{"id":19534,"date":"2025-01-27T14:04:40","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T14:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/?post_type=news&#038;p=19534"},"modified":"2025-01-27T14:04:41","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T14:04:41","slug":"is-your-brand-a-thermometer-or-a-thermostat","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/news\/2025\/jan\/is-your-brand-a-thermometer-or-a-thermostat","title":{"rendered":"Is Your Brand a Thermometer or a Thermostat?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"lazyblock-two-column-text-quote-image-cQgyI wp-block-lazyblock-two-column-text-quote-image\"><section class=\"fullwidth fullwidth--overflow \" data-aos=\"fade-up\">\r\n  <div class=\"container container--spaced-lg\">\r\n    \r\n    <div class=\"row\">\r\n      \r\n      <div class=\"col-md-6\">\r\n        <p class=\"p2\">In a 90 second Instagram post, Rabbi Shais Taub delivers a wonderful homily on the difference between Thermometer people and Thermostat people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">He sums up the fundamental difference as follows, &#8220;A thermometer tells the temperature in the room. Whereas a thermostat tells the room the temperature&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">His analogy beautifully illustrates the power of agency. Thermometer people are low agency. As a result, they are shaped by their environment and are &#8220;doomed to be reactive&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Thermostat people, on the other hand, make a choice to define rather than be defined, to initiate rather than follow. They are high agency. They get out of bed in the morning and &#8220;they choose to be productive, they choose to be of service&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">The power of the Rabbi&#8217;s logic derives not just from its simplicity, but also its applicability. There are so many situations, so many interactions, so many contexts where we can choose to be either a thermostat or a thermometer. In our work lives, in our private lives, in our social lives. And, of course, in the advice we give to our Clients.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Just like people, it&#8217;s quite easy to classify brands based on their sense of agency. There are Thermometer brands which observe market conventions and try not to make too many waves. And there are Thermostat brands which set the agenda, impose themselves and challenge the status quo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">In my experience, it&#8217;s the Thermostat brands which deliver disproportionate success. Indeed, I have worked on a number of Thermometer brands that would have gone out of business had they not switched to a Thermostat mentality. VCCP&#8217;s founding Client is a perfect embodiment of the switch. Cellnet trailed its competitors as a flagging, reactive brand. O2 re-energised both the brand and the market by setting a new agenda, shifting the goalposts from mobile telephony to digital oxygen, championing the essential role that pervasive wirefree connectivity plays in our lives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">It is inevitably easier to be a thermostat at moments of change, when a brand is launching or relaunching, or going through some other kind of upheaval andperhaps there is always a balance to be struck between the right blend of thermostat and thermometer modes. Just like the temperature, conventions aren\u2019t always wrong. There is no need to disrupt gratuitously, as there are many things in life that don&#8217;t need challenging. A thermostat, after all, is seldom required in the summer.<\/p>        \r\n                \r\n  \t\t\t      <\/div>\r\n      \r\n      <div class=\"col-md-6\">\r\n    \t\t<p>This means every brand needs to find the cadence that suits it best between low and high agency settings. The majority of successful organisations alternate between these two modes, sometimes consolidating on their strengths, sometimes challenging and disrupting. Without the former they are unlikely to maximise returns, without the latter, they will become the victims of disruption, trapped in low growth backwaters.<\/p>\n<p>But whatever balance you strike, there is one golden rule. Your core belief, your North Star, must be driven not by the compliance of the Thermometer, but by the conviction of the Thermostat. The future you envision for your brand must be one that it has shaped, where it has made a difference, where it has set the temperature.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">For Cadbury, the goal is to reward and celebrate the innate generosity of human nature. To change the psychological setting in a world where it is all too easy to be cold and cynical. For Compare the Market, the task is to simplify and engage in a category that is far too often complex and alienating. For easyJet, the mission since launch has been to help people experience, share and belong by getting out there into new horizons. And for Vitality, success involves shifting the dial from problem to solution; encouraging people to be well, rather than just insuring them against illness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Much is written about the declining levels of trust and growing levels of polarisation in society. And the commentary is perfectly valid. We live in factional times. But your brand does not need to be part of this narrative. It can set its own path and write its own storyline. It can be a beacon of trust. It can deliver on its promises. It can help people unite and belong through shared experience. It can be of service to its customers by telling the rest of the market what the temperature should really be.