The blog

As a child, I have always loved the 1st week of September. The fresh smell of new books filling the air thrilled me. At that time, “back-to-school” was mainly about the excitement of trying out my school supplies and getting to know my new buddies & teachers. Exams and homework basically were just vague and often unwelcomed side effects of this wonderful week. Just like children, I have no doubt that consultants, and companies in general, could be significantly and positively impacted by this 1st week of September. My experience during the immersion camp of The House of Marketing is a strong proof of this.

The House of Marketing presented at the RetailSonar Day 2015, an event for retailers who are interested in getting grip on their omnichannel dynamics and eager to successfully integrate on- and offline in their strategies. THoMers Bart De Bodt and Dirk Oosterlinck explained how to develop a successful omnichannel strategy. We are happy to share the key takeaways of the event with you.

A few weeks ago. Drama. The Retailer Colruyt, when working on a rebranding strategy for its private labels, announced that the name of their private label beer, Cara Pils, would be changed to Everyday Pils, in line with hundreds of other Colruyt private label products.

“It’s not about surviving in disruption; it’s about becoming the disruptor.” After a hectic taxi ride in the streets of Dublin and a high-tech cappuccino with extra chocolate very kindly offered at the Dropbox stand, it is this quote from Digiday’s president Brian Morrisey that truly woke me up on the morning of November 4. Chewing on breakfast popcorn, mildly flavored with Google caramel, I looked around the auditorium filled with 500+ marketers eagerly scribbling down Brian’s every word on their iPad or smartphone, taking a WebSummit selfie, and/or (well, some people seem to manage to do it all) typing a catchy Twitter feed. Which of them would lead their teams toward not only surviving in the age of disruption, but thriving and growing? Which of them would initiate change, not just be immersed in it? Which of them would not be disrupted, but be the disruptors?

If you want to go down the path of disruption, technology is not the end state. Consumer experience is; technology is merely an accelerator!

The sharing economy is everywhere. As marketers, we should realize that this phenomenon can have a huge impact on existing business models, so we’d better get ready for a future where sharing will become the new owning.

I believe the marketing department needs to be centered on the often used metaphor of Velcro management: Cohesive when in place, but easily rearranged when the situation and organization strategy change. 76% of the respondents in the Yearly Marketing Survey 2014 believe in such an agile and up-to-date organizational structure. Of course, you can’t constantly rip the company apart. A certain level of continuity needs to be maintained.

Once upon a time marketers were perceived as people who simply sold hot air wrapped in a fluffy story. Anno 2014 storytellers are considered the new marketers. But is storytelling really revolutionary? Isn’t it just a timeless or indeed already old-school skill?

Yesterday I wanted to make a recipe everyone knows and most of us love: macaroni & cheese. I took my iPhone, found one of the many similar recipes and bought the necessary ingredients. After finishing the most difficult part, the bechamel sauce, I was very pleased with the result. Now imagine someone telling me ‘make a good, classic “mac & cheese” but you have to do something with chocolate as one of the ingredients’. Everyone, including myself, would declare that person a lunatic, because we all know that you can’t make a good mac & cheese using chocolate. Chocolate is an irrelevant ingredient when making a classic mac & cheese.

Many people say that a dog is man’s best friend. From them, we can learn a lot about loyalty. My dog is an English Cocker Spaniel and she is loyal until the point where her nose and instinct takes over. Since it is a hound, the instinct takes over most of the time. The same principle can be applied to the subject I wish to discuss, namely the new trend of customer loyalty cards. I will comment on this trend by giving my own experiences as a catering entrepreneur.