Reset, Return, Regain.

Editor Notes from MARKETING Weekender – Issue 362

The new Budget 2023 is an expansionary budget.

It reveals a better-than-expected economic recovery last year with GDP growth of 8.7%, which exceeds estimates.

The bumper revenue also allows the government to lower the deficit to 5.6%, outpacing the original target of 6% for last year.

In the meantime, the 1MDB of Advertising ie. Ad Fraud, basically got away with murder and is still doing so albeit with smarter tools.

Marketing thought that digital solutions had run their course. Finally they understood what end-to-end meant. Lower funnel, top funnel and all kinds of tunnels and rabbit holes… They were bracing themselves with online commerce, first party data, a cookieless world, blockchain, and suddenly 2023 throws in a new digital breakthrough – AI.

I always believed the same tech that fragmented marketing and media would one day fragment content. And that time has come… with ChatGPT, Bard, Bing and whambam boom.

What will marketing directors tell their boards now? That it has now changed all over again?

I hope this is the message they take to the Chairman:

• Creativity is still the engine of marketing. Because once you have your product chain and distribution in place, creativity makes it all profitable.
• Advertising and media should be about 20% of product revenue; we need to invest in ideas so that it becomes profitable for everybody, not just for brands. If you don’t, it is like a train that slowly grunts to a halt.

To all agencies, I want to say….

• Let’s not be slaves to budget cuts, let’s prove we are worth every sen and more.
• Let’s prove that ideas can generate income and show brands that growth is the only solution to success.
• Shared risks come with shared prosperity.

And let’s bring the fun back to our industry this year.

I don’t mean throw parties. Or swim in excessive glorification.

What I mean is, let’s bring fun into the work.

Make our work a joy for our customers.

Delight them with wit and meaningfulness.

Just like the gait of our PM.