Are our marketing leaders challenging the status quo?

Last night we had the announcement of this year's winners of the prestigious Marketing Society's Excellence Awards. A pretty talented group of individuals!

I noted the judging panel selected their Marketing Leader of The Year from Direct Line insurance, and that got me thinking. Not about the individual, but about the thinking and criteria applied, considering we're talking the cutthroat world of insurance.

Sure, the Direct Line campaigns are mentioned for energising the brand (Winston Wolf campaign) and innovation through Fleetlights Legacy (drones adapted for sea search and rescue) and Smart Crossings (the world’s first responsive road). And that's all good and well. Creativity and brand purpose taken care of. Mention of Direct Line's turnaround is also linked to focus on customer experience. Even better.

Yet, I am curious how you reconcile the above and the marketing leadership award with a model that has arguably rendered an entire loop of the customer journey defunct - customer loyalty - by focusing pretty much only on new customer acquisition?

Additionally, as part of an industry that penalises the loyalty of existing customers, thereby obliging the incessant cycle of hunting around for new deals every 12-18 months, where is the great customer experience in this?

Does this mean the award recognises creativity and innovative brand communication but misses some of the basics of successful marketing, like getting the balance right between acquisition and retention?

And where is the 'brave' dimension? In an industry which has been accused of being dysfunctional and discriminatory, it would be great to see our marketing leaders challenging the status quo.

#marketingleadership #bravemarketing #boldmarketing #BraveNewMarketing