<\/p>  \t\t<\/div>\r\n  \t\t\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    \r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/section><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-quote-full-width-MpOUv wp-block-lazyblock-quote-full-width\">  <section class=\"fullwidth fullwidth--top-lg text-center\" data-aos=\"fade-up\">\n    <div class=\"container\">\n\n      <blockquote class=\"blockquote\">\n        Your core belief, your North Star, must be driven not by the compliance of the Thermometer, but by the conviction of the Thermostat. The future you envision for your brand must be one that it has shaped, where it has made a difference, where it has set the temperature. \n        <cite>Charles Vallance<\/cite>      <\/blockquote>\n\n    <\/div>\n  <\/section><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":64,"template":"","categories":[191],"class_list":["post-19534","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","category-agency-news"],"acf":{"author":{"ID":930,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2020-07-02 12:04:34","post_date_gmt":"2020-07-02 11:04:34","post_content":"","post_title":"Charles Vallance","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"charles-vallance","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-01-19 12:22:45","post_modified_gmt":"2026-01-19 12:22:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/?post_type=people&#038;p=930","menu_order":0,"post_type":"people","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},"capability_ids":["988"],"client_id":"","hero_video":"","hero_image":{"ID":16482,"id":16482,"title":"Charles Vallance VCCP","filename":"Charles-Vallance-VCCP.png","filesize":2879127,"url":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP.png","link":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/news\/2023\/may\/makes-you-think\/attachment\/charles-vallance-vccp","alt":"","author":"57","description":"","caption":"","name":"charles-vallance-vccp","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":16481,"date":"2023-05-02 08:44:42","modified":"2023-05-02 08:44:42","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP-300x169.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP-768x432.png","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":360,"large":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP-1024x576.png","large-width":640,"large-height":360,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP-1536x864.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1080,"Header":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP-1920x720.png","Header-width":1920,"Header-height":720,"Wide":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP-1920x960.png","Wide-width":1920,"Wide-height":960,"Square":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP-768x768.png","Square-width":768,"Square-height":768,"Tall":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP-307x615.png","Tall-width":307,"Tall-height":615,"Mobile":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP-768x960.png","Mobile-width":768,"Mobile-height":960,"Facebook":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP-1200x630.png","Facebook-width":1200,"Facebook-height":630,"Grid-Item-Square":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP-768x768.png","Grid-Item-Square-width":768,"Grid-Item-Square-height":768,"Grid-Item-Wide":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP-768x384.png","Grid-Item-Wide-width":768,"Grid-Item-Wide-height":384,"Grid-Item-Tall":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP-307x615.png","Grid-Item-Tall-width":307,"Grid-Item-Tall-height":615}},"meta-title":"Charles\u00a0Vallance in Campaign \"Is Your Brand a Thermometer or a Thermostat?\" ","meta-description":"Charles\u00a0Vallance in Campaign \"Is Your Brand a Thermometer or a Thermostat?","social-media-image":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Charles-Vallance-VCCP.png","news_id":"191","related_content_title":"You may also like","relateditems":[{"relateditem":{"ID":17587,"post_author":"67","post_date":"2023-11-06 13:47:53","post_date_gmt":"2023-11-06 13:47:53","post_content":"<!-- wp:lazyblock\/text-full-width {\"text\":\"\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eGreed and fear are often seen as the two driving forces behind capital markets. How \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003ebullish are you about the gains to be made, or bearish about the losses?\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eThese two opposing forces make for fantastic drama and fantastic movies from Wall \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eStreet, to Wolf of Wall Street to The Big Short, In reality, however, they only tell \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003etwo-thirds of the story. Because the third force is conformity. Despite being a rather \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eless cinematic ingredient, conformity is a precondition if greed is to build the bubbles \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003ethat fear then punctures.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eThe events depicted in The Big Short illustrate this point perfectly. A small group of \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003econtrarian investors, led by Michael Burry, see the fundamental flaws and distortions \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003einherent in the US property bubble. These were driven in particular by the \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003esecuritisation of subprime mortgages.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eFor dramatic effect, this small group of contrarians are presented as absolute \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eoutliers. In fact, many people in financial markets were getting cold feet about \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003esubprime, as well as the Yen Carry Trade that fuelled it. \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eI vividly remember reading article after article in The Times and Financial Times \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003epredicting an imminent financial crisis in the months leading up to the crash. Irwin \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eStelzer, in particular, was uncannily prophetic throughout the spring and summer of \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003e2008.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eSo why did so few act on these prominent warnings from prominent commentators? \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eThe answer comes from John Maynard Keynes, an economist who had a profound \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003egrasp of human psychology.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eIn his General Theory (1936) he makes a startlingly counter-intuitive point; \\u0022Worldly \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003ewisdom teaches that it is better for reputation to fail conventionally than to succeed \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eunconventionally\\u0022. In other words, the bankers and brokers who suspected the \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003ecrunch was coming, failed to act due to inherent conformism. They didn't want to \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003ebreak rank first. They were too orthodox to run the risk of succeeding unconventionally. There were notable exceptions, but the herd instinct largely \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eprevailed.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eWhy do I say all this? Because I think the same Keynesian principle applies to the \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eworld of marketing. We too can be prey to the fear of succeeding unconventionally. \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eBen Schott has written a brilliant article for Bloomberg titled Welcome to Your Bland \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eNew World, which highlights the peculiar tendency of start-up brands to imitate each \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eother. It's a very funny critique of the codes of 'blanding'.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eThe article was actually written back in 2020, so it is dispiriting to see a growing trend \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003ewhere established brands appear to be getting on the blandwagon, adopting the \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003etropes and codes of blanding; dropping vowels for no apparent reason, acting \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eoxymoronically as VC-backed underdogs, and all looking increasingly similar with \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003emuted pastels and voguish typefaces.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eIn General Theory, Keynes explains how following the herd normally ends in failure, a \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003ecycle that continues to repeat itself due to the anaesthetic effects of failing \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003econventionally. On the other hand, the success stories, the contrarians, are likely to \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003ebe regarded disapprovingly as oddballs and weirdos - dismissed as \\u0022eccentric, \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eunconventional and rash\\u0022 in the words of Keynes.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eWhy are we so stubbornly conventional when so many success stories involve \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003enon-conformity and idiosyncrasy? Is it the numbing effect of rule-bound cultures? Is it \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003egroupthink? Is it risk aversion?