profiles David Wheldon former global brand director, Vodafone ■ EXIT INTERVIEW
Industry The
WRITER Pip Brooking
PHOTOGRAPHER Becky Nixon
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After nursing Vodafone from UK infant to international brand, David Wheldon is well-placed to muse on the changing rules of marketing. How can both clients and agencies redress the imbalance in their relationship, where are they going wrong as they face consolidation and budget cuts, why should they stop the self-pity?
David Wheldon is currently on gardening leave following his six-year tenure as global brand director at Vodafone, and he’s keen to get his issues with the advertising industry off his chest. It’s not that he is disillusioned with the industry – “marketing is one of the world’s fascinating professions,” he argues. But he thinks that there should be less whinging and more enjoyment. “Stop saying marketing has changed:
it hasn’t,” is his first moan. The channels have altered, as have the opportunities for consumer feedback. But essentially you still need to know the brand’s values, you have to make sure your supply chain knows that value proposition, and you have to know who your consumers are. “That is no different from 15 years ago.” No matter which
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way you splice and dice the definition of a brand – Wheldon’s favourites are ex-Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin’s “a brand is what a brand does” or the Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ “your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room” – it essentially boils down to customer experience. “The product is the best marketing you have; the consumer is your best channel,” Wheldon explains. Word of mouth has amplified the challenges, but the rules of marketing are still the same. There should be no
excuses. “Consumers have always been in control. No one forces them to buy anything!” he says.
THE OBAMA EFFECT “Why can’t agencies just say no?” continues Wheldon. “The answer is always ‘yes’ and it shouldn’t be.” He argues that to reap the full benefits of a modern communications’ world, organisations need to work with a whole myriad of agencies and tap their particular expertise, be that in gaming, say, or mobile.
“We make
mistakes, but we are well intended. We’ve done local, global, glocal. We’ve done it all, and now we’ve started again”
He adds: “The people who are leading the agencies have not grown up with them, and as a result they are constricted by needing to “unlearn” their ways. What we need is much broader than it used to be. Agencies should say they can’t and that they will help find someone who can.” Wheldon won’t speak
too harshly of the large agency
networks – he’s worked for and with them successfully – but when trends towards consolidation are picking up pace for many in the industry, the size of the agency holding groups does raise alarm bells for him. He questions whether so many layers of management – CEO, regional CEO, agency CEO – actually deliver the work. “Lay on top of that the era of
procurement and it’s tough. Agencies
have my sympathies,” he says. However, he refuses to join in the procurement bashing, calling them a “big ally” in the quest for the best value. “Procurement people are not the carpet traders that agencies portray. The world of procurement is a reality; it’s a waste of time to complain about it.”
IT’S THE CLIENT’S FAULT So, a client is willing to put his hands up and say that the woes of the industry don’t rest in a screwed-up agency world. And Wheldon is happy to apportion clients the blame on several counts. “My biggest gripe is that it’s fashionable to kick the agency. But those in the marketing community are worse when they complain the marketing function is not taken seriously. If it’s not at the top of a company’s agenda, it isn’t delivering as it should be.” The client-agency relationship is also
far too imbalanced, he argues. How many agencies are feeling the pinch thanks to the recession and have the joy of “sharing the pain” with their clients, but don’t actually get a share of the gain when times are better? Few clients are willing to open up – although agencies aren’t always ready to take the risk when it’s offered. “The clients still hold all the cards,” Wheldon is quick to point out. Clients are also playing a clear role in
the law of diminishing returns. “There is an increasing need for agency help, but most client budgets are going south. Agencies can’t help themselves. They
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