a deep understanding of the emerging channels or platforms. Avoid ticking another box just to stay in trend and ensure the right capabilities and technologies are in place,” he said.

At the same time, brands also need to strike a balance between having a clear understanding of the new space and not acting too slow that you miss the boat, he said.

But how do you set KPIs for something you’ve never done before?

Start by linking it back to the business and the brand, urges Lee. When planning for a campaign, each touchpoint needs to have clear KPIs for what it wants to achieve.

“The absence of KPIs means the judgment of results becomes very subjective. I recommend always having customised KPIs for each campaign based on clear objectives. No two campaigns are alike, and one campaign might be intended for brand building while another for hard core sales. Whatever it is, be clear on the objectives and KPIs,” he added.

At the same time, brands also need to strike a balance between having a clear understanding of the new space and not acting too slow that you miss the boat.

Marketers have to tap on passionate fans to bank on them as advocates to spread the word. In that instance, some metrics to consider include brand favourability, consideration, and trial among their core audience.

Harradine added that today measurement models are evolving due to the fragmented media landscape and signal loss. As such, models like multi-touch attribution and traditional marketing mix modelling (MMM) aren't able to drive robust measurement for teams.

“Annalect, Omnicom's data and analytics division, has been leveraging AI to build our custom algorithms to deliver agile MMM, which evolves with the changing media landscape. This granular media attribution allows brands to measure efficiency on the media spends and offer detailed, actionable results,” he said.

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