I’ve been a Bounty guy my whole life. “It’s the quicker picker-upper”. It’s owned the championship title for as long as I can remember and really has no contenders that can take it down. My mother swore by it (and yes, I drink the same bourbon as my father so what), and in those crisis moments of spilled milk, soup, or for using Windex properly, it always delivered. My mother always told me, “pay more for the products that work right because cheap is expensive”. Bounty seemed to always have a strong and convincing way of reinforcing that when we sat down to watch family TV each night. I wish it was a client of mine.
For those that say data is the only way to succeed in marketing today, I ask you to look at this picture to the left. It doesn’t take much more than a walk through your local supermarket to tell which brands have a lasting impact on consumers and which are the “I’ll settle because I need it” brands or the new/green products that have made no impact on consumer perception yet. I doubt reams of data are going to help these brands alone. Right now, I believe our circumstances have sent us back to the stories we grew up with to bring additional comfort to our lives (I for one am tired of the news and have sworn off it for the time being). The Bounty story, in particular, reminds me of why I got into this business of advertising; for the fun, the creativity, the storytelling, and the affinity building; the brand-building trilogy.
Consumers like stories, plain and simple. I’ll never stop believing in this or fighting for this with my Clients – and it’s no easy battle these days. My industry mentors and heroes fueled a belief in me that this business is about brands that entertain, provide the next installment, and understand that this world we live in is usually too serious for itself and needs a bit of a reprieve. Sadly, much of the fantastic work out there is often overshadowed by brands that don’t understand this, which gives advertising a bad name – call us so we can help you get back on track.
Back to Bounty, it’s always been the brand to have in your house. Sure there was the trial of a competitor’s product; everyone cheats now and then, just to see if Bounty is really better. But time and again the answer was yes, it really was. This has continued to create a deep relationship for Bounty with its constituents, the ones I talk to, or stop to ask during the mad dash to grab the last 6=12 pack that the stock clerk just put out, literally.
You can count the seconds until they expectedly say “It’s the quicker picker-upper”. I don’t see Bounty’s rein ending, it’s nearly impossible to alter now. Sorry Brawny and Sparkle, I mean no insult in saying that. Bounty has stuck to its roots, its story, and its promise, but it has reinvented the notion of what that story means today. This is where I see data really playing an important role.
Just like in humans, relationships take time and stick-to-it-ness. In the best examples, that first step is married to the ability to reinvent the spark, the desire, the belief (which fits nicely with our corporate mission). Most Marketers today waste no time is switching gears on a good idea. In my observation, data would have you believe that there isn’t time to build relationships (and clients are buying this). At least it seems so when you sit in a meeting where sales, for a week, were not exactly where they were predicted to be. Everyone scrambles and changes spending channels faster than you can say “let it take its course”. Nothing is allowed to seed any longer. Instant gratification is tied to “consumer reviews”, social influencers (some of whom I’d never want representing my brand), demand generation, cost per lead, and one-off stories that require me to buy a brand just because I have to be like everyone else. Instead, it should be fueling storytelling which has been pushed aside for immediacy. Just like everything good in the world, however, storytelling is finding its way back to the surface. I hear it from industry peers a lot these days, “Do you know or have anyone that can tell a good story in advertising? We need that because the kids working on our business today have no ability to interpret.” That’s pretty sad to keep hearing.
Storytelling began well before we needed Google Analytics to tell us how to market by the way. What made Bounty so successful was a combination of great products, Nancy Walker, and a deep-seated belief that the brand story could transcend generations. While I do miss Nancy, the “quicker picker-upper” leaves a lasting impression (over five decades now) and is a story that is as iconic as they come.
So here’s the kicker. Walking through the supermarket in the COVID era, all I can think about is how to better marry data to storytelling. I’m convinced this is a skill set that many don’t have and one of my closest peers in this business seems to believe too. I believe Data is hugely necessary, my business partner Thomas has convinced me and shown me how to bridge my deep-seated belief in relationship building with proper analytics for the express purpose of fueling creativity. We believe together, that data should not supplant storytelling as the engine of marketing. We both believe brand builders are still the strongest path to lasting success. Data should be the veins and arteries, not the heart or the brain.
With any business relationship, your outsourcing company is your partner – not your enemy, and it helps to work with, not against each other. Based on our experiences at Venuiti, maintaining a well-communicated project ensures a healthy business relationship. Make sure you apply these tips in your next project and you’ll ensure a smooth and successful outcome.
