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2024 What Matters Most In Marketing: Insights from Milken's Global Conference 2024
Amy Lattimore
May 15, 2024
The Conference
About Milken Institute: The Milken Institute founded in 1991, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, publicly supported organization, that conducts research and hosts global events to connect people, organizations, and resources to catalyze solutions to persistent global challenges. You can support the Milken Insitute with a membership annual fee ranging from $25,000-$100,000.
About Michael Milken: I must add that Michael Milken, the institute’s founder, wasn’t always on this “do good bring the world together” philanthropy train. The “junk bond king” known for lending money to riskier companies struggling to access credit, served 2 years in prison for securities fraud in 1990. The cancer survivor was fully pardoned by Trump in 2020, but since his release from prison and being ousted by the SEC, he returned to the spotlight as a philanthropist this go around.
About the conference: In its 27th year, The Milken Insititute Global Conference welcomed over 4,000 guests and 1,000 speakers ranging from bigwigs at Fortune 500 companies to global leaders, royalty, and dignitaries. This year, the theme: Shaping A Shared Future, invited conversations on topics ranging from healthcare breakthroughs, education, global elections, and of course, AI, just to name a few.
The content is so dense and rich that we will likely post about it on LinkedIn and our website over the coming weeks. But for today, I want to dive into the panel, 2024 What Matters Most In Marketing.
The Notes
The panel, 2024 What Matters Most In Marketing, moderated by: Michele Stevenson, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications, Milken Institute, included the following panelists:
Kathy Baird, Chief Communications Officer, The Washington Post
Joe Gagliese, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Viral Nation
Ella Kieran, Senior Vice President of Marketing, WPP Events
Kenny Mitchell, Global Chief Marketing Officer, LS&Co
Raja Rajamannar, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Mastercard
Amy Tunick, Chief Marketing Officer, National CineMedia
Let’s dive into the full cliff notes
2024 What Matters Most In Marketing
Over an hour, panelists focused in on three key areas that are critical for marketers in 2024:
Entertainment: Leveraging pop culture moments and entertainment partnerships
Environment: Meeting increased consumer expectations for brands to address climate change
Elections: Engaging audiences around major global elections in an authentic, impactful way
Key Insights and Takeaways
The definitions of brand loyalty are evolving
True loyalty is increasingly difficult to achieve in the social media age
Brands must consistently craft their identity and engage consumers on a daily basis
Focus on building "stickiness" and positive brand associations vs. expecting unwavering allegiance
When we come in as brands, giving 5% cash back to reward points for every dollar you spend, and are expecting the ‘buy one get one free’ people are going to be loyal to us, we are kidding ourselves and we are literally flushing more than a trillion dollars down the drain every single year as an industry behind ‘loyalty.’ We need stickiness. We need repeat purchase. We need people to think positively about our brand. But don't misunderstand that to be loyalty it is not.
Blurring lines between advertising and entertainment
Engaging, entertaining content is key to capturing fragmented consumer attention
Partner with creators and develop shareable, participatory brand moments and experiences
Think beyond campaigns to always-on brand storytelling and world-building
It is imperative to address climate change
Environmental impact is an increasingly important factor in consumer brand choices
Implement sustainable practices and engage vendors, partners and consumers in solutions
Authentic, action-oriented environmental initiatives can be a powerful proof point for brand purpose
The single largest contributor to carbon footprint is marketing. And almost one third of all the emissions happen because of marketing programs. So we said therefore, we need to actually assume that responsibility and do something about it.
Prepare for a major global election year
2024 will see elections in over 60 countries with unprecedented potential impact
Brands must navigate a polarized landscape and lead with their values
Invest in understanding and engaging key voter segments like Gen Z in relevant ways
I think one of the things that I experienced at Davos this year was when anyone found out we were with the Washington Post, people said, what's going to happen in the 2024 elections, no matter where they're from around the world.
Influencers and creators are modern media
Social media followers can eclipse traditional TV/media in reach and engagement
Democratized content is often more trusted and impactful than polished brand campaigns
Build relationships with creators and give them the "pen" to co-create authentic brand stories
Next Steps
As you build your 2024 marketing plans, assess how well you are showing up in these three key areas.
Identify opportunities to more fully leverage entertainment, demonstrate environmental leadership, and authentically engage consumers around elections and social issues.
Challenge yourself to re-examine brand loyalty, explore creator partnerships, and keep a human-centric approach at the heart of your marketing.
Check out this book: Quantum Marketing: Mastering the New Marketing Mindset for Tomorrow's Consumers by MasterCard CMO Raja Rajamannar
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