When I worked in Advertising in London I was very lucky to work on a lot of Proctor & Gamble business when A.G. Lafley was there the first time.

I applied all the theory from my Marketing & Psychology degrees and finessed my trade. I further developed a love of consumer behavior and built credibility in building brands:

• I developed CVP’s for focusing on the more emotional aspects but not ignoring the functional,
• I talked about your unique selling point versus your key competitor
• I mapped out the consumer journey within the AIDA model
• I sat behind windows and waxed lyrical about ‘the lady in the red dress loving the irreverence concept’.

Having now written many brand strategies and worked in most industries there is, I now believe that a lot of the things I learnt 20, 10 and even 5 years ago are totally irrelevant when marketing to consumers today.

Here are the top 5:

1. Building a Customer Value Proposition: a rational time-consuming process that is a waste of time. Remind yourself of your brand story, write it into your values and your essence and demonstrate that through your Brand Doing.
2. Calling consumers, end users. If brands are not connected to the people who buy their brands, they will never serve and appeal to them in any way.
3. Thinking that your brand has a competitive set. In this new world where information is readily available you are up against products and businesses you may not have heard of and from new markets that have opened up due to digital transformation.
4. The fact that consumers become aware of you, show your brand some interest, desire it and then buy, (the AIDA Model) is the most outdated concept of consumer purchasing behavior. Have you ever sat with a consumer looking for a product that interests them? It couldn’t be more opposite to this linear archaic approach.
5. Finally (and sorry to offend a whole industry here and most of my UK friends), TV advertising is unlikely to shift actual product. Most people who are watching TV are doing so with an iPad and a phone and are therefore paying little attention to the screen during the ads.

But one thing hasn’t changed.   You brand must deliver a benefit to the people who buy it. No one will be bothered with your story if it doesn’t have meaning or deliver against the expectation.