Bang on. The current crop of Brand Managers have become category head or something like that well before their 30s. They actually don't even know the very basics of a brief. They are confused with what is the 'desired result' vs 'what to say'. They simply say, "I want more walk-ins" which is the desired objective. But 'what to say' as per their Brand Strength, Loyalty, delivery mechanism, etc. they don't have a clue. Most of the times my first round presentation is actually writing what to say. Which I think is Marketing team job. I am here to do the "how" part. How to say it. I don't mind doing this for "owner / family" based businesses where they only have a robust sales team. Marketing for them is more sales
I remember some genuine Marketers calling the Agency guys and having a transparent discussion and seeking help for their marketing problems and actually giving credit to the Agency. Also, in my experience, the Chennai or TN based FMCGs recruit the Chatterjis, Sharmas etc. from P&G, Levers etc. for 'showoff'. But they hardly know the battlefield which is primarily TN and South. They are Super Seniors but in terms of consumer behaviour, cultural nuances, they are zero. A man with more common sense and little qualification is more useful than more qualified, less practical person.
Bang on. The current crop of Brand Managers have become category head or something like that well before their 30s. They actually don't even know the very basics of a brief. They are confused with what is the 'desired result' vs 'what to say'. They simply say, "I want more walk-ins" which is the desired objective. But 'what to say' as per their Brand Strength, Loyalty, delivery mechanism, etc. they don't have a clue. Most of the times my first round presentation is actually writing what to say. Which I think is Marketing team job. I am here to do the "how" part. How to say it. I don't mind doing this for "owner / family" based businesses where they only have a robust sales team. Marketing for them is more sales
I remember some genuine Marketers calling the Agency guys and having a transparent discussion and seeking help for their marketing problems and actually giving credit to the Agency. Also, in my experience, the Chennai or TN based FMCGs recruit the Chatterjis, Sharmas etc. from P&G, Levers etc. for 'showoff'. But they hardly know the battlefield which is primarily TN and South. They are Super Seniors but in terms of consumer behaviour, cultural nuances, they are zero. A man with more common sense and little qualification is more useful than more qualified, less practical person.