To better comprehend the current landscape and illuminate the road ahead, we turned to our community of CMOs. Our latest study provides an exclusive oral history of how 26 global CMOs processed COVID-19. These leaders shared their insights into what it has been like living and working over the past several months. The decisions made by these CMOs are characterized by tremendous tension—protecting employees’ safety and revenues, supporting the community and keeping the enterprise healthy, being distinct from other brands while aligning with people’s shifting concerns and behaviours.

Margaret Molloy

August 2020

Over the last two decades, marketers and branders have continuously tried to determine how to reach the new, younger generation. Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are the focus of so much brand research. Should brands be adapted to this generation and its specific desires?

Aaron Hall

August 2020

In our season finale, I spoke with five CMOs to learn how they respond to the pandemic and, in particular, how they prioritize collaboration. We discussed the seismic shift from tribalism to being communal, why problem-solving requires collaboration at all levels, the intersection of thoughtfulness and hustle and tying resilience to revenue.

Margaret Molloy

August 2020

Since April, our Future of Branding discussions have focused on how brands were responding to the pandemic. However, in recent weeks, as countries, states and cities start to reopen, our focus has transitioned to how brands are resetting to propel business continuity and, in many cases, transformation. Today's conversation explored themes such as marrying purpose and action, how crisis is pushing marketing back to its basics and the rise of empathy and authenticity, especially for Gen Z and younger Millennials consumers, who ask why before asking, how much? One thing is sure. Brand building is no longer about words and pictures—it's about deeds and experiences.

Margaret Molloy

July 2020

In April and May, we interviewed a panel of CMOs to assess how their priorities and tactics changed in light of COVID-19. The situation has evolved significantly since then, so Retail TouchPoints' Alicia Esposito caught up with our Global Director, Business Analytics & Insights Brian Rafferty to see what has changed and what marketers need to know. Learn how to reassess your brand’s mission and values and use marketing to reaffirm purpose and drive value for your consumers.

Brian Rafferty

July 2020

Every consumer is on their own journey – towards a more environmentally conscious and sustainable future. When it comes to electric vehicles (EVs), the pace of that journey to adoption varies based on consumers’ readiness for broader lifestyle change. In order to understand how the gap to electric vehicle adoption can be bridged, automotive companies need … Continued

Ben Osborne & Liz Olsen

July 2020

On Wednesday, July 15th, I hosted the eighth installment of our Future of Branding roundtable series. We (virtually) traveled the globe to meet five marketing leaders. From Atlanta, Georgia and Sao Paolo to southern Finland and the Middle East, these men and women are distinguishing themselves by building and leading local brands in sectors at the forefront of the pandemic: hospitals, grocery, renewable materials, economic development and entertainment.

Margaret Molloy

July 2020

From India to the U.S., from Africa to Europe, our panelists have distinguished themselves as global leaders. Our discussion touched on several areas, from how brand purpose has come to life during the COVID-19 era, to the unexpected advantages that have emerged, the somber challenges that must be acknowledged, and why we should view the future as a new beginning rather than a new normal.

Margaret Molloy

July 2020

We are experiencing a global crisis. It’s of a significance that most of us have never known and will change our lives in myriad ways – not only in its midst but long after and on multiple fronts. Our world of work will be one such front of enduring change. I am a strategist at … Continued

Liz Olsen

July 2020

There are plenty of words and phrases that many of us would be happy never to hear again. Quantitative easing. Congestion charging. And for England football fans ‘penalty shoot-out’ almost always invokes fear beyond measure.

Philip Davies

July 2020