The last time Larry Kimmel sat down for a lengthy interview with Direct was in March 2001. Today the world is a much different place, not only for global reasons but for others that hit close to the essence of his livelihood.
In 2001, Kimmel was chairman and CEO of the venerable DM agency Grey Direct. In 2004, Grey was absorbed into WPP, and the agency recently was rechristened G2 Direct & Digital.
Consumer behavior also has changed. Five years ago, iPods and TiVo didn't exist, cell phones weren't a mandatory accessory, and only half the country's population was online. Now, more than 80% of the United States has Web access, greater than basic cable-TV penetration.
“It's a new era,” Kimmel says as we talk in his corner office in midtown Manhattan. Grey moved to the building, which has a great view of the East River and Queens, in 2002.
“I think you can say we're not really in the advertising business anymore,” he says. “We're in the accountable, education and entertainment business because consumers are so empowered to decide what commercial messages they want to receive and what they want to reject. You have to engage consumers differently — it's incumbent upon us now to add value, to tell them why this product or service suits them, solve the problems they may not know they have, enhance their lives or entertain them. You can't tell people what to do anymore.”
In 2002, speaking at a breakfast meeting hosted by the John Caples International Awards and the NYU Center for Direct and Interactive Marketing, Kimmel took both agencies and clients to task for neither providing nor demanding demonstrations of their marketing campaigns' effectiveness. He cited a November 2001 Accenture study that revealed most marketing executives don't know their advertising's return on investment.
“An analysis had been done recently, and those numbers have not changed dramatically,” Kimmel laments. “They're still having problems evaluating return on investment, albeit it's better than it was five years ago. With most of the clients we deal with — and they tend to be the larger and more sophisticated kinds of clients — it's mandated that there's an economic rationale for everything you're doing.”
Kimmel took out a statistical reliability chart at that 2002 meeting, “and most people did not know what it was,” he says. “It's a chart that says: ‘You send communications to this many people, you'll get this kind of response with 60%, 70%, 80% or 99% reliability.’ People who haven't grown up in direct marketing don't know they can have that kind of degree of confidence in marketing investments. When CFOs can be enlightened about the science of marketing, they are elated. It's an epiphany, and they have increased confidence in spending.”
LIFE UNDER WPP
Kimmel says the name change and rebranding from Grey Direct to G2 actually was in the works as part of a five-year plan prior to the WPP acquisition.
“All the below-the-line companies that are part of the Grey global group network were not operating with the same branding. [Since] our global orientation has increased [as a result of the WPP acquisition], we wanted to make sure there was consistency on a global basis.”
G2 clients include GlaxoSmithKline, Nokia, Liberty Mutual, M&M Mars, BellSouth, Xerox, Adobe, Pfizer, Outback Steakhouse, Novartis, Procter & Gamble, and Princess Cruises. Kimmel acknowledges that the agency sometimes finds itself competing with sister direct marketing agencies under WPP's corporate umbrella, Wunderman and Ogilvy among them.
“It's not infrequent that we're asked to pitch against our sister agencies. So it's a fun competition, but we're real competitors,” he says. “We'd like to be king of the WPP roost, for sure. The marketplace continues to be fractured, so there's plenty of opportunity to snare from non-WPP communications companies.”
With the increasing emphasis on accountability in today's marketing world, Kimmel feels direct — with its innate ability to test and evaluate — is better positioned to serve businesses than general advertising.
“I don't think there's any doubt that the status of direct marketing — and the desire to have DMers' input — has increased precipitously over the years,” he says. “We're invited to the table, as opposed to having to request our participation.”
Not surprisingly, Kimmel notes, online media spending is up significantly, with a great interest from clients in creating online communities. “In the last five years, it went from banners and buttons to depth of content and information, and the ability to provide rich content such as video.”
About two years ago G2 formalized vertical practice areas, such as healthcare (the agency calls it “wellness”), financial services, B-to-B, technology, travel and loyalty, and consumer retail, areas where it has seen impressive growth.
And despite G2's digital push, Kimmel is still a believer in paper. “People have asked me at various times over the years, ‘Is direct mail dead?’ My answer is, ‘Direct mail will never die.’ We will only do as much as makes economic sense. Invariably, we will change so that we find where the appropriate amount of investment lies. It's in our DNA.”
KIMMEL AS CONSUMER
One thing that has changed the 49-year-old Kimmel's perspective is being a new dad: He's the father of a 3-month-old son and a 20-month-old daughter. “I'm always running after them and an active 2-year-old dog.”
His parental status only reinforces his belief that consumers want to have greater control of what, when and where advertising messages are delivered to them.
“For example, as a new father, I'm more time-pressed than ever. As such I'm now doing even more of my banking online,” he says. “My movies are now rented from Netflix, not from the corner Blockbuster. These transactions may happen in the middle of night when retail locations are closed.”
And he also now has less tolerance for marketing spin.
“I want to know the facts more quickly and be sure that the information is credibly delivered. It's a new world, where content is king and consumers are in control.”
Personal Best: Aetna Medicare
At the heart of great advertising is an understanding of what truly matters to the target audience. At the heart of great direct marketing is a tailored message developed from those insights that motivate consumer action.
The creative is a DRTV spot for Aetna Medicare that helped launch Aetna's entry into the new Medicare prescription drug plan market.
At launch time, seniors were inundated with massive amounts of information about the drug plans. Seniors were overwhelmed, confused by their choices; many planned to do nothing. They craved simple, honest answers.
“Medi-what?” was one of eight spots that made the drug plans feel manageable. Each spot offered to answer one simple question, like “Are my drugs covered?” Each commercial encouraged consumers to call for the “Aetna Answer.” Depending on the question, we offered to answer it in two, five or 10 minutes.
This simple strategy broke down barriers among seniors about engaging in a discussion they feared would be long and confusing. The strategy enabled Aetna representatives to have a productive, helpful discussion with consumers in their first interaction.
Every aspect of the campaign also reinforced the idea of simplicity. The minimalist approach was used from both a graphic and verbal perspective.
This new Medicare advertising technique helped start a new Aetna business and surpass the insurer's new customer acquisition goals by 310%.
This communication was more than just advertising. It became the start of countless successful relationships between new consumers and Aetna — and that's great creative.
— Larry Kimmel
