Food & Drinks Marketing Does Rock!

Was interested to read Rob Ward's (The Food Marketing Network)assertion that food and drinks is one field where good marketing has failed to consistently make its presence felt.

A tad harsh in truth because you only have to think of the likes of Ben & Jerry's (pre Unilever mugging), Innocent, Higgidy Pies,Gu, Yeo Valley, Rod & Ben's and Firefly (to name but a few) to see that 'forward-thinking' fmcg marketing is truly alive and kicking. These are brands that have either cleverly out-thought their lumbering multi-national competitors by redefining their niche and playing to their strengths or better still creating a new category for them to not simply inhabit but attack other less inspiring food & drinks categories.

For me the problem isn't so much food and drink but the many insipid multinational propositions that keep letting the side down. When was the last time you can remember a major brand doing something truly surprising?

Of course they're more than happy to make a nice ad, throw a wad of money at whatever the latest marketing gimmick that's doing the rounds, (e.g. the fluff that is experiential) but when it comes to leading from the front, doing the basics right, inspirational new product innovation or simply not taking their customers for granted they lag sadly behind.

Today's consumers expect (& deserve) more meaningful, trusting two-way relationships with the brands they love. They like to be approached, engaged and occasionally amazed.

Whether it's the mind-numbing bureaucracy that surrounds so many big brands, a curious obsession with calculatingly cold yet symmetrical international strategy that neither alienates or ignites imaginations or a simple lack of adventure, who knows?

Fortunately there are now more & more smaller fleet-footed agencies like PURPLE PILCHARD who are on hand to prevent big agency mediocrity from stifling the ambitions of genuine eager-to-evolve brands