Do the research...
With the percieved fast pace of change, and the marketer's psyche that lusts after fresh information...marketers too often ignore the body of past knowledge...
'Back data' and past research can give the new marketing hire all they need to hit the ground running in F100D!
In most cases, any piece of research has a limited life within an organisation, and is often focussed on a key task, issue or deadline. Once this is passed or resolved, somehow the research dies, and in many organisations uncomfortable findings are glossed over and forgotten.
In a pre-hire phase, past research reports reveal more than their specific objective, especially when read with other reports, so patterns, repeated concerns and issues are highlighted.
As soon as you arrive at your new desk, time for reading and reflection is scarce, so use pre-hire time well, by immersing yourself in a selection of past research reports. You will certainly hit the ground running, you may well avoid re-commissioning research, and you will certainly save yourself time.
Furthermore, you will establish your intention in F100D to be driven by facts; not speculation. The new team will then know you will expect evidence to back up any assertions or points of view, and your first discussion can be more focussed on consumer and brand issues that really matter.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you will have a background and frame of reference that allows you to see through the myriad of powerpoint presentations, and persuasive points of view to which you will be subjected in your induction programme!
Editor
Comments
There is also something about showing proper respect for what has gone before. I recently bumped into a former colleague in the Eurostar terminal (good meeting place!). He had just been appointed as Global Brand Manager for a brand that I know well. He told me how excited he was since nothing had been done on the brand for a couple of years. I demurred and gave him a different view of the stituation. In truth, the brand had recently gone through a significant and far-reaching repositioning and had been (re-)launched into a number of regions. The issue here was that the new guy's eagerness to get started and to prove himself had blinded him to the reality of what had gone before; no ill-intent, just over-excitement. So, engage a proper sense of judgement - both rational and emotional - before laying out your stall, and in modern parlance "don't dis' me"!
Posted by: David Thomas | December 20, 2005 1:35 PM