Welcome to another episode of The Barber’s Brief! Join Marc and Vassilis as they dive into the latest marketing and business news, spotlight a standout case study in their Marketing Moment, and wrap up with the Ad of the Week.

Enjoy the show!

Follow our updates here: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/⁠⁠

Get in touch with our hosts:

Marc Binkley: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/

Vassilis Douros: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/⁠

Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction

01:15 - Nike’s Market Strategy and Challenges

05:31 - Amazon’s Return to Office Mandate

09:52 - Swedish Advertising Insights

13:45 - The Evolution of KPIs in Marketing

25:38 - Ad of the week

Links:

Title: Did Nike Lose it’s Cool or it’s place? Prof. Koen Pauwels

Source: Prof. Koen Pauwels

Link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/did-nike-lose-its-cool-place-prof-dr-koen-pauwels-0cmqe/?trackingId=8MbCHRTATd%2Bm4DNRnHllsA%3D%3D

Amazon Says No To Remote Work - Mandates full 5-day return to office

Source: Techcrunch

Link: https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/16/amazon-mandates-full-five-day-return-to-office/

Link#2: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-employees-blast-andy-jassy-113949840.html

Title: Effective Communication 2024 report by Sveriges Annonsorer & NoA Consulting

Source: Sveriges Annonsorer

Link: https://www.sverigesannonsorer.se/kunskap/rapporter/effective-communication-2024

Title: Is the KPI still a good indicator of performance? Johnny Corbet

Source: Marketing Week

Link: https://www.marketingweek.com/kpi-good-indicator-performance/

The Marketing Moment:

How KFC Integrated Creative Quality into Their Marketing Effectiveness Assessments

Link: https://www.kantar.com/inspiration/advertising-media/how-kfc-integrated-creative-quality-into-their-marketing-effectiveness-assessments

Ad of the Week

MIRO - collaboration and project management software

https://youtu.be/shy3tqvHb4g?si=QyNchqm5jw2e4GDo

The Back Story - the production team used Miro to produce the commercial for Miro

https://go2.miro.com/how-we-launched-a-national-ad-campaign-with-Miro.html

Welcome to another episode of the Sleeping Barber Podcast!

Join Marc and Vassilis as they dive into the world of marketing effectiveness with special guest James Hurman.

James, the founder of Previously Unavailable and the Masters of Advertising Effectiveness program, shares his deep insights into the startup ecosystem, the importance of balancing customer acquisition costs (CAC) with brand awareness, and the concept of future demand. This episode is packed with valuable knowledge on how to build sustainable marketing strategies that drive long-term success.

Enjoy the show!

Our Guest:

James Hurman - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshurman/

• Founder Previously Unavailable - Innovation Studio
• Founder & Programme Director of the Masters of Advertising Effectiveness course with WARC
• Co-founder of Tracksuit - a SaaS brand health tracking system
• Co-author with Peter Field on the Cannes Lions / WARC publication called Creative Effectiveness Ladder
• Author of a new book for startups called Future Demand and The Case for Creativity

Follow our updates here: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/⁠⁠

Get in touch with our hosts:

Marc Binkley: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/

Vassilis Douros: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/⁠

Timestamps:

0:00 - Episode Introduction

3:28 –the trouble with CAC & the startup playbook

6:39 – why future demand (brand building) is important for startups

10:15 – is demand generation possible

15:04 – Why CAC gets worse without brand awareness

17:30 – Split budgets between brand and performance marketing

19:00 – James’ journey into effectiveness

24:14 – What is effectiveness?

26:35 – The Creative Effectiveness ladder

32:35 – Do ads wear out or wear in?

37:10 – The customer need behind Tracksuit’s brand health tracking SaaS

41:10 – Lessons for early-stage startups

44:53 – The power of industry expertise inside a startup

47:58 – Building Effectiveness knowledge inside companies

51:15 – Much of what marketers are taught is wrong

53:30 – Marketing evidence needs to wear in

54:15 – how to learn more about James

55:09 - Post Pod with V and Marc

Background Research & Literature:

James on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshurman/

Tracksuit https://www.gotracksuit.com/us

Previously Unavailable https://www.previously.co/

Creative Effectiveness Ladder https://www.lionscreativity.com/creative-effectiveness-ladder

The Principle of Future Demand https://www.previously.co/projects/the-principle-of-future-demand

Welcome to another episode of The Barber’s Brief! Join Marc and Vassilis as they dive into the latest marketing and business news, spotlight a standout case study in their Marketing Moment, and wrap up with the Ad of the Week.

Enjoy the show!

Follow our updates here: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/⁠⁠

Get in touch with our hosts:

Marc Binkley: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/

Vassilis Douros: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/⁠

Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction

1:56 - Efficiency Delusion

4:54 - iOS 18 What Does It Mean For Marketers

12:30 - Brand Has Never Been More Important For B2B

17:14 - Google Lose Appeal in EU

19:56 - The Marketing Moment - Dr. Pepper

Links:

Story #1

Title: The Efficiency Delusion

Source: Paul Worthington blog OffKilter

Link: https://www.invencion.com/off-kilter

Story #2a

Title: iOS 18: What do the new AI features mean for Email Marketing?

Source: DeployTeq

Link: https://deployteq.com/ios-18-what-do-the-new-ai-features-mean-for-email-marketing/

Story #2b

Title: iOS 18: Apple Visual Intelligence – search using your iPhone camera

Source: Search Engine Land

Link: https://searchengineland.com/apple-visual-intelligence-search-using-your-iphone-camera-446419

Story #3

Title: Brand Has ‘Never Been More Important in B2B Marketing’, research reveals

Source: Marketing Week

Link: https://www.marketingweek.com/brand-more-important-b2b/

Story #4

Title: Nike: Google loses appeal against EU’s $2.7B Shopping antitrust case, as bloc also wins $15B Apple state aid appeal

Source: Masimo Guanaco on LinkedIn

Link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nike-epic-saga-value-destruction-massimo-giunco-llplf

Marketing Moment: Dr. Pepper Just Took over Pepsi: Could Coca-Cola be Next?

Source: Andrew Tindall in The Drum

Link: https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2024/09/02/dr-pepper-just-overtook-pepsi-could-coca-cola-be-next

The Background: Coke, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper once dominated the U.S. soda market, but by the end of 2023, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper were tied with an 8.3% market share. Dr. Pepper's success is due to both its own strategy and Pepsi's failures.

Case #1 - Branding & Rebranding: While Coca-Cola maintained a consistent brand identity, Pepsi underwent multiple major redesigns. Dr. Pepper, launched in 1885, kept its unique positioning, benefiting from a distinct brand and flavor profile. The brand leveraged its unique classification as a "Pepper Soda" to expand its distribution network.

The Cola Wars: Pepsi focused on taste tests and high-profile campaigns, including controversial ads, while the overall market saw a shift towards bottled water and diverse flavors. Pepsi emphasized zero sugar and snacks.

Dr. Pepper’s Strategy: Unlike its competitors, Dr. Pepper avoided the "Cola Wars" and focused on its distinctiveness, committing to an eSOV (excess share of voice) strategy and consistently improving ad quality. As Gen Z becomes the key demographic, Dr. Pepper continues to focus on its 139-year-old positioning as a unique blend of 23 flavors while adapting its creative approach to resonate with younger consumers.

We Play Different - The North Face

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7qHeUak1RU&list=TLGGQEylHYKkXDwxMDA5MjAyNA&t=18s

Agency: B-Reel

The North Face aimed to reconnect with its core audience across fashion and outdoor sports while appealing to a younger demographic unfamiliar with its heritage.

Campaign narrative and execution

The campaign, "We Always Have Your Back," utilizes storytelling and visual spectacle to bridge The North Face's legacy in extreme outdoor exploration with its contemporary status as a streetwear icon. Narrated by Alex Honnold, the campaign emphasizes unity and support in adventure.