Brand leads. Technology works.

Clear positioning at the 13th Marketing Management Day

When brand building meets AI hype, caution is advised. AI can do a lot but often reinforces familiar patterns. Clear brand management requires differentiation, according to a central thesis of the 13th socoto Marketing Management Day, which highlighted the possibilities and limits of state-of-the-art technology.

Dr. Bernd M. Samland, founder of Endmark, an agency specialising in naming and brand strategy, kicked off the compact series of lectures. In his keynote speech, he warned against overestimating the possibilities of generative AI. It is excellent at optimising processes, creating content and controlling campaigns. However, it has its limits when it comes to brand positioning, as it relies on existing data and patterns. Without a clear brand identity, AI therefore only delivers interchangeable results. “Brand management with AI is good and helpful – brand management through AI is dangerous,” he clearly stated.

Specific targeting, efficient use of advertising space

Fabian Burgey, Director of SME & Retail Business Europe at RTL, dispelled a widespread myth: “Nobody watches television anymore”. In fact, TV remains a high-reach channel, especially in Europe, and is becoming increasingly targeted thanks to addressable TV. ATV makes TV advertising accessible even to small and medium-sized companies. The principle: specific targeting rather than a scattergun approach. Every household watches the same show, but no longer the same advertising. Individual retailer displays with local addresses and product information alongside strong RTL brands – this is possible thanks to the collaboration between socoto and RTL AdAlliance.

Richard Galanjuk, Senior Retail Marketing Manager at INTERSPORT Marketing Services (IMS), presented INTERSPORT’s digital space allocation plan addressing a problem familiar to many retail companies: campaign planning at the point of sale is often decentralised and manual. This results in double bookings, information gaps and a significant amount of coordination work. With the space allocation plan, all touchpoints – from shop windows and displays to Instore TV – are recorded centrally. This allows free spaces to be identified quickly and the utilisation of advertising space to be managed much more efficiently.

Brand must set the direction

In further presentations, socoto showed new features and implementation options – such as advertising cost subsidies, wallet integration, AI-supported advertising material production and AI-based video formats in the Marketing Management System.

The quintessence of the day: modern technology is available, powerful and versatile. The challenge is to manage it purposefully. Clear brand management sets the direction, allowing technology to make an impact.

Would you like to know what impact a customised Marketing Management System can have on your company? Or are you interested in new modules? Then get in touch with us!