• by Karl Greenberg , October 14, 2010

The 100th annual Association of National Advertisers convention, "Growth: Mastering Brands/Driving Results," at Orlando's Rosen Shingle Creek resort, began with ANA President Bob Liodice listing 10 hero brands, each evincing one of the 10 "Articles of the Marketer's Constitution," introduced last year and published as a series in Marketing Daily.

The 10 companies that Liodice recognized were: Zappos for being targeted, focused and personal; Coca-Cola for having real, tangible and enduring brand value; American Express for marketing that is more effective -- more creative, insightful and accountable; Combe, Inc. for being integrated and proficient in managing expanding media platforms; Wrigley's for its efficient and productive supply chain; R/GA for cultivating capable agencies, media and suppliers; Johnson & Johnson for fostering better, highly skilled, diverse leaders; GE for social responsibility; Dan Jaffe, the ANA's EVP of government relations, fighting for marketing unencumbered by inappropriate legislation or regulation; Procter & Gamble for marketing that is elevated and respected.

Also revealed at the first day of the three-day event was a new study from IHS Global Insight for The Advertising Coalition showing that advertising accounts for $5.8 trillion of the $29.6 trillion in U.S. economic output and supports 19.8 million, or 15%, of the nation's 133.4 million jobs. Yearly ad spend for U.S. businesses is $279 billion. The study also finds that ad impact is consistent across the U.S., region and state populations notwithstanding (the firm says ads constitute 19% of economic output in New York State and Arkansas, for example).

According to IHS, from 2002 to 2007 ad spending grew 3-7% annually, and five-year compound annual growth rates were in the 3-5% range. Two years ago, the annual growth of spending dropped 1.8%, followed by a further decline of 6.6% in 2009 and an expected 1.2% drop in 2010.

But the firm forecasts a recovery in spend starting next year, with growth rates in the 3.5-4.5% range until 2014. This would represent a modest 2.9% compound annual growth rate in ad spending for the period 2009-14, per IHS Global Insight.

Top marketers speaking to the more than 1,600 in attendance included Coca-Cola's Global CMO, Joe Tripodi, who said marketers have to avoid being seduced by the latest "shiny object. There is no silver bullet." He also talked about Coca-Cola's "Liquid & Linked" corporate theme, whose overriding mantra is that everything the company makes globally is connected to an essential idea. Marketing, he said, isn't about impressions, but expressions, and the key is more than just loyalty, but advocacy.

He said innovation is critical and marketing is where brand love and brand value meet. The company, which has some 14 million Facebook friends, needs to be both timeless and relevant, said Tripodi --"inspirational yet operational." Tripodi reviewed some items on the company's historical growth to demonstrate its steady ascent. The brand, he said, was worth a buck in 1910, and now is valued at about $72 billion and has gone from one to an almost unimaginable 500 brands.

Mark Baynes, CMO at Kellogg, took the podium with a similar message about the importance of connective tissue across touchpoints, that to build stronger consumer engagement and deepen the relationship between brands and consumers, brands must have a powerful clarity of purpose. The company, which recently opened a Pop-Tarts store in Times Square, has a teen campaign for the brand, which he says delivers on short-term sales and long-term equity.

Baynes, who said the brand added 2.2 million fans on its Facebook Pop-Tarts page in the past 16 months, added that it is pitching teens with social media focused on fun. He said the goal of the company's "Pop-Tarts LOL" program, for instance, is to unlock the brand purpose.

Procter & Gamble's Marc Pritchard, using the company's "Proud Sponsor of Moms" program around the Olympics, said marketers must move from merely selling products to changing lives. He said P&G's "key disciplines" have been combined, while brand-building has moved to what he calls a broader emphasis on "what it means to touch people's lives."

Pritchard said brands have to change their view of who their customers are: "It's a shift from marketing to customers, a change in the definition to who we serve, and target them as people."