“Marketers show a continual need to constantly know what’s happening on the brand, the category, the consumer,” said Joseph George, founder and group chairman, Quotient Ventures. He added, “But I’ve always found that marketers who are not overconfident about the fact that they know everything about the brand and the consumer and the category are the ones who really do well.”
After the super success of YoungGuns, Storyboard18 and Network18 Group are launching The Visionaries. The three-city initiative will bring the focus on Visionaries from the world of brands and the commendable work they have been doing in establishing their organisations as leaders.
The Visionaries is an initiative that recognises the leading lights who have transformed our approach to media, marketing, and advertising. The marquee evening will take place at The Oberoi, Gurugram, on 27th October.
Ahead of the Visionaries celebration, we asked advertising industry leaders to share their views on the impact visionary marketers have on brands, people and businesses as well as the necessary qualities a marketer must possess.
A visionary marketer is essentially made up of three qualities, said George. “Firstly, visionaries are people who invest a lot of time continuously on understanding what’s happening in the category, what’s happening to the consumer, and if the brand is changing in terms of how it’s being perceived. Secondly, people are quite convinced about what needs to be done,” said George.
He added, “Very rarely will you find a visionary marketer who is not both knowledgeable and convinced about what needs to be done. So, I think conviction is to me another aspect of what makes for a visionary marketer.”
“And the third one, which probably is the most important, is the ability to inspire the people around, on the team, both internal and external,” said George. “I have experienced this in my career. Marketers who succeeded in inspiring people both within the team, or agency partners, are the ones who got better work out. As it is there’s so much cynicism around marketing and if people are not clear or convinced about what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, it can be quite frustrating. A visionary marketer understands that and makes a huge effort to inspire people around him.”
George also shared what he thinks is the impact a visionary marketer has on brands, businesses, people and culture.
“The impact can be quite profound, actually. From a brand and business perspective, a visionary marketer ensures that both the brand and business stay relevant in a way that it commands either a premium or love or affection or engagement. I think that’s what visionary marketers do. They try to ensure a sustained relevance for the brand. And when I say relevance, I mean across affinity, engagement, love, all of it,” he noted.
“The impact visionary marketers have on people and culture again is quite profound. And it’s a continuation of the point I was making earlier. When people are convinced about what the brand is trying to do, they find purpose in what they’re doing. They find purpose in what the brand is attempting to do in the marketplace. They find purpose in what the brand is trying to do in a consumer’s life,” George added. “A visionary marketer almost always ensures that the people working on the brand, both internal and external, know why they’re doing what they’re doing. And when that happens, there is more skin in the game from a team’s point of view.”
About The Visionaries
Storyboard18’s Visionaries initiative recognises the women and men scripting some of the most exciting chapters in Indian marketing, media and advertising. They are marketing leaders with responsibility for a category, brand or innovation-led practice within their organisation. They also exhibit a purposeful approach to building sustainable businesses and enduring brands, using the new bottomline, People-Planet-Profits, as their guide. For more, visit: Storyboard18’s Visionaries.