Global Marketing Engagement Index shines a spotlight on leaders
The TEAM LEWIS 2022 Global Marketing Engagement Index shows that recession is shining a brighter spotlight on leaders and action.
We are all familiar with the idea that you get a true measure of a person or brand, not in the good times but in the bad times. With issues and crisis comes a brighter spotlight and full stakeholder scrutiny. Where what you say, and what you do, can make or break a business.
During the Covid pandemic, we saw how leadership rose in prominence as a driver of reputation. As did the value placed on how businesses looked after employees and took actions in line with values and social impact.
As the rolling thunder of crisis crashes down again, we are all feeling this global recession bite. According to Fortune, the average CEO is now aged 57. On this basis, this recession will not be any Exec’s first. So what leadership trends are emerging? What have we learned and what can we do better to navigate this storm? Are we seeing hard fought lessons put into practice or are leaders faltering under the relentless challenges?
TEAM LEWIS’ Global Marketing Engagement Index 2022: The Recession Edition highlights a few new paradoxes on lessons previously learnt. Firstly, the surprising growing lack of visibility from the C-Suite. According to the Marketing Engagement Tracker (MET), over 75 per cent of leaders within Fortune 500 companies are not available on social media. Secondly, in line with ESG best practice, the MET checks if companies have content or visibility on corporate websites reporting the use of renewable energy resources, or diversity and inclusion efforts. Surprisingly, despite this topic being of increasing importance, the average MET score has gone down year on year, from 65% in 2021 to 56% this year.
In a hyper connected world where “people buy people” and what you do matters more than what you say, why are so few leaders not present socially or singing loud enough about ESG performance?
When the sun is shining and all remains bright on the horizon, it may be acceptable to step back from the limelight. But in choppy waters, with an economic storm overhead, the MET report highlights missed opportunities. Social media is a powerful way to build relationships and brand equity. Also, sometimes the medium is more powerful than the message. So, the choice of channel can better demonstrate brands are listening and relevant. It’s also a powerful way to humanise brands, demonstrate transparency and build trust.
Combining business leaders with social media of course is not without risk. It can be intimidating for many organisations and their communication teams. Not least because Execs are often time poor. However, for many in today’s world, social media is where they receive their news, form opinions and air grievances.
Not having a voice on social media remains more detrimental to the brand and the company longer term. Combine this with a need for speed and urgency in how businesses react to problems, and we can quickly see the bottom-line impact. A reality that the Adidas executives have recently woken up to.
Since it was launched in 2017, the Team Lewis MET has reported some clear trends in global marketing. Read more about how the global slowdown is changing marketing by downloading the latest Team Lewis Global Marketing Engagement Index 2022.
Sarah Ogden is the UK MD at TEAM LEWIS.
