Page 94 - Decoding Decisions ~ Making sense of the messy middle

94 CHAPTER 5 IMPLICATIONS OF THE MESSY MIDDLE

Fast forward to the present day, and marketing has become a lot more
technical. Those fragmented responsibilities are starting to be reintegrated
into a singular function with ownership of the full customer experience.
Our research suggests that this is the right direction of travel, with many
of the executions considered by our research requiring cross-functional
collaboration to implement.

There’s also the question of the traditional separation between branding and
performance, developed in the days when television and direct mail were

paramount. This too, has mostly been ported directly into the digital age.
And while there’s still plenty of tactical value in both of these approaches, the
exploration and evaluation that takes place in the messy middle straddles
many traditional divides. It’s now clear that a significant amount of potential
could be going untapped, falling into the gaps between silos.

Marketing departments have changed considerably over the past couple
of decades. Those that keep the needs of the messy middle in mind as they

grow and evolve should find themselves with everything they need to keep
pace with whatever consumers do next.

Thriving in the messy middle

The messy middle changes things for marketers but, as we’ve seen,
while consumer behaviour is becoming more complex, many of the
approaches needed to address it are still reassuringly familiar. With a
better understanding of consumer thinking and a clear set of actions, both
challenger and established brands will have the tools they need to win and
protect their share of consumer preference.