WINDS
OF CHANGE
MARKETING
LEADERS TALK
WHAT’S COMING
IN 2022
milkshake 7
Change is in the air, and marketing leaders have something
to say about it. We gathered advice from five marketing
elites about 2022, trends and what organizations require to
manage their brands going forward. Our panel includes Bo
Bothe, President & CEO at BrandExtract and Co-founder
at ESG Reporting Partners; Jay Bower, President & CEO
at Crossbow Group; AmyK Hutchens, Founder at AmyK
International; Mark Montini, CMO at Premium Service Brands; and Mark
Friedman, VP of Marketing at Fujifilm.
How have brands become too antiseptic?
Bo Bothe: I believe that the proliferation of information and the access to it has
shone a light on how similar companies are across the globe. Thus, everything
has been seen. That said, a good brand that finds its voice and is true about
the customer it’s looking for or the problem it solves always stands above the
crowd. Brands need to truly understand what makes them unique to their
customers and then focus on that operationally and externally.
Jay Bower: Some have, and some decidedly have not, become antiseptic. But
the power of “brand” has waned in recent years for sure. Context has become
much more important.
AmyK Hutchens: Brands have a difficult decision of whether they use their voice
to have a point of view and whether they worry about if that point of view
aligns with the customers’ or not.
Mark Montini: In periods of extreme divisiveness like we are living in today, it’s
much easier for brands to simply embrace cultural trends in pursuit of shortterm
objectives rather than to stand boldly for the things that make the brand
truly special and position it for long-term success. The result is that brands
begin to focus on winning the “story of the day” instead of writing the “story of
the brand.”
IN PERIODS
OF EXTREME
DIVISIVENESS LIKE
WE ARE LIVING
IN TODAY, IT’S MUCH EASIER
FOR BRANDS TO SIMPLY
EMBRACE CULTURAL TRENDS
IN PURSUIT OF SHORT-TERM
OBJECTIVES RATHER THAN
TO STAND BOLDLY FOR
THE THINGS THAT MAKE
THE BRAND TRULY SPECIAL
AND POSITION IT FOR
LONG-TERM SUCCESS.”
— MARK MONTINI, CMO, PREMIUM SERVICE BRANDS
December 2021