The pandemic, falling real wages, the rising cost of living - brands are facing a variety of challenges. At their 30th Brand Roadshow, the Serviceplan Group and GfK will present best cases, solutions and recommendations for action relating to "Sustainability - the turning point in marketing".

It is the word of the year 2022: in politics and society, the "turnaround" has been the subject of controversial debate for more than a year. In marketing, it has long been a reality. Falling real wages, rising living costs - people's reluctance to spend is leading to a loss of market share for established brands. At the 30th MarkenRoadshow (MRS), the Serviceplan Group and GfK will be presenting best cases, solutions and recommendations for action for brands around this year's MarkenRoadshow motto: "The turning point in marketing - sustainability".

The following speakers will explain how companies and marketing need to position themselves around sustainability in the future: Barbara Evans and Julian Simons (both Managing Partners Mediaplus Group), Stefanie Kuhnhen (CSO Serviceplan Group), Felix Bartels (CMO Serviceplan Group), as well as Petra Süptitz (Director Marketing & Consumer Intelligence GfK) and Harald Schuster (Head of Marketing Science Central Europe GfK). After initial stops in Munich, Hamburg and Cologne, the Brand Roadshow 2023 made a stop at the House of Communication in Vienna yesterday.

The turnaround is shaping consumer behavior and retail structure

60 percent of Germans are currently changing their purchasing behavior. The propensity to buy measured in the GfK consumer climate index is at a historic low of -17.0. Brands and retailers are coming under increasing pressure. The losers in this development are the established manufacturer brands. Their market share fell by 2.6 percentage points year-on-year to 56.8%. Private labels, on the other hand, are increasing their market share from 40.6% to 43.2%. The distribution channels are also affected: The winners are the discounters.

Best brands win with sustainability

Money or purpose - this question does not arise despite shrinking budgets. 71% of consumers consider climate change to be a serious problem. 90% of consumers want to buy sustainable products. Sustainability is crucial for emotional brand loyalty and therefore success in the market. This is proven by the winners of this year's Best Brands Awards. Whether Lego, Bosch, dm Drogeriemarkt or Nivea: the top ranks in the ranking of the 500 most important brands in Germany have geared their brand policy towards sustainability.

According to a Serviceplan survey conducted exclusively for the MRS, sustainability marketing is a top priority for three quarters of CMOs in the DACH region. However, almost 70 percent of the CMOs surveyed believe that their companies still have a lot of catching up and consulting to do. The speakers concluded that sustainability only works holistically. It requires a reorientation in four dimensions: Target groups, media strategy, communication content and marketing organization. The MRS presents solutions based on best cases.

1. best case Jack Wolfskin: restructuring of target groups and media strategy

MRS visitors will take away two insights from Jack Wolfskin: Communication geared towards sustainability generally achieves higher impact effects. And: Sustainability communication tailored to individual target groups significantly increases this effect. The outdoor brand's sustainably minded buyers are only a homogeneous consumer group at first glance. A detailed analysis reveals serious differences in attitudes and motivation for sustainability. With integrated market and brand-specific data and a value-based approach (value planning), target groups are clearly selected for media planning. This results not only in addressing them via different media and channels, but also in individualized campaign motifs. A further step: sustainable media planning. Advertisers can already offset the emissions of their media placement - keyword Green GRP. In future, it should be possible to book advertising media and placements specifically according to sustainability criteria.

2. best case penny: realignment of communication content and creative implementation

However, sustainability has more dimensions than climate protection; in addition to ecological sustainability, economic and social sustainability are also relevant for consumers. The discounter Penny has been consciously setting an example for social responsibility in its communication for years. The Christmas campaigns "The Wish" and "The Tear" are among the most successful advertising films of 2021 and 2002; with campaign reach in the high double-digit million range, they shake up society. The lessons learned by Penny, from which other brands also benefit: 

Being not just green, but "socially good" pays off.

Critical topics polarize - and generate genuine, new brand sympathy.

Hero content on hero platforms leaves a mark and creates a brand advantage.

3. best cases BMW, Clarins and Tchibo Docks: structural adjustment of the marketing organization and agencies

In order to meet the challenges of the turnaround in marketing, companies need to restructure their marketing organizations. The realignment must be thought of in 5 dimensions: Technology, data, processes, organization and collaboration with agencies. The aim is to be able to capture changing market conditions at all times and react in real time: The prerequisite for this: a consolidation of all special services into holistic and customer-specific operating "Customized Agencies" and "Customized Teams" under one roof and from one source. The best cases of Tchibo Docks, Clarins and BMW demonstrate measurable results: 15 percent savings in overhead costs for agencies, a transformation that is three times faster and a 35 percent uplift in the ROI of marketing expenditure. And all this with half the management effort