Mass marketing a massive mistake, says brand expert

MASS marketing is a massive mistake, a former global chief marketing officer at McDonald’s told Irish food and drink companies at Marketplace Ireland yesterday.

Larry Light, chairman and chief executive of brand management consulting company, Arcature, argued that unfocused and over-generalised marketing strategies were redundant in a world of individualised lifestyles and cultural diversity.

“The basic driver today is that the consumer demands — not wants — more choice and more variety. They want a product that is personalised and customised,” he said.

Mr Light said successful brands must be built on what he called “pillars” — a focused and familiar identity that promises a special experience and consistently delivers on it.

“It used to be believed that through market segmentation you could identify your target market and provide one brand.

“Today, however, consumers have less free time than ever before and so they want a brand to make the experience and choice easy for them,” he said.

Mr Light urged food industry professionals to adopt a more flexible approach to brand development and warned that the traditional hierarchies of branded and private label no longer hold.

“We need to get rid of the concept that private label is competition to branded offerings,” Mr Light said.

“It is another brand and the best brand will win.”

Mr Light counts Mars, Kellogg’s, IBM, General Electric, Ford, Renault and Visa among his clients.

The former chief executive of Marks and Spencer, Luc Vandevelde, who is now the managing director of private equity firm, Change Capital Partners, urged Irish food and drink companies to place their customers at the centre of everything they do.