Marketing for the @generation
The 10th Trend Conference of the Society for Marketing explores the Internet
The 10th Trend Conference of the Society for Marketing explores the InternetBy Andreas Panzeri The focus of the presentations at the 10th GfM Marketing Trend Conference was the search for new growth options. In the Zurich Kongresshaus, Roy Simmonds of Cablecom, among others, impressed with his "apocalyptic scenarios" of e-commerce. Jean Etienne Aebi offered a quirky critique of today's websites, which are still completely devoid of magic, and explained his vision of future advertising on the Net.
Increased competitive pressure and stagnating markets make growth difficult for many companies. In order to be successful in spite of this, a company must work with promising instruments. Buzzwords such as cooperative performance systems, category management, multichannel distribution, e-commerce and database marketing dominated the presentations at the well-attended GfM conference.
Hans G. Güldenberg, CEO of Nestlé Germany, showed how Nestlé reduces advertising costs and generates brand value with its global brand policy. "Concentrating on international umbrella brands brings many advantages," he said. Nestlé has now reduced its brands to just six "Worldwide Brand Umbrellas."
Globalization of markets using the example of Nestlé
Using the example of Maggi Salsa, which is now sold more successfully as ketchup in the U.S., Güldenberg showed how Nestlé has adapted its salsa idea from America for Germany as well. There, the label now dominates 20 percent of the local condiment market.
To be able to generate such successes, Nestlé invests CHF 800 million annually in 17 regional development centers worldwide. There, with international data exchange, research is conducted into both new products and new marketing ideas.
Using the example of Smarties ice cream, which is already being sold with a "four-digit tonnage" through the McDonalds chain, the Nestlé manager showed how growth can also be achieved with surprisingly new brand combinations.
E-commerce as the marketplace of the 21st century
Roy Simmonds described his remarks as "apocalyptic scenarios" that will, however, already be reality tomorrow. For the Director of Interactive Services on the Executive Board of Cablecom Holding AG, "e-commerce is not just a growth option, but simply the question of survival". Specifically, Simmonds provoked: "Fifty percent of all participants at this conference will have changed completely with their companies in five years - or will no longer be able to participate here."
The Internet prophet showed how, with the broadband technology offered by Cablecom in the future, the market - and thus also marketing - will run along completely new paths. "Forget all relationships," Simmonds said, because in the future, buyers will no longer purchase their goods over a nice lunch with their long-standing and mostly local suppliers, but anonymously and worldwide via the Internet. "Price will be the only deciding factor," he opined, daring to promise, "Even ten Ferrari luxury cars will be offered to you at a discount by a dealer anywhere in the world if you start a worldwide search for them on the Internet."
Specifically, the persuasive @-missionary confirmed that Ford and General Motors want to reduce the manufacturing costs of a car by 7000 dollars thanks to a joint platform. The best purchasing conditions would be determined via the Internet.
"Globalization of purchasing and consolidation of volumes" are therefore possible growth options in the eyes of Roy Simmonds, who believes that "cooperation and competition will go hand in hand in the future. And since more and more suppliers will also sell their goods directly in the future thanks to the Internet, resellers "will have to be better with additional services.
"Be first and win" - the motto of successful companies
Beat Curti has increased his sales from the original 80 million francs he generated with Prodega to 3.5 billion francs today. The group is now called Bon appétit and owes its growth in each case to "business models that were not yet known in Switzerland," as Beat Curti emphasized. 104 pick-pay discounters (which, however, were founded by Bruno Gideon and later sold to Curti), 350 primo and 1,000 vis-à-vis retail outlets now belong to Curti's empire.
Bon appétit is now supplying more and more customers via a new channel. This refers to gas station stores. In the meantime, all gas stations, except those of Migros and Coop, are doing business with Bon appétit. Curti was even able to sign an exclusive contract with Shell a few days ago. 15 percent annual growth has been the norm for Bon appétit in recent years. Taking British Prime Minister Tony Blair at his word ("My Web is my Castle,") Beat Curti also wants to continue to open up new markets. Hungry for growth, his Bon appétit is investing "like crazy" in several Internet projects.
