Highlighting the Best Marketing Moments of 2023: A Recap by Ritson

The past year has been quite eventful. The news stories have been diverse and the opinions have been strong. To help you understand it all, Mark Ritson has provided his unique insights on the past 12 months. He has outlined the most significant, challenging, and influential marketing events of 2023. So without further delay...

10. Amazon’s Christmas turkey

Ritson took issue with Campaign magazine’s decision to name Amazon’s 2023 Christmas ad as its ‘Turkey of the Week’ when it launched in November.

Campaign criticized the ad as "cliché", but advertising effectiveness firm System1 praised it as one of the best of the year. So, who was correct?

According to Ritson, System1's data-led approach supports Amazon's improvement in brand building over time, with the ad ranking in the highest percentile for that.

9. Netflix increases prices 

Last year, Pret raised the prices for its subscription service, and it was voted by Our Website readers as the campaign of the year for how it communicated those increases to its customers. The involvement of the marketing team was evident. However, for Netflix's price hikes this year, it was not as clear, according to Ritson.

“This smells of finance and ops and all those very smart, very square people that don’t understand the customer,” says Ritson.

8. Tesla discounts prices

Tesla has historically refrained from offering discounts on its vehicles. However, earlier this year, the electric car company broke tradition by reducing prices by 6 to 20%. Ritson criticizes this action as evidence of the detrimental effects of discounting and price reduction. From negative messaging to customer disappointment, and a significant impact on profit margins, Ritson argues that discounting must be approached cautiously in order to yield positive results.

7. Guinness becomes the UK’s no.1 pint

In 2023, Guinness emerged as the top choice for pints in the UK. This underscores a myriad of crucial factors for marketers to take into account, according to Ritson. He praises the highly informed marketing team at Diageo as "extremely well-prepared, remarkably knowledgeable" and "an exceptional and exquisite asset."

6. The end of wear-out

Guinness demonstrates that, contrary to popular belief, it is the P for product that holds the most significance for marketers, rather than the P for promotion or the P for price. According to Ritson, Guinness serves as an excellent illustration of the vital role that the product plays in marketing strategies.

Ads may not wear out as previously thought, as Ritson argues that we are currently experiencing a golden age of advertising effectiveness. Despite marketers becoming tired of campaigns quickly, consumers take much longer to tire of them. Ritson emphasizes that good ads remain effective while bad ads remain ineffective over time.

5. Barbie’s brand extension

The summer was completely taken over by Barbie-mania, along with the numerous brand extensions that accompanied it. Previously, brand extensions were viewed as a potential threat to the brand, but Barbie has shown that they are “relatively safe” as long as they enter a new category, such as releasing a movie in this instance.

“Not only has Barbie enjoyed significant licensing income this year and a big boost in salience – it has revitalised Barbie as a brand.”

4. Unilever revisits purpose

Ritson criticizes the idea of brand purpose and examines Unilever's shift away from it after years of focus. He highlights that Unilever's pursuit of purpose has actually led to underperformance compared to other major FMCG companies.

3. Rebranding Twitter

Twitter underwent a rebranding in July, resulting in significant losses in equity, advertisers, and its unique assets. Ritson goes further than just discussing X and delves into why he believes any kind of rebranding is "stupid".

“The only time you want to rebrand is when you have to for legal reasons, the essential moment, otherwise don’t do it,” he says.

2. Bud Light

Ritson examines the total expenses of Bud Light’s collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney and the challenges of widespread marketing.

"Engaging in this controversy offers no benefits," Ritson warns, advising marketers to be mindful of neglecting their current customer base.

1. Artificial intelligence 

Ritson, self-proclaimed tech sceptic, may lead marketers to believe that he would be critical of AI, considering his reaction to the rise and fall of the metaverse and the money wasted on NFTs.

However, he explains that society's obsession with novelty and constant distractions has shifted with the emergence of AI, leading him to reassess his perspective midway through the year. He elaborates on the various ways AI can enhance the effectiveness of marketers, specifically in the areas of research and data analysis.

In the video above, Ritson discusses and analyzes his top moment of the year. To watch the full video featuring all 10 moments, visit the Mini MBA site.

The next Mini MBA in Marketing will begin on April 9, 2024, followed by the Mini MBA in Brand Management and Mini MBA in Management on April 16, 2024. For more information and to reserve your spot, visit the Mini MBA website.