Rothenberg discussed the 21st-Century Brand Economy” – defined by an increasing number of digitally-led upstarts selling products to consumers without the traditional middle men – at the IAB’s 2018 Annual Leadership Meeting (ALM).
“Some major incumbents have answers,” he argued, “and they’ve been adapting for years.” (For more, read WARC’s in-depth report: IAB's Rothenberg: The direct-brand “revolution” threatens legacy marketers.)
A case in point: “By 2015, Nike was already showing 55% year-on-year increases in ecommerce sales. Nike plans for DTC sales to grow by almost 2.5 times in the next five years – from $6.6bn in fiscal 2015 to $16bn by fiscal 2020.”
In fact, Rothenberg observed during his keynote presentation, “The company beat its own target of $5bn in DTC sales by fiscal 2015 by over $1.5bn.”
Just as there regularly are new kinds of indirect enterprises – namely, big firms that have adapted their established business models – so are there new points of entry for the indirect businesses seeking to change.
“Some are aggressively buying their way into the direct-brand revolution, acquiring both capabilities and talent,” Rothenberg said.
As proof, he cited Unilever’s $1bn acquisition of Dollar Shave Club – a purchase the global marketer said was premised on "expertise and technology in direct-to-consumer sales we can use internationally and in other parts of our business.”
Unilever has also reported that 70% of its growth in “the near future” would come from two platforms: personal care and ecommerce/DTC.
“Look to PepsiCo,” Rothenberg further encouraged the IAB assembly. “It has unleashed a team of some 200 ecommerce professionals, charged with capturing growth in DTC.
“Look to Kellogg, which is investing millions in Project K, a retooling of its supply chain to become more flexible and responsive to changing consumer demands.
“Look to Mars Petcare, which is bringing in unprecedented amounts of first-party consumer data, volunteered through its app Whistle – a ‘Fitbit for dogs.’”
For brand stewards large and small, traditional and entrepreneurial, he counseled, “Watch and adapt to what the world’s most forward-thinking incumbent brands are doing. They remain by far the largest spenders on advertising.”
Sourced from WARC