Howeg Online serves restaurants, canteens and hospitals via the Internet with offers for paperless food ordering. According to Curti, the service is growing by more than 30 percent per month.
Also via the Internet, its fresh & net GastroLogik AG supplies major buyers such as Mövenpick and SAir-Group. With both Internet services together, Bon appétit is now the largest business-to-business platform in Europe - and the Internet pioneer is already in the process of building up a network with US partners as well. The prospects are rosy, because in the USA, according to Curti, already 60 percent of all
B-to-B purchases made over the network.
Starting from the general Internet euphoria, Jean Etienne Aebi tried to bring a few details from this brave new Internet world back to the ground of everyday reality. "If Persil promised to wash your laundry clean, it did!" opined the Chief Creative Officer of Publicis Zurich. "But anyone who lights up a Marlboro by no means immediately experiences an adventure," Aebi philosophized further, ultimately also pointing out the gap between promises and facts in his presentation.
On the way from the information society to the dream society, various products have become actual cult brands, according to Aebi's comments. The Diesel campaign created a fan base that ultimately became a decisive market factor for the jeans brand.
"Nike's triumph over Adidas, Puma and the others in the first half of the 1990s was a pure communications victory." Likewise, the systems battle between Apple and IBM at the time was fought as a "pure battle of faith." In a comparison between Pepsi and Coca-Cola, 50 percent of the test subjects guessed wrong; in reality, they are either sworn Pepsi fans or equally convinced Coke fans.
Information on the web is not advertising
"The magic and myth of brands are the result of communication strategies," was thus Aebi's conclusion. But advertising on the Internet today is still absolutely boring and unimaginative. The "I-am-also-there website" is the only message conveyed, according to the advertising expert's judgment.
But the more the Internet industry booms, the less this will be enough. Original quote from Jean Etienne Aebi: "Triviality will have had its day. Creative ideas will be the order of the day. Information is not advertising. Suggestion determines the competition."
The advertising expert is therefore convinced that the still spartan advertising presence on the Internet will develop into more emotionally charged forms in the near future - which in turn will result in corresponding growth for the advertising world as well. A reassuring final sentence in Aebi's reflections on the growth of the Internet: "Creativity creates and celebrates success." Or in a slightly varied version based on David Ogilvy: "It's not selling unless it's creative."
Increased competitive pressure and stagnating markets make growth difficult for many companies. In order to be successful in spite of this, a company must work with promising instruments. Buzzwords such as cooperative performance systems, category management, multichannel distribution, e-commerce and database marketing dominated the presentations at the well-attended GfM conference.
Hans G. Güldenberg, CEO of Nestlé Germany, showed how Nestlé reduces advertising costs and generates brand value with its global brand policy. "Concentrating on international umbrella brands brings many advantages," he said. Nestlé has now reduced its brands to just six "Worldwide Brand Umbrellas."
Globalization of markets using the example of Nestlé
Using the example of Maggi Salsa, which is now sold more successfully as ketchup in the U.S., Güldenberg showed how Nestlé has adapted its salsa idea from America for Germany as well. There, the label now dominates 20 percent of the local condiment market.
To be able to generate such successes, Nestlé invests CHF 800 million annually in 17 regional development centers worldwide. There, with international data exchange, research is conducted into both new products and new marketing ideas.
Using the example of Smarties ice cream, which is already being sold with a "four-digit tonnage" through the McDonalds chain, the Nestlé manager showed how growth can also be achieved with surprisingly new brand combinations.
E-commerce as the marketplace of the 21st century
Roy Simmonds described his remarks as "apocalyptic scenarios" that will, however, already be reality tomorrow. For the Director of Interactive Services on the Executive Board of Cablecom Holding AG, "e-commerce is not just a growth option, but simply the question of survival". Specifically, Simmonds provoked: "Fifty percent of all participants at this conference will have changed completely with their companies in five years - or will no longer be able to participate here."
The Internet prophet showed how, with the broadband technology offered by Cablecom in the future, the market - and thus also marketing - will run along completely new paths. "Forget all relationships," Simmonds said, because in the future, buyers will no longer purchase their goods over a nice lunch with their long-standing and mostly local suppliers, but anonymously and worldwide via the Internet. "Price will be the only deciding factor," he opined, daring to promise, "Even ten Ferrari luxury cars will be offered to you at a discount by a dealer anywhere in the world if you start a worldwide search for them on the Internet."
Specifically, the persuasive @-missionary confirmed that Ford and General Motors want to reduce the manufacturing costs of a car by 7000 dollars thanks to a joint platform. The best purchasing conditions would be determined via the Internet.
"Globalization of purchasing and consolidation of volumes" are therefore possible growth options in the eyes of Roy Simmonds, who believes that "cooperation and competition will go hand in hand in the future. And since more and more suppliers will also sell their goods directly in the future thanks to the Internet, resellers "will have to be better with additional services.
"Be first and win" - the motto of successful companies
Beat Curti has increased his sales from the original 80 million francs he generated with Prodega to 3.5 billion francs today. The group is now called Bon appétit and owes its growth in each case to "business models that were not yet known in Switzerland," as Beat Curti emphasized. 104 pick-pay discounters (which, however, were founded by Bruno Gideon and later sold to Curti), 350 primo and 1,000 vis-à-vis retail outlets now belong to Curti's empire.
Bon appétit is now supplying more and more customers via a new channel. This refers to gas station stores. In the meantime, all gas stations, except those of Migros and Coop, are doing business with Bon appétit. Curti was even able to sign an exclusive contract with Shell a few days ago. 15 percent annual growth has been the norm for Bon appétit in recent years. Taking British Prime Minister Tony Blair at his word ("My Web is my Castle,") Beat Curti also wants to continue to open up new markets. Hungry for growth, his Bon appétit is investing "like crazy" in several Internet projects.
Howeg Online serves restaurants, canteens and hospitals via the Internet with offers for paperless food ordering. According to Curti, the service is growing by more than 30 percent per month.
Also via the Internet, its fresh & net GastroLogik AG supplies major buyers such as Mövenpick and SAir-Group. With both Internet services together, Bon appétit is now the largest business-to-business platform in Europe - and the Internet pioneer is already in the process of building up a network with US partners as well. The prospects are rosy, because in the USA, according to Curti, already 60 percent of all
B-to-B purchases made over the network.
Starting from the general Internet euphoria, Jean Etienne Aebi tried to bring a few details from this brave new Internet world back to the ground of everyday reality. "If Persil promised to wash your laundry clean, it did!" opined the Chief Creative Officer of Publicis Zurich. "But anyone who lights up a Marlboro by no means immediately experiences an adventure," Aebi philosophized further, ultimately also pointing out the gap between promises and facts in his presentation.
On the way from the information society to the dream society, various products have become actual cult brands, according to Aebi's comments. The Diesel campaign created a fan base that ultimately became a decisive market factor for the jeans brand.
"Nike's triumph over Adidas, Puma and the others in the first half of the 1990s was a pure communications victory." Likewise, the systems battle between Apple and IBM at the time was fought as a "pure battle of faith." In a comparison between Pepsi and Coca-Cola, 50 percent of the test subjects guessed wrong; in reality, they are either sworn Pepsi fans or equally convinced Coke fans.
Information on the web is not advertising
"The magic and myth of brands are the result of communication strategies," was thus Aebi's conclusion. But advertising on the Internet today is still absolutely boring and unimaginative. The "I-am-also-there website" is the only message conveyed, according to the advertising expert's judgment.
But the more the Internet industry booms, the less this will be enough. Original quote from Jean Etienne Aebi: "Triviality will have had its day. Creative ideas will be the order of the day. Information is not advertising. Suggestion determines the competition."
The advertising expert is therefore convinced that the still spartan advertising presence on the Internet will develop into more emotionally charged forms in the near future - which in turn will result in corresponding growth for the advertising world as well. A reassuring final sentence in Aebi's reflections on the growth of the Internet: "Creativity creates and celebrates success." Or in a slightly varied version based on David Ogilvy: "It's not selling unless it's creative."