\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eIt\u2019s probably a bit of all of these. But the main thing is an absence of individuality - the \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003esense of agency that comes from acting as an individual rather than a herd. \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eThis explains why so many successful brands, ancient and modern, are either \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eeponymous, or synonymous with a single individual. Guinness, Disney, Walkers, \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eBarclays, Dyson, Cadbury, Heinz, Virgin, Chanel, McDonalds, Levi's, Microsoft, \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eAmazon, Nike, Apple, easyJet are all good examples.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eThese are brands with originality at their core, baked in due to the individual vision of \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003etheir founder. It's extraordinary how many have stood the test of time, how many still lead their markets by staying true to their founders' principles, by succeeding \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eunconventionally.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eWe work in an industry of practised systems. Jim Carroll (erstwhile Chairman of \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eBBH) warns of the effects of wind-tunnel marketing. Adrian Coleman (of this parish) \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003etalks of the dangers of optimising to vanilla. There are enough pressures to conform \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003ealready, let\u2019s not start adding to them.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eThe more we understand how vitally important distinctiveness is to brand success, \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003ethe more we should resist the temptation to polish off rough edges. To hone that \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003etypeface to uniformity. To dilute idiosyncrasy or normalise quirks.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eLet\u2019s brighten the winter nights ahead by daring to succeed unconventionally. Let's \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eresist the predictability of the wind tunnel, the inoffensiveness of vanilla. Let's listen to \\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003ethe odd one out. History suggests it's a risk worth taking.\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\",\"blockId\":\"Z1kfIyq\",\"blockUniqueClass\":\"lazyblock-text-full-width-Z1kfIyq\"} \/-->","post_title":"Charles Vallance in Campaign 'Beware The Blandwagon'","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"charles-vallance-in-campaign-beware-the-blandwagon","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-11-06 13:47:54","post_modified_gmt":"2023-11-06 13:47:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/?post_type=news&#038;p=17587","menu_order":0,"post_type":"news","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}},{"relateditem":{"ID":17326,"post_author":"57","post_date":"2023-09-04 11:07:15","post_date_gmt":"2023-09-04 10:07:15","post_content":"<!-- wp:lazyblock\/text-full-width {\"text\":\"\\u003ch4 style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003eFor his latest Campaign column, VCCP's Chairman and Founding Partner Charles Vallance asks if we are beginning to see light at the end of the permacrisis tunnel.\\u003c\/h4\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eAre we beginning to see a chink of light at the end of the permacrisis tunnel?\u00a0\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eIt may be faint, and it may be flickering, but it looks like a slight glow is detectable. The last few weeks have seen a steady flow if not of exactly good news, then at least of less than exactly bad news.\u00a0\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eHeadline inflation fell from 7.9 percent in June to 6.8 percent in July. Still high. But lower, all the same. Even core inflation is beginning to subside, falling from 7.3 percent in May, to 6.9 percent in June and 6.8 percent in July.\u00a0\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eOn the demand side, wages grew by 7.8 percent in the April to June period, the highest annual growth rate since comparable records began in 2001, which means that wage inflation is now outstripping price inflation. According to GfK, savings confidence was at a 21-month high in June, which is perhaps not surprising given that, according to the Bank of England, household deposits stood at \u00a3340 billion, 23 percent higher than they were on the eve of the pandemic.\u00a0\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eIt is important, of course, that these positive statistics are seen in the context of more negative ones. For instance, after hitting a 50-year low, unemployment has edged up from 3.8 percent to 4.2 percent over recent months. Similarly, having climbed to a 17-month high in June, the GfK Consumer Confidence Index fell back by 6 points in July.\u00a0\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eMore importantly still, it is vital to understand that the effects of the cost of living crisis are very far from evenly distributed. Some groups in society have been less impacted, and have even been cushioned by what David Smith recently described in the Sunday Times as \\u0022involuntary savings\\u0022. In a segmentation study commissioned by VCCP, these groups are classified as 'Carefree Comfortables', representing 33 percent of the population. For other groups, the impact has been severe, and they have faced serious financial difficulties ever since the spike in inflation began nearly two years ago. In the same study, these groups are classified as 'Just Hanging On\u2019, representing 27 percent of the population and highlighting the polarised nature of the cost of living crisis and the severity of its effects across different social groupings.\u00a0\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eJust like the economic news, it is a mixed picture, with mixed signals. Some markets are doing very well, especially 'revenge spending' categories such as holidays, flights and live events. Other categories are struggling, particularly those that are affected by high interest rates, such as house sales and new car purchases.\u00a0\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eThe big question, as we look ahead, is whether the recent trickle of good news will gain sufficient momentum for consumers to feel that the tide is turning, that they are nearing the end of the cost of living crisis. Renewed consumer confidence, coupled with high savings levels, falling inflation and rising wages could herald a bumper year for brands in 2024, certainly by comparison to the last three years.\u00a0\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eAccording to a recent survey by Citi Research, it would seem that the consensus within marketing departments is that we might well be turning the corner. They interviewed 175 CMO's in 5 countries and found that the anticipated change in marketing budgets over the next 12 months was +10.5 percent. The UK CMO's within the sample were even more bullish, expecting an 11.8 percent uplift, rising to 18.5 percent over the next 2-3 years.\u00a0\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eThese are encouraging findings because a brand is essentially a bet on the future. You invest in it now in order to maximise returns further down the line. If the light at the end of the tunnel is approaching, then the conclusion for CMO\u2019s is clear. Don\u2019t be too late in having the conversation with your CFO about the need to invest ahead of rather than behind the demand that is on the horizon.\u00a0\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left\\u0022\\u003e\\u003cspan style=\\u0022font-weight: 400\\u0022\\u003eBrand predisposition takes time to build, but it is long-lasting and can be efficiently maintained once secured in the minds of consumers. As we head into the recovery, the best shape for marketing budgets will be front loaded so as to anticipate demand. In the famous words of Willie John McBride, there can be advantages to \u201cgetting your retaliation in first\u201d.\u00a0\\u003c\/span\\u003e\\u003c\/p\\u003e\",\"blockId\":\"20DwPs\",\"blockUniqueClass\":\"lazyblock-text-full-width-20DwPs\"} \/-->","post_title":"Charles Vallance in Campaign 'Crisis Countdown'","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"charles-vallance-in-campaign-crisis-countdown","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-09-05 10:02:49","post_modified_gmt":"2023-09-05 09:02:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/?post_type=news&#038;p=17326","menu_order":0,"post_type":"news","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}},{"relateditem":{"ID":19282,"post_author":"57","post_date":"2024-10-21 10:09:08","post_date_gmt":"2024-10-21 09:09:08","post_content":"<!-- wp:lazyblock\/text-full-width {\"text\":\"\\u003cdiv class=\\u0022page\\u0022 title=\\u0022Page 1\\u0022\\u003e\\n\\u003cdiv class=\\u0022section\\u0022\\u003e\\n\\u003cdiv class=\\u0022layoutArea\\u0022\\u003e\\n\\u003cdiv class=\\u0022column\\u0022\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eSince the launch of the iPhone we have seen a staggering proliferation of media formats, channels and platforms.\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eThere have been many casualties along the way, and many successes. But it now feels like we are at a new stage of the journey, that we have entered what the Gartner Hype Cycle would define as the Plateau of Productivity.\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eComplexity, novelty and the unknown have stabilised into a much clearer understanding of what the new media channels offer, and also what they don't offer. Myths have been busted (eg 'viral' fame comes free), inconvenient truths exposed (eg the fallacy of last-click attribution) and new cases for old media such as TV and posters have emerged.\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eI'm not suggesting that things are as straightforward as the 1980's media menu of print, poster, radio and TV. There are now around 15 serious channels to factor into your media investment thinking. But these channels are much more proven, more accountable and more credible than they were in their formative years.\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eThat's one of the reasons it helps to think not so much in terms of your media plan, but in terms of your media stack.\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eThere is an abundance of evidence to suggest that (up to high single figures), the more channels you use, the greater your additional payback (between +35% and +65% according to Analytic Partners and IPA ARC respectively). Getting the stack right, optimising the allocation of resource across a millefeuille of media options, has become the foundation stone of your marketing budget's success.\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eAstute media judgement is consequently more at a premium than ever. But the implications of the new media millefeuille go far beyond media planning, because they also shape creative output.\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eA different media reality has produced a different creative reality, and this is something that the industry must recognise and run towards. Not simply because this is how we will remain competitive, but also because this is how we will continue to set the creative agenda.\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eThe brilliant econometrician Dr Grace Kite uses a vivid simile to describe brand building in the multi-layered, multi-format, multi-channel future; \\u0022Great acts of brand building will have to be like plans sketched out on a million Post-its on the meeting room wall. They'll have to be made up of lots of little things.\\u0022\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003c\/div\\u003e\\n\\u003c\/div\\u003e\\n\\u003c\/div\\u003e\\n\\u003c\/div\\u003e\",\"blockId\":\"1pNxt3\",\"blockUniqueClass\":\"lazyblock-text-full-width-1pNxt3\"} \/-->\n\n<!-- wp:lazyblock\/quote-full-width {\"quote\":\"Executional cohesion, singularity, and recognisability will become ever more important. Getting the media stack right and balancing both short and long-form content are now the foundations of success in a complex but stabilising media landscape.\",\"quotee\":\"Charles Vallance, Chairman and Founding Partner, VCCP\",\"blockId\":\"ZdW7XQ\",\"blockUniqueClass\":\"lazyblock-quote-full-width-ZdW7XQ\"} \/-->\n\n<!-- wp:lazyblock\/text-full-width {\"text\":\"\\u003cdiv class=\\u0022page\\u0022 title=\\u0022Page 2\\u0022\\u003e\\n\\u003cdiv class=\\u0022section\\u0022\\u003e\\n\\u003cdiv class=\\u0022layoutArea\\u0022\\u003e\\n\\u003cdiv class=\\u0022column\\u0022\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eWith some trepidation, I'd offer two builds to Dr Kite's analysis. Firstly, I'd suggest that although the future of brand-building will certainly be impressionistic, it won't quite be made up of \\u0022lots of little things\\u0022. It will be made up of lots of little versions of the same thing. Multiplicity of format won't be matched by fragmentation of execution.\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eIn fact, executional cohesion, singularity and recognisability will become ever more important. Without the heraldic shorthand of elite branding - the three stripes, the golden arches, the glass and a half, the five point coronet, the meerkat, the Spencerian script, the coral pink, the blue and bubbles, the polo player - without these unifying assets, your media millefeuille will break apart. It will blow away like a dusting of icing sugar in a breezy kitchen. Insubstantial, untethered, unnoticed, fleeting and forgotten. No wonder the IPA has recently unveiled a new measure of effectiveness, the Creativity Consistency Score (CCS) to highlight the immense benefits of compound creativity.\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eMy second build to Dr Kite's analysis would be to add one final layer to the millefeuille. And, unlike the others, this is far from compressed or condensed into short time lengths. Because we now live in a golden age for long form branded content. This may take the shape of online programming such as O2 Inside Line or Compare the Market's Meerchat series, or it may be built into the behavioural design of a reward scheme such as Vitality's.\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eThe point is that our media options have polarised. We now have either less time or more time to engage with our audiences. Streaming media platforms combined with digital ecosytems allow brands a whole new level of sustained engagement. Provided that our branded content delivers the right level of entertainment and\/or utility, people will come to us as much as we need to go to them.\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp style=\\u0022text-align: left;\\u0022\\u003eThis isn't to say that long form branded content will displace paid for or earned media. Nevertheless, as brands increasingly realise their potential as media owners, we will see a corresponding rise in the importance of editorial strategy and long form output. Which, paradoxically, means that we need to plan for a future where brand interactions will be both shorter and longer.\\u003c\/p\\u003e\\n\\u003c\/div\\u003e\\n\\u003c\/div\\u003e\\n\\u003c\/div\\u003e\\n\\u003c\/div\\u003e\",\"blockId\":\"Z1VbJ4h\",\"blockUniqueClass\":\"lazyblock-text-full-width-Z1VbJ4h\"} \/-->","post_title":"Charles Vallance in Campaign \"The Longer and The Shorter Of It\"","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"charles-vallance-in-campaign-the-longer-and-the-shorter-of-it","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-10-21 10:09:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-10-21 09:09:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/?post_type=news&#038;p=19282","menu_order":0,"post_type":"news","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}}],"hide_related_items":[],"websites_to_publish":[],"visible_on_home_page":["1"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/19534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}