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Our latest thoughts &amp; insights

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<h2>We have the data:</h2>
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<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Analysis from the World Bank and the World Health Organisation shows that global health, income and education are generally better than they’ve ever been, for instance. That isn’t to say progress ever becomes something we cease to pursue, only that positive trends tend to be overshadowed by negative narratives, and that on average, living standards are better now than in the past.</li>
</ul>
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<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">On the other hand though, global crises such as climate change are not a question, this really is the worst it has ever been and yet, we can’t seem to find a way to move fast enough. Recent reports from <a href="https://climateactiontracker.org/press/release-state-of-climate-action-report-finds-progress-lags-on-every-measure-except-ev-sales/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate Action Tracker</a> show global efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C are failing across the board, with recent progress made on every indicator — except electric passenger car sales — lagging significantly behind the pace and scale that is necessary to address the climate crisis.</li>
</ul>
<h2>The deployment of capital  has never been more important…</h2>
The question is: what future do we really want? Because we can create another way, any way, we like. We can innovate, transform, choose a different path. And that&#8217;s what we find so exciting. 
Financial institutions across the world are waking up to the importance of impact finance and there is little doubt that directing capital into economic activity that supports a better world and away from endeavours that do not, is a matter of acute urgency. Certain power houses could single handedly change the course of a predictable future, but they need the impetus to do so. 
<h2>But will it motivate them to move the money?</h2>
On the 29th November, 8-10am in Bank, we’ll be joined by experts to share their experience:
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/elaina-elzinga-cfa-35768524/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elaina Elzinga, Principal, Wellcome Investments + Octopus Renewables Board Member</a>
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/juneangelidesmbe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">June Angelides, Investor, Samos and Levare Ventures </a>
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dilyswinterkorn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dilys Kyeiwaa Winterkorn, Project Director, The Pathway Fund</a>
Spaces are free but limited, <a href="https://content.marbleldn.com/financing-the-future" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RSVP</a> to join us.
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What would it really take for financial institutions to change the world?

<h3>1) Tell us about the origins of the Marble and MGME partnership, what inspired it?</h3>
The partnership was born out of a mutual need for access to one another&#8217;s markets combined with a shared respect for each other&#8217;s skill sets and services. It came to fruition when we were approached by one of our mutual contacts to assist with a project for Wipro at Davos in 2020. Following this it quickly became clear MGME&#8217;s deep rooted expertise in travel logistics and meeting planning on a global level, mixed with our strategic, creative and production capabilities covering the US, UK, Europe and the UEA is a huge benefit to both our clients.
It wasn’t until late 2022 when MGME were approached by a global cloud securities company for a multi location, worldwide sales kickoff that we saw the true potential of our partnership. We executed events simultaneously across Kuala Lumpur, Yerevan, Prague, Bucharest and Atlanta, alongside a broadcast to HQ based in London, successfully over the course of three days, bringing 5000 people together. From there, things moved very quickly. Our teams came together in New York in February 2023 and more large scale projects followed. We have exciting projects lined up in 2024 including work with global payment provider 6sense, the AI CRM platform.
Ultimately, it is the ability to have a full global reach with permanent locations set on two major continents, an end to end suite of services, and one key point of contact for a client that seems to really be resonating.
<h3>2) What combined expertise will this make available to clients of both agencies? </h3>
Partnering means that we can enter into a different playing field for large scale, global entities that have an ultimately non-negotiable need for agencies that will deliver them a consistent product globally beyond their in-house resource capabilities. They want support that produces cost efficiencies, time efficiencies, and keeps their strategy and ideas fresh.
Our combined expertise also means we can bring global clients a more diverse service set. In the UK for example we have invested significantly in our in-house content and digital strategy department which now means clients of MGME and Marble are able to capitalise on a 360 campaign for their events. Having already seen an opportunity in this area, we will see our growth strategy even more greatly informed by this service as our potential to deliver it globally has increased exponentially.
<h3>3) How will this partnership inform the strategy and growth of Marble?</h3>
There is a real emphasis on the UK as a global hub for technology and especially emerging AI. Therefore, the investment space and the needs of financial investment businesses to bring their investments to the attention of their audiences has opened up a really exciting market which we are fortunate enough to have long-term heritage in with the likes of Founder Forum, firstminute capital and Henkel dx Ventures.
<h3>4) What are the biggest event trends you&#8217;re seeing in the UK? How does this differ from the US?</h3>
There is the increasing and developing merger between live experiences and marketing, much more commonly seen within the B2C market and now entering into the B2B market. I’ve seen some fantastic examples of this from the likes of YouTube and Google engaging in everything from new service propositions for YouTube advertising to new products for Google Drive, whilst hosting deeply immersive conferences that are still positioned around thought leadership. 
Secondly would be sustainability. Clearly a massive buzzword that I’m sure many people feel is overused and not always backed up with the proper credentials. However, the UK live experience market is right at the very forefront of bringing real solutions to businesses through sustainable execution that is rooted in accountability, and in some cases, monetising this to the advantage of a client or brand. Of course, there is a pure reason for the sake of the planet to be engaging in sustainable practices, but the reality is, unless this is commercially viable, which the likes of platforms like Earthly, Isla and b corp are allowing it to be, we won’t see the wave of uptake that is needed to really make a difference .
The biggest difference comes within the sustainability sector. Ultimately, this just isn’t as high a priority within the US live experience sector and it marks a real barrier for progress, but it is one we hope to help tackle as a united force between ourselves and MGME.

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CEO Teddy Watt on the 'why' behind Marble and MGME's global creative partnership

Like so many experiences, it was at times arduous, confusing, distracting and challenging. However, the net result is exactly where we’re meant to be. Because it is the truest representation of who we are, what we stand for &amp; how we help our clients.
During the pandemic we came to a crossroads. We had just started to really carve out a niche within our sector. Left with a significantly depleted pipeline we spent the time taking a look at everything about the agency. From our service proposition, IP, client roster to our motivations and whether we even had the fight and energy left in us for another 10 years. Our relationship is unique at the board level as myself and my fellow founders are extremely close, we have friendships formed over many years, that have been through a lot (for more on this visit “our story” <a href="/our-story/">HERE</a>, FIRST PLUG) so this last point was probably the most important. What would motivate us to go another 10 years?
We nailed down 3 themes:
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<li>Build a business that leaves an endured, positive mark on everyone that makes Marble their home.</li>
<li>Work with people breaking ground, shooting for the moon and trying to do better.</li>
<li>Make sure we push ourselves to actually contribute to the greater good as a business &amp; deliver on it.</li>
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PS. We obviously want to make a living, a good one if possible, but I believe that’s assumed.
I like to think that the reason the re-brand (and all the collateral that goes with that) took so long was because we have been flat out pushing to achieve those three goals and we have come a long way.

The Marble story

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1. Marble: our B2B focussed arm of The Marble Group which will focus primarily on delivering integrated experience and marketing campaigns for the investment and technology sectors.
2. Marble Creative Studios: our in-development B2C arm of the business (site launching in November) which will continue our long standing heritage in bridging the gap from experiential &amp; marketing brief to creative vision for consumer facing brands.
So that was the model, the niche and our USP. In the interim we doubled down on 10 years of delivering globally with ground breaking sustainable methods. We have folded this in to everything we do &#8211; in office, during projects, for our clients. Everywhere. We have an in house sustainability team headlined by Nastya (Plug 3, see more about this <a href="/planet-sustainability/">HERE</a>)
We gave the culture to the team. Not only the social aspect, but our training ethos, goal setting, mentoring, KPI setting, value setting. We work together to make sure the values that we set out are still relatable to our team (Plug 4, visit Our People <a href="/people/">HERE</a>) for more on our values
We started to gather the rewards you would hope for. Revenue growth, profit growth, Times best place work top 100, an awesome new client roster, retaining those that we can continue to collaborate with. However this is still a challenge after 10 years and we have long way to go to feel like we are nailing all of the above.
Ultimately we’ve been a pretty slow starter in many respects. 10 years in, we defiantly feel like we&#8217;re at the start of the journey, not the end of it. What you see with this new strategic and visual position is the foundation of our future. It represents who we are and where we want to go. Who we want to work with and how we want to act.
Hopefully this will be important to our clients. But either way its important to all of us. It gives you hope, and meaning, and an even better reason to get out of bed and do it all again.

What have we achieved

Molly Presly
Chloe Bines
Shawn Soh
Patrick Keogh
Dan Monteith
Nives Zver
And of course my fellow co founders but especially Emi Perez-Fragero who has lived and breathed it every step of the way.
Hope you enjoy it.

Thank you.

Why we refreshed our brand after 10 years

It’s no secret – surface level interest from customers only takes any business so far.

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1. Building a movement

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Rather than focusing on campaigns and moments, we need to think bigger. Visualise the movement you want your brand to create and the level of change you are striving for.
Jemma Wong emphasises needing to dig deeper than the relevance of your brand, focus instead on our collective relevance in the world. Brands need to focus beyond their product or service and the campaign that promotes it. What is your brand standing for? Is this as clear as you think to your team and to your audience? Going back to basics with a manifesto is how every successful movement has started.
Movements also need to be led. They require intentional leadership to show what’s possible, not necessarily to show it will be easy. Any level of change has to be seeded gradually to show the world what the future can look like. You need people to lead the narrative around the change in a way that is easy to understand. This will also be vital in finding the carriers for change that your brand needs to create a sustainable movement as opposed to moments in time.

2. Brands = Communities

Brands are ultimately made up of people. When we break it down, communities are collectives of people who care. Your brand and its values needs to be the thing they care about.
How do you do that? Involve your community members as much as possible, digital transformation means all too often, brands undervalue the power of human-to-human connection and the significance of co-creating with your audience. Your brand and its consumers are one community, do not make the mistake of treating them as separate entities. Your community is your biggest driver in amplifying your message. The more valued they feel, the more buy-in they have. When you are working on expanding that community, you already have ambassadors that will help to organically increase your brand awareness.

3. Authenticity - the why

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Movements and communities have to stem from something of value, a purpose. People buy into the why as much, if not more than the product or service itself.
Authenticity also stems from respecting the history of your brand and what has come before, even if it does not directly reflect the direction you are going in now. To show you truly care, you need to show up. Radically participate. Show up even when it doesn’t feel comfortable and the values and purpose in all that you do cannot be questioned, they will be celebrated and most importantly, remembered.
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Question time

Interested in attending our next monthly breakfast meet?

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Who really cares? 3 ways to inspire people to back your brand

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Navigating duality

The world has seen remarkable progress, but the acceleration of technology has also amplified the potential for catastrophic breakdowns. The advent of AI complicates things. With the possibility of super-intelligent entities outpacing us, we face potentially scary consequences. The decision of whether to build these technologies lies within a multipolar trap, where human competitiveness and military intentions, for instance, may hinder our ability to make ethical choices.

The proximal concern

Another concern is the impact of technology on our daily lives. In an attention-driven economy, algorithms are designed to captivate and hold our attention indefinitely. The rise of AI raises the spectre of addiction to technology, where we become unable to look away. While this may seem like a distant possibility, the convergence of high-level AI and the attention economy presents a real challenge, one that demands our attention (before AI does) and consideration.

Embracing the opportunities

But now for the immense potential and opportunities that technology brings. From empowering individuals to turn their ideas into reality to enabling accessibility and removing systemic disadvantages, the possibilities are endless. Groundbreaking advancements, such as an AI tool that allows the blind to interact with unstructured data, showcase the transformative power of technology in improving lives.

Data ownership &amp; currency

We generate vast amounts of data every day, often without even realising it. From our online activities to our purchasing behaviours, our data holds immense value. And as the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) continue to evolve, the concept of using our data as currency to retain power with brands is an opportunity we all should know about.
Did you find these clips from our Marble Breakfast Just Because We Can, Should We?
We host these free events monthly with a new topic to debate and a fresh lineup of speakers. Register your interest below:

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Navigating emerging technologies - it's not how we do it, it's should we?

2023 has been the year of collaboration. We strongly believe in coming together to produce an outcome greater than one that would be developed in silo. In 2023 you will have seen Marble partnering with some incredibly impressive businesses and communities within this space.
We are pleased to be part of the the isla community – a non-profit organisation founded as the event industry’s response to the climate crisis. Founded by 12 agencies, isla is an action-driven network. It brings together expertise from across the entire events sector, provides resources and training and has developed tools to support and deliver industry-wide standardisation and best practice on sustainable practices.
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We needed a partner that would support our sustainability initiatives from beginning to end, nurturing not only our internal team but also our suppliers and both new and existing clients.
Through facilitation, education and reporting, isla enables members to share knowledge, up-skill the industry and track our progress in order to rapidly and measurably affect change across our industry.
One of isla’s features that supports the latter is their <a href="https://traceyour.events/">TRACE</a> platform. This enables us to measure and minimise carbon at live, hybrid and digital events. TRACE generates impact reports in real-time, meaning our clients and stakeholders will also have full visibility over the impact their events have.
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We spoke to Miriam Habtesellasie, MarComms Lead at isla to find out more what’s coming up for isla in the rest of 2023 and beyond:
“2023 has been an exciting one for isla, with lots of developments, including new team appointments such as our dedicated Learning Partner &amp; Actions Group Manager, the launch of isla’s first state-of-the-industry report and accompanying flagship event, and the roll out of new data-driven features on TRACE.
“We’re also excited that Marble, and other new members, will continue to bring diversity and richness of experience to the isla community.”
We also spoke to Anastasia Kireeva, Sustainability Coordinator at Marble, who has lead the process of Marble joining isla:
“I am incredibly happy that we have started our partnership with isla. I am certain we will gain a lot from this membership, including environmental training for our team, networking opportunities with the industry professionals, event carbon foot-printing and reporting with the help of TRACE and, of course, lots of useful resources that will help us broaden our knowledge and implement the most effective solutions in our events.”
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Learn more about <a href="https://weareisla.co.uk/">isla.</a>
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We are proud to be partners with isla

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Driving the live experience industry to a more sustainable future

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The right words escaped me. And words really do matter – perhaps more now than they ever have. It’s not that being in New York wasn’t an amazing experience on some level. There’s an undeniable energy to the city; something visceral, creative, and exciting about being in what feels like a living albeit slightly gasping organism. And yet I was struck more than ever by the extremes of wealth and poverty – the upscale glamour offset by the poignant levels of homelessness. New York felt divided and unfair – expensive, dirty and bloated to the point of outrage. The irony of New York being the host city for an urgent conversation about the climate wasn’t lost on me.
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But enough already. Walking to Goals House with my <a href="https://aplasticplanet.com/">PlasticFree</a> hat on for the opening event of its Climate Week programme gave me hope. The coming together of innovators, creatives, public figures, business leaders, activists and entrepreneurs is a special alchemy and definitely where change and radical reinvention can happen. For me, the highlight of this session was delivered by the inspiring Ecuadorian Activist, Helena Gualinga. She spoke so movingly about the fight of her people, the Kichwa Sarayuku community, who have protected the Amazon for generations against exploitation and extraction by the fossil fuels industry. We should honour people like Helena and her people for their resilience, for their sacrifice, for their uncompromising commitment. They share a reciprocity with the land, a respect for nature, that most of us have long forgotten and urgently need to rediscover. Her words were a rallying call for us to do better; a wake up call to the crazy mess we have created for ourselves by choosing petrochemicals some 200 years or so ago to fuel much of our energy and materials needs. We chose poorly and the repercussions of these decisions may still be fatal for humankind. Only time will tell whether we have the pluck, resolve and humility to change our ways. We need bold and fearless leadership now more than ever to pull us back from the brink. But where have all the leaders gone?
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We need to do better

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Patrick Headshot

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But enough already. It’s NYC in September and how lucky am I to be here in the city that never sleeps. Next stop, Wall Street (of all places) not to meet Gordon Gecko but instead one of the city’s coolest creative agencies, <a href="https://www.basedesign.com/">Base Design</a>. And I felt alive again with hope. Creatives have the power to influence so much of our lives, so much of what’s round the corner. Because if you think about it for less than a minute, what in our day to day lives doesn’t start with design and creativity? The answer: nothing. And that’s why PlasticFree is going to change the world – by empowering 160m global creatives to think, design and, ultimately, adopt the coolest, most exciting, most scalable toxic free materials; transitioning our society away from a dependency on plastic. Base immediately got it and, not only that, they did what all the best people do: they said “how can we help?”. The next thing we know, we were introduced to other pioneering agencies in the city, as well as the prestigious <a href="https://www.newschool.edu/parsons/">Parsons School of Design</a>. Collaboration is everything and when good people come together with generosity, purpose and intent, everything feels possible.
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And that’s ultimately the message from Climate Week that resonated most loudly: collaboration is everything. As a Partner at Marble, I am pro gatherings, pro live experiences, an advocate for being in the room and bringing people together. But I saw it in New York from a different angle and realised that if we want to fix our broken system, having the smartest, most diverse, most optimistic group of people in the room is the only thing that matters. It’s where plans are made, where actions are determined. It’s the silver bullet. And businesses are key. What if businesses around the world came together and showed the type of intentional leadership our society lacks and our planet so desperately needs? I believe that’s so exciting.
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Collaboration is everything

We have to take the initiative and come together. We have to call out those enabling the fossil fuels industry and hold them to account and that includes, in the words of the UN Secretary General, “the massive public relations machine raking in billions to shield the fossil fuels industry from scrutiny”. We need to embrace the exciting potential of transitioning from a broken system to one which supports people and planet in equal measure; one built to sustain life, not put life at risk. And finally, we need hope. In Greta Thunberg’s words” “Right now, we are in desperate need of hope. But hope is not about pretending everything will be fine. To me, hope is not something which is given to you, it is something you have to earn, to create. It cannot be gained passively, through standing by and waiting for someone else to do something. Hope is taking action.”
Let’s take action – together.

Hope is taking action

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Stanley Tucci NY climate week

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New York climate week: the power of hope, action and collaboration

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 While earlier conferences debated whether climate change is even occurring, if it was caused by humans and whether we could stop or slow it, the evidence has inevitably evolved COP’s agendas towards solutions – who is responsible for what by when and, finally, initiating actions.
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It’s also been acknowledged that the undeniable effects of climate change are now being felt in many regions and ever more frequent disastrous weather events are evolving at an unprecedented rate. As a result, COP agendas have had to start discussing aid and adaptation for the planet’s most affected and vulnerable developing nations. As a <a href="/our_thoughts/marble-is-now-a-sustainably-certified-agency/">sustainably certified experience agency</a> that believes business is the biggest force for change, we are on a journey of continual improvement and understand that the amount of information on the outcomes of key events like this can be overwhelming. Read on for our key outcomes of COP27 and what they mean for your brand.
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The purpose of Cop27

<div class="fusion-text fusion-text-3 fusion-text-no-margin">In 2020, wealthier nation members committed $100-billion dollars of aid a year to assist developing countries experiencing catastrophic weather emergencies. As of 2022, that commitment still hadn’t been fulfilled. Flood defences, preserving wetlands, restoring mangrove swamps and regrowing forests are some of the pre-emptive measures nations need to take to protect against future climate-related disasters, however only 20% of the $100-billion in aid was ear-marked for such projects. At last year’s COP26 in Glasgow members agreed to double that percentage, but this year some parties moved to remove the commitment. After lengthy negotiation, it was reaffirmed.</div>
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So, where’s the money coming from? Everybody is looking to the biggest polluters (two in particular who – ahem – also happen to have the largest economies in the world) to ‘cough up’ for this aid initiative. But while one of COP27’s biggest achievements was broad agreement on establishing a global ‘Loss and damage’ fund, there was little-to-no progress made on exactly when, how or where the money will come from.
Another essential source of investment for renewable-energy and protection initiatives in developing nations is the World Bank. Al Gore attended the conference and continued to campaign for massive reform of the institution. He said:
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Adaptation, compensation and world bank reform

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COP27

According to UN definitions ‘low-emissions energy’ can be interpreted as anything from solar and wind farms to nuclear power-plants. It can also include coal-fired power stations with carbon-capture/storage and even gas. The latter might have lower emissions than coal, but it’s nonetheless a major fossil fuel. Obviously, as one source of energy is removed from the market (as hopefully each carbon-heavy fuel eventually will be) other energy sources take their place and so their demand – and therefore their price – increases. Several COP party members, particularly from Africa, happen to have large reserves of gas and this year they pushed to have gas greenlit as a ‘low-emissions energy’.
While COP26 finally saw a resolution to phase out the use of coal, this year, a group of party members led by India, pushed to have all fossil fuels phased out. The topic proved controversial and much of the conference’s debate and negotiation time (and energy) was spent on the topic.The India-led group eventually lost out on their bid to phase out all fossil fuels and the final resolution on this point included coal only.

'Fossil fuels' vs gas

The ‘tipping points’ reference warns that temperature increases will not occur in a gradual, linear fashion but that we could reach certain temperatures that will have self-fulfilling and rapidly escalating effects. Examples include the heating of the Amazon, which could turn the rainforest to savannah, transforming it from a carbon sink to a carbon source, and melting permafrost which would release vast quantities of the toxic greenhouse gas, methane.
As well as the ‘tipping point’ reference, for the first time, the COP’s final statement included references to food, rivers, nature-based solutions and “the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment” as being integral to future COP agendas. These are important words that suggest implications for manufacturing and farming, as well as healthcare and housing.
After the 2015 Paris agreement formalised two specific temperature goals – to keep the rise “well below 2C”, while “pursuing efforts” to keep the increase to 1.5C, revised evidence has demonstrated that a 2C rise would, in fact, be far from safe. As a result, members at Glasgow’s COP26 last year agreed to focus instead on the 1.5C limit. Disappointingly, COP27 saw numerous member nations trying to back out of the previously agreed on 1.5C goal. While that figure eventually remained in the final statement, to the dismay of many, a resolution to see emissions peak in 2025 was removed.

Tipping points &amp; 1.5 vs 2.0 degrees

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COP speaker

But climate action is as much about statutory change as it is about shifting consumer attitudes. We may still be in an era of varying opinions on, and awareness of global warming, but as we see more frequent and alarming reports of weather-related catastrophes – and as each year’s COPs gain more significance and coverage as a result – public opinion on climate change and the need to respond to it is only going to intensify. Anyone still sitting on the climate change fence will soon be knocked off their high horse by floods, fires and food shortages.
There is also growing awareness and scepticism around the <a href="/our_thoughts/greenwashing-environmental-own-goal/">issue of greenwashing</a>. Businesses and their marketers need to look at what meaningful change they’re making and how to communicate it. Glib statements around just ‘really caring for the planet’ and growing grass on the roof of the head office no longer cut it. With swelling numbers of climate-savvy consumers reaching record highs, brands need to deliver tangible facts and figures to make it clear their efforts are both genuine and effective.
As references to food, rivers, nature-based solutions and “the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment” are added to COP final statements, more avenues open up for businesses to instigate meaningful initiatives. Beyond supply chains, manufacturing and distribution of products and services, organisations can start expanding their understanding of corporate responsibility. Where and how do businesses source, produce, package and get their products to clients, but also how have they changed their product offerings? What are they doing for consumers and staff, but also what do they do with profits and what initiatives unrelated to core business do they take – simply because they can and because they see it as an opportunity as much as a responsibility?
The world’s focus on climate change and subsequent attention on the UN’s COPs is intensifying every year. Consumer demand on businesses to respond meaningfully and urgently has never been more palpable, with 64% of the public now holds them [business] accountable for helping to tackle climate change. Just as COP27 moved from ‘commitments to action’, we must also be moving from ‘green ideas and gestures’ to real, identifiable actions that tackle the climate emergency with urgency.

So what does cop27 mean for brands?

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Cop27 Rishi Sunak

Cop27 takeaways your brand needs to know

As the cost of living crisis takes hold and talk of a recession looms, we’re tightening our purse strings and eating out less, but also investing in slow-cookers to rustle up cheaper meals. We might splash out on a bike to save on transport costs, or pick up some dumbbells so that we can ditch the expensive gym membership, while still nurturing our wellbeing. What does this tell us? In the face of financial insecurity, we reconsider not just what we spend but how we spend our money.
Similarly, rather than now being the time to cut marketing budgets, a recession should prompt marketers to re-evaluate how budgets are spent. As hordes of businesses begin cost-cutting, declaring marketing an ‘unaffordable luxury’, innovative brands react to the unique economic and attitudinal shifts, and make adjustments to end up <a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/companies-that-thrived-during-the-recession?__hstc=5942508.18dd3b4ebc51d98b367b496fb62ed904.1674558089401.1687509615660.1687512159820.144&amp;__hssc=5942508.2.1687512159820&amp;__hsfp=3000633816">thriving or even becoming who they are</a> because of them.

Attitudes and actions are shifting

fmc-speaker

FMC speaker

<ol>
<li>Consumers seek support, empathy and positivity from brands</li>
<li>Advertising spends are pared back and a less congested landscape means better visibility for active brands</li>
<li>Opportunities emerge to establish long-term brand-associations with consumers who are re-evaluating spending habits.</li>
</ol>
Recessions don’t change people’s needs: we still want food and shelter, relationships and comfort, education and entertainment, etc, but we seek it out in new ways, in new places. As we look to suppliers for what they’re offering; whether that’s better value, new products or timely information, brands have an opportunity to become <a href="https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2022/10/11/plea-brands-start-speaking-out-against-the-cost-living-crisis">benefactors, advocates and defenders</a> – supporting <a href="https://journal.theoneoff.com/paying-it-forward">the very same community that supports them</a>.
The second motivation to intensify marketing during a recession is that so many businesses don’t. As budgets are cut and the market becomes less crowded, not only does every advertising pound spent increase in value (thanks to diminishing competition), but the reduced demand for advertising space also leads to lower rates. There are very few markets that make for good investments in an economic downturn but <a href="https://www.marketingmoves.com/2020/05/marketing-in-a-recession-best-performing-tech-companies-of-the-next-five-years-have-already-increased-their-marketing-budgets/">advertising is clearly one of them.</a>
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this is the time to invest in brand building – partly because there are fewer brands visible, but also because consumers are taking longer to make purchasing decisions and exploring their options. This is the moment they’re most receptive to forming new relationships with brands – as they change their spending habits and shop around to see what suppliers have to offer.
When the going gets tough, brands must come to the fore and tell consumers who they are and how they can help. People remember brand responses in a crisis. In <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2020/05/21/marketing-your-business-during-a-crisis-dos-and-donts/?sh=55f8190e1ab6">a GfK survey</a> regarding the effect of COVID-19 on buying habits, 73% of respondents said that “the way companies conduct themselves during the crisis will impact whether they do business with those brands or retailers in the future.”

Do not let your brand become invisible

The evidence is clear on maintaining or increasing marketing spends, but it also becomes essential to re-evaluate the ratio of brand:activation in our budgets. Remember “<a href="https://www.marketingweek.com/ritson-triple-cooked-chips-marketing-budgets/">Brand sets up the sale, activation/performance closes the sale</a>”. When consumers are spending less regularly (and businesses are reducing ad spends) we want our brands to be the ones standing up yelling “We are here!”.
Possibly the most valuable and vivid way to build brand awareness during a recession is through experiential and engagement marketing. Live, interactive and in-person campaigns and events speak in ways that digital-first campaigns often cannot. Using participatory, hands-on, and tangible branding materials, brands can show off what they’re offering and what they stand for. Textures, colours, soundscapes, activities, even tastes and smells can make life-long synaptic connections and brand associations for consumers.
As well as the sensorial benefits of well-executed ‘XM’ marketing, there’s another massive bonus: event participants and spectators <a href="https://financesonline.com/experiential-marketing-statistics/">overwhelmingly share their experiences and brands’ messages</a> amongst their networks. Whether it’s via hashtags or user-generated video, there is no better-quality recommendation than one coming from a friend or family-member, thus making XM marketing incredible value and, alongside a coordinated digital campaign, an essential part of a ‘recession-tweaked’ marketing budget.

Now is the time to innovate

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SamChurchillFMLondonerDay2-1983 (1)

<ol>
<li>A financial downturn is precisely the time to be intensifying marketing spends</li>
<li>Plan a strategy based on brand presence and making human connections</li>
<li>Prioritise brand-building over sales activation in marketing budgets</li>
<li>XM, experiential, engagement, event, live, participation and on-the-ground marketing foster lasting and loyal brand relationships</li>
</ol>
From <a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/companies-that-thrived-during-the-recession?__hstc=5942508.18dd3b4ebc51d98b367b496fb62ed904.1674558089401.1687509615660.1687512159820.144&amp;__hssc=5942508.2.1687512159820&amp;__hsfp=3000633816">Lego</a>, to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2022/10/03/how-smart-brands-win-market-share-in-a-recession/?sh=6c0c0c486cb7">McDonalds</a>, the <a href="https://www.adroll.com/blog/how-winning-brands-keep-winning-in-a-recession">pedigree of brands that thrive</a> during economic crises using innovative messaging and amplifying marketing spends speaks for itself. Some of the most recognised brands on the planet were founded in financial downturns – Groupon, WhatsApp and Uber all started during the 2008–2009 recession.

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