Tune in to Time for A Reset
In a riveting conversation on the Time For a Reset Marketing Podcast: Insights from Global Brand Marketers, brought to you by CvE Marketing Consultancy, host Paul Frampton connects with Reinaldo Padua, Chief Brand Officer at Beliv, a company that creates products with a Latin American identity. Reinaldo delves into the intricacies of brand strategy and the transformative role of AI in marketing.
Reinaldo is an experienced global marketing leader passionate about growing consumer-oriented brands and businesses. He is energised by tackling complex business issues and solving them with holistic, disruptive, yet pragmatic solutions. He has more than 20 years of experience leading the development of growth, marketing, and commercial strategies for global food, beverage, QSR, and telecommunications brands at global companies like Procter & Gamble, Kraft Foods, AT&T, Zyman Group, and Coca-Cola, thanks to portfolio strategies, segmentation, innovation, and digital marketing.
The Power of Leading Indicators
Reinaldo begins by underscoring the significance of leading indicators in evaluating future growth and profitability. Unlike lagging indicators, which reflect past performance, leading indicators offer a glimpse into potential future success. Reinaldo highlights that investors often focus on lagging indicators, particularly in the CPG sector. He suggests a shift towards leading indicators, which predict future growth and profitability.
Reinaldo emphasizes that the key to creating value is achieving a return on investment higher than the cost of capital. This can be done by either having low costs and high efficiency or possessing a strong brand that commands a market premium. He believes investors should recognise the power of brands as they are crucial for future company value, allowing marketers to prioritise long-term investments over short-term gains.
This foresight is crucial for investors and marketers alike, as it allows for more strategic decision-making. Brands that command a premium in the market often do so because they excel in these forward-looking metrics.
Combining Leading and Lagging Indicators for Sustained Growth
Reinaldo stresses the need for a balanced approach of combining leading and lagging indicators to present a comprehensive view of brand investments. This balanced perspective is essential when communicating value to the board and other stakeholders, ensuring that every branding investment is justified and aligned with future growth prospects.
Reinaldo explains that combining lagging and leading indicators is essential for a holistic growth picture. The correlation between investment in a brand and initial outcomes is necessary. Early on, earnings might not show significant improvement, but indicators like brand equity and sales will rise, eventually leading to volume and profit gains. Building confidence in this approach with the board is crucial. In the context of a private company, there is more appetite for long-term investment, which is essential for achieving these results. For Reinaldo, this combined approach is critical to long-term success.
The Evolution of Consumer Expectations
Reinaldo highlights the evolution of consumer expectations from the days of “Mad Men” to today. Consumers now expect seamless, personalised experiences like Amazon, wanting brands to know their information and needs without repeated explanations. This shift parallels improving customer service interactions, where modern call centres provide efficient solutions without requiring customers to repeat themselves.
Today’s consumers prefer brands that use data and technology, like AI, to anticipate their needs and involve them in brand creation through continuous dialogue. Additionally, investor expectations have become more sophisticated, reflecting market dynamics and advancements in consumer engagement.
Transformation Through Data and AI
The conversation transitions to marketing being increasingly driven by data and the role of AI in collating and analysing large volumes of raw data to provide insights. Reinaldo highlights the pivotal role of data in this transformation. By leveraging data, marketers can make more informed decisions and tailor their strategies to meet consumer demands effectively.
One of the most significant advancements in this realm is the integration of AI. Reinaldo sees AI as not a replacement for human creativity but an amplifier. AI can process vast amounts of data, uncovering insights that would be impossible to detect manually. This capability allows marketers to focus on what they do best: creativity and ideation.
“So I think that’s where AI comes into play, is that it allows us to process those large amounts of data and find those insights that we might have missed otherwise. And I think that’s where AI can really amplify and empower marketers, is to allow them to focus more on the creative side of things, to focus more on the creation of ideas, and let the AI do the heavy lifting of processing and analysing the data.” Reinaldo Padua, Chief Brand Officer at Beliv
Personalisation and Cultural Relevance
In today’s marketing landscape, personalisation is key. Consumers expect brands to understand and cater to their unique needs and preferences. AI is crucial in this shift, enabling marketers to personalise their messaging at scale. By analysing consumer data, AI can help create more relevant and engaging content, fostering stronger connections between brands and their audiences.
Reinaldo also emphasises the importance of staying attuned to cultural shifts. Effective marketing requires an understanding of diverse consumer demographics and the ability to connect with them authentically. Drawing from his experience at Coca-Cola, he shares how targeting Hispanic consumers during the FIFA World Cup proved to be a successful strategy, highlighting the potential for growth within this market.
Practical Applications of AI in Marketing
Reinaldo believes that AI will revolutionise our work by enhancing our capabilities, allowing for more efficient data processing and insight generation.. AI will transform tasks, making information retrieval and large-scale data analysis faster and nonlinear. The technology will enable workers to focus on creativity and idea generation rather than tedious tasks. AI tools like co-pilots are already simplifying complex tasks, saving time, and summarising information to highlight key points and trends. As AI becomes integral to the workplace, teams will expect these tools to help drive efficiency and innovation.
Reinaldo provides several examples of how AI is being used in marketing today. Tools like BIX capture and analyse data, facilitating smarter decision-making. AI can automate tasks such as creating presentations, summarising data, and generating content, making these processes more efficient and allowing marketers to focus on strategic initiatives.
Attributes of Future Marketers
Looking ahead, Reinaldo outlines three critical attributes that senior marketers will need to succeed:
- Technological Savvy: Understanding and leveraging technology to anticipate and meet consumer needs will be paramount. Marketers must embrace technology as an integral part of their toolkit rather than relegating it to other departments.
- Financial Acumen: It is crucial to demonstrate the financial return on marketing investments. Marketers must be more analytical, using data to justify their strategies and expenditures.
- Talent Management: Attracting and managing talent in a rapidly changing industry is essential. Marketers must be adept at navigating the virtual work environment and fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration.
“The future of marketing is really about anticipating consumer needs and leveraging technology to meet those needs. So it’s about understanding what consumers want before they know they want it and using technology to deliver personalised experiences and solutions.” Reinaldo Padua, Chief Brand Officer at Beliv
Conclusion
The conversation with Reinaldo Padua offers a wealth of insights into the evolving landscape of consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketing. As the industry becomes more data-driven and technologically advanced, marketers must adapt to these changes, leveraging AI and data to stay ahead of the curve. By focusing on leading indicators, personalisation, and cultural relevance, brands can build stronger connections with their audiences and drive future growth.
The attributes outlined by Reinaldo provide a roadmap for marketers looking to thrive in this dynamic environment, ensuring they are well-equipped to navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
Join us on Time For a Reset: The Marketing Podcast with Global Leaders
Tune in to the latest episode of Time For a Reset: Marketing Podcast – Insights from Global Brand Marketers, brought to you by CvE Marketing Consultancy, where we sit down with representatives of household brands to uncover the secrets behind driving transformation in today’s rapidly evolving world. From shifting consumer behaviour to the increasing importance of marketing in driving business growth, this podcast delves into the strategies and insights that are shaping the future of marketing.
You can read the full transcript episode here.
