Synopses & Reviews
The challenge of how to drive sustainable, profitable growth is facing businesses across the world. The Growth Drivers explores the critical role that marketing and marketers play in creating the customer value needed to drive demand-led growth. It is the definitive guide to transforming organizational marketing capabilities, written by the acknowledged experts and pioneers in the field.
With Foreword by Sir Roger Carr
Sir Roger Carr is Chairman of Centrica plc and President of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
“A provocative, insightful book that drives deep into the marketing function. It highlights the strategic contribution of marketing and is full of practical advice on how to build marketing capabilities to encourage growth.”
—Sir Roy Gardner, Chairman, Compass Group plc
“Unlike most marketing books, this is a great read. It is replete with practical points, supported by examples from world class companies. I urge everyone in marketing, be it practitioner, academic or student, to buy it, read it and act on it.”
—Professor Malcolm McDonald, Emeritus Professor, Cranfield University School of Management
“An excellent, accessible guide to the crucial role that strategic marketing plays in driving business growth and the practical ways in which business leaders can build stronger marketing capabilities in their organizations – it is great to see so many insights captured.”
—Keith Weed, Chief Marketing & Communication Officer, Unilever plc
“Redefines the role of marketing. A must read for any business leader who wants to better understand the role marketing can play in driving business growth and puts them in a position to do something about it.”
—Simon Lowden, Chief Marketing Officer, Pepsi Beverages, North America
“A great book that is both easy to read and well worth the effort. A ‘big picture’ guide to what marketing involves in practice and to the invaluable role capability development plays in driving growth.”
—Jill McDonald, CEO McDonald’s UK & President Northern Europe Division
“Skillfully blending concepts and frameworks with case studies and first person accounts, this highly readable, practical book is a must-read for all those interested in taking their marketing and business performance to the highest level.”
—Kevin Lane Keller, E.B. Osborn Professor of Marketing, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth
“The Growth Drivers offers hugely valuable advice on building the capabilities of your marketers, both individually and as a team. Read this before your competitors do.”
—Hugh Burkitt, Chief Executive, The Marketing Society
Review
Sir Roger Carr is Chairman of Centrica PLC and President of the CBI"In this book, the authors argue that effective marketing has a vital role to play in driving sustainable, profitable growth – and they are right. It is a critical role and it's also a weighty responsibility - one that cannot be ignored."
Sir Roy Gardner is Chairman of the Compass Group Plc
"A provocative, insightful book that drives deep into the Marketing function. It highlights the strategic contribution of Marketing and is full of practical advice on how to build marketing capabilities to encourage growth."
Cilla Snowball CBE is Group Chairman & Group CEO of Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO
"Mhairi and Andy practise what they preach. They perfectly epitomise the growth driver principles outlined in this book. Their own marketing consultancy has grown explosively in size and stature. They service a wide range of blue chip marketing clients and they run a happy ship, stuffed full of talented marketing people. This book distils their knowledge and packages it into a useful and readable marketing manual".
Kevin Lane Keller is E.B. Osborn Professor of Marketing at Tuck School of Business
"Today's increasingly difficult marketing environment demands that marketers and organizations develop new skills and mindsets. In The Growth Drivers, Andy Bird and Mhairi McEwan provide clear, comprehensive advice as to the right ways and wrong ways to develop game-changing marketing capabilities. Skillfully blending concepts and frameworks with case studies and first person accounts, this highly readable, practical book is a must-read for all those interested in taking their marketing and business performance to the highest level."
Russ Shaw formerly Vice President & General Manager-Mobile Division and Europe, Middle East & Africa at Skype
"An excellent guide to the unique contribution that Marketing makes to driving business growth. Underpins the strategic value of marketing capability development as a key driver of growth."
Keith Weed is Chief Marketing and Communications Manager, Unilever
"...an excellent, accessible guide to the crucial role that strategic marketing plays in driving business growth and the practical ways in which business leaders can build stronger marketing capabilities in their organizations. Andy & Mhairi always have a lot to offer and it is great to see so many insights captured in this book."
Simon Lowden is CMO Pepsi Beverages North America
"Redefines the role of Marketing. A must read for any business leader who wants to better understand the role Marketing can play in driving business growth, particularly in today’s matrix'ed environment– and puts them in a position to do something about it."
David Taylor is Founder and Managing Partner, the brandgym
"Brand Learning are the best in the business when it comes to building marketing capability. And this book is a great way to get the inside line on their approach."
Jill McDonald is UK Chief Executive and President Northern Europe Division at McDonald's
"A great book that is both easy to read and well worth the effort. A ‘big picture’ guide to what Marketing involves in practice and to the invaluable role capability development plays in driving growth."
Dan Cobley is VP Marketing, Northern and Central Europe at Google
"Clear, insightful and pragmatic. It clarifies the unique contribution that effective Marketing and Marketers can make to driving business growth - just as relevant to the digital world as to more conventional markets."
Steve Radcliffe is Partner at Steve Radcliffe Associates
"This is an excellent book. It explains how marketers can set a more strategic 'growth-driving' vision, engage the whole organisation with a customer-centric agenda and then help deliver tangible results. I recommend it as a must read for all global marketing and business leaders."
Professor Malcolm McDonald MA(Oxon) MSc PhD DLitt is Chairman Brand Finance plc Emeritus Professor Cranfield University School of Management.
"Unlike most marketing books, this is a great read. It is replete with practical points, each of which is supported by examples from world class companies. I urge everyone in marketing, be it student, practitioner or academic, to buy it, read it and act on it."
Synopsis
The Growth Drivers is a practical guide to building marketing capabilities. It explains why it is critical that organizations invest in the capabilities needed to excel at customer-centric marketing to drive growth. The authors explain what world-class marketing means in practice and reveal the power of strategic marketing as a dynamic propeller of growth. Each chapter includes a summary, a separate in-depth case study, a range of illustrative real-life examples and some practical tools based on the work of leading practitioners in this pioneering field, as well as relevant diagrams and pictures.
Synopsis
The Growth Drivers explains why it is critical that organizations invest in the capabilities needed to excel at customer-centric marketing to drive growth. The authors explain what world-class marketing means in practice and reveal the power of strategic marketing as a dynamic propeller of growth. Each chapters includes a summary, a range of illustrative real-life examples and practical tools based on the work of leading practitioners in this pioneering field, as well as relevant diagrams and pictures. A vast array of international case studies and anecdotes are incorporated throughout the book and feature insights via examples from T-Mobile, eBay, Shell, Hewlett Packard, PepsiCo, P&G, and more.
Synopsis
The Growth DriversTM helps business leaders reach a much deeper appreciation of the strategic value of marketing and of marketers and gives valuable advice as to how to build the marketing capabilities needed to help drive growth.
Some of the key questions it answers include:
- How can marketing help drive sustainable, profitable growth?
- What are the core disciplines and practices of effective marketing?
- What are the key drivers of organizational marketing capability?
- How can an organization build its marketing capabilities in practice?
- How can the impact of marketing and capability development be measured?
- How can marketing capability development be managed for sustained growth?
“An excellent guide to the unique contribution that marketing makes to driving business growth. Underpins the strategic value of marketing capability development as a key driver of growth.”
—Russ Shaw, Vice President & General Manager-Mobile Division and EMEA, Skype
Synopsis
The Growth Drivers will help business leaders reach a deeper appreciation of the strategic value of marketing and of marketers. It shares the practical insights of the authors and other experienced business and marketing leaders from over 40 multinational companies and gives valuable advice as to how to build the marketing capabilities needed to drive sustainable, profitable, demand-led growth.
Some of the key questions addressed include:
- How can marketing help drive sustainable, profitable growth?
- What are the core disciplines and practices of effective marketing?
- What are the key drivers of organizational marketing capability?
- How can an organization transform its marketing capabilities in practice?
- How can the impact of marketing and capability development be measured?
- How can marketing capability development be managed for sustained growth?
“We live in an environment that is changing hugely. Competition is more challenging, the fusion of media and technology is transforming the relationships between brands and consumers, and brands need to possess a social integrity beyond their economic intent. To continue to deliver results, it is critical that we build up stronger specialist marketing capabilities.”
—Mark Baynes, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Kellogg
About the Author
Andy Bird Co-founder and Executive Director – Innovation & Capabilities, Brand Learning
Andy has spent 25 years in international Marketing and Consultancy. After obtaining a First in Politics, Philosophy & Economics at Oxford University, Andy joined Unilever where he worked for 14 years. His early career comprised various Foods marketing roles based in the UK, Singapore and India. Andy moved on to become VP for the Unilever Marketing Academy, a unit he helped set up and lead to build marketing capabilities throughout its global business. He co-founded Brand Learning with Mhairi McEwan in 2000. As a consultant Andy has led many strategic marketing capability development programmes with businesses such as AkzoNobel, Astra Zeneca, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Novartis, SABMiller and Unilever. Andy is a Fellow of The Marketing Society and a Fellow of the CIM. Together with Mhairi McEwan, he was awarded ‘Best Leader’ in The Sunday Times Top 100 ‘Best Small Companies Awards’ 2011.
Mhairi McEwan Co-founder and Chief Executive, Brand Learning
Mhairi has spent over 29 years in international Marketing, Sales and Consultancy. After graduating with First class honours in Psychology from The University of Leicester, she initially spent 13 years with Unilever Home & Personal Care businesses in Marketing, including roles as Market Manager for Unilever in Egypt, in European Marketing roles for Lever Europe in the UK & France and in Sales. Mhairi joined PepsiCo International in 1995 as VP Marketing Europe and then as VP for PepsiCo’s UK Snack Foods business. In July 2000, Mhairi co-founded Brand Learning with Andy Bird and has led many global marketing capability development programmes with businesses including Unilever, Shell, PepsiCo, Tesco, Hewlett Packard and Diageo. Mhairi is a Fellow of The Marketing Society, a Fellow of the CIM and a Council Member of The Marketing Group of Great Britain. Together with Andy Bird, she was awarded ‘Best Leader’ in The Sunday Times Top 100 ‘Best Small Companies Awards’ 2011.
Table of Contents
Foreword xiIntroduction – Our Story xiii
Contributors xix
Overview – How to Navigate this Book 1
PART 1: Understanding the Growth Drivers 5
1 The Growth Challenge 7
2 How Marketing Drives Growth 37
3 Transforming Marketing Capabilities 71
PART 2: How to Transform Marketing Capabilities to Drive Growth 101
4 Defi ning a Marketing Capability Strategy 103
5 Developing Solutions (Processes and Skills) 133
6 Developing Solutions (Organization, People and Culture) 165
7 Driving Embedding 199
PART 3: Sustaining Growth in Practice 227
8 Measuring Impact 229
9 Mobilizing Capability Resources 255
10 The Future Growth Journey 277
Index 287