The big beasts collide

And so, they came together. The Big Beasts of the Marketing Society.

In the red corner: Syl Saller, President of the Society and top marketer at the world’s biggest and best drinks company, Diageo.

In the blue corner: Craig Inglis, Chairman of the Society and top marketer at Britain’s favourite advertiser, John Lewis.

And the referee? None other than the Society’s CEO, Gemma Greaves. Drinks were served (to the audience), the cinema was packed, the cameras rolled and the contest began.

It could have been one of those anticlimactic exhibition matches, where the participants circled round, being ever so polite about the other’s work and achievements. It was fascinating, actually.

Gemma teased out surprising stories from each participant.

Like the time Craig was personally trashed by the Daily Mail and the Times of London for calling John Lewis’ brand image a little “beige.” Or the time Syl was gonged off the stage by 82% of Diageo’s most powerful leaders, for suggesting the company would make a trillion dollars the next year from new products she had not thought of yet. 

OK, I’m exaggerating.

For sure, we got a real sense of the mix of courage and team-player mentality it takes to lead a team of people who are frequently viewed as a spending department by the grey suits in large corporates.

But we also got a sense of how different those two large corporates are.

Diageo, the titan, buffeted by the need for quarterly reports and analyst calls, which can scupper the reputation of a CEO – not just for poor performance but also for straying just briefly off the expected profit track. How can you be brave in those circumstances? Syl’s answer was clear: maintain your own integrity, think out of the box for sure.. but above all, build consensus.

John Lewis, the favourite aunt, ever in danger of being shunted down the Christmas dining table by the new girlfriends and boyfriends in their fancy clothes. Everyone wants the Christmas ad to be as good as last year’s, but no-one wants it to be the same. Craig’s answer was also clear: a great marketer needs to be contrarian, to push back against the received wisdom, the success formula, the incremental upgrade as the tide of e-commerce sweeps in across the Morecombe Bay sands.

Whose shoes would you rather be in? It’s a personal choice. As a public company, Diageo has the power and the resources to grow, develop and expand globally in a way that John Lewis could only dream of. As a private company (an employee-owned partnership, to be precise), John Lewis has the ability to plan for the long term and accept peaks and troughs in profitability, away from the critical eyes of Wall Street.

Of course, Syl and Craig have much in common.

They both think fast and maintain their brands’ agility in a fast-changing world. John Lewis knows within 40 minutes of launch, whether their Christmas campaign will be a success.

They both talk of the value of judgment and intuition, as against a purely data-driven approach. Syl’s big question about a new brand extension, or a new ad campaign: ‘is it cool?’

But the most fascinating aspect of the evening, at least for this writer, was the personalities of the two speakers who talked so honestly and openly – bravely indeed – about their own personalities.

Craig leads from the front. More than once, he emphasised the marketer’s need to be the “lone voice’’ in the boardroom, sharing uncomfortable truths about the need for risk taking in a business where all seems healthy and under control.

Syl is a team builder. She demands exceptional levels of performance and commitment from her team, but she’s also incredibly supportive of them and generous with her time.

On the Myers Briggs analysis, Syl is ESFJ, “the Consul” – think Bill Clinton, or Taylor Swift.

Craig is ENFP, “the Campaigner” – think Robert Downey Jr, or Drew Barrymore.

Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the evening was that both approaches work equally well for a CMO. Both have mastered the skills and qualities that don’t come so naturally to them, to lead teams that create arguably the best brand marketing strategies and implementation programs, anywhere in the world.

Does that mean they could swop companies? Hmm, I’m not so sure...

By Julian Boulding, founder of thenetworkone and honorary treasurer of The Marketing Society