CMOs appeared on stage and in interviews, wagging their fingers at Meta executives and accusing them of being more concerned about cash than promoting disharmony. But behind closed doors, it was all hugs and handshakes as they lounged with the bigwigs, their concerns fading into the background.
After four years, it feels like deja vu.
Just last month, X (formerly Twitter) CEO Linda Yaccarino met with marketers at the X Client Council in London, and separately with a number of agency executives for various meetings, The results were similar despite the bleak outlook for the advertising business.
No drama, no intense negotiations, