Even Hero Products Need Hero Marketing.

There is a saying that goes something like this: The best academics don’t always make the best teachers. It’s a view that many of us can relate to. The chances are, at some point in your life, you’ve sat in front of a teacher or professor who is borderline genius in their field, but who just can’t pass on their incredible knowledge and complex ideas in a relatable way. Their passion for their work is off the scale but they fail to inspire it in others. 

Where am I going with this? Well, the same goes for brands. A company can have the best product money and talent can create, but if it can’t tell the story and tap into what makes consumers tick, its wings are clipped from day one. Hero products and hero services are just one side of the coin. The other is hero marketing. 

For a brand to truly take flight, it needs to resonate with its target audience. It needs to solve a problem, speak to customer needs, or even feed a dream. We all know that a spray of a luxury perfume won’t magically transform us into the larger-than-life film star promoting it on the roadside billboard, but for a moment, it allows us to indulge a fantasy. 

Of course, more down-to-earth issues matter too. Research indicates that brand consistency can increase revenue by more than 30%, and that 89% of shoppers remain loyal to brands that share their values. Reaching the right consumer group is so important that more than 70% of brand managers reportedly consider building an audience as more important than converting sales.

But that is easier said than done. Getting the brand message right – and in the right places – can be a formidable task, especially for startups that lack the seemingly bottomless marketing budgets of multinational corporates. This is where effectiveness comes in; no matter how big or small a company, effective spending plays a critical role in business growth. Simply put, the issue is not how much you have, it’s how you spend it.

While good marketeers are skilled at managing company purse strings, great marketeers strike a careful balance between two conflicting forces: budget and creativity. In addition to handling budget allocation with laser precision, creative thinking is an invaluable tool when it comes to drawing in consumers and boosting all important revenue. Once seen as somewhat of a soft skill, creativity is anything but. Today, the ability to get creative is business critical. 

It is against this backdrop that the Middle East prepares for what is arguably the most important night on the marketing calendar, the Effie Awards. This year’s MENA Effie Gala takes place in Dubai on 16th November and will bring together more than 1,000 professionals from the world of marketing and communications who contribute to the success of their brands. 

As Chief Brand Officer at ToYou and VP Head of Brand at Riyadh Bank before that, I know first-hand what it takes to build a name, tell a story, and stand out in a crowd. I also know that it takes courage to stand up in the first place – and that’s what makes me feel honored to be part of this year’s Effie judging panel. On the night, dozens of incredible brands will showcase their best work and walk away with awards designed to recognize stellar efforts across industries, with creativity, budget, and business size, all in the mix. 

With the event still weeks away, the jury is out on this year’s finalists, but let’s not forget that out in the real world, the biggest judge of brand success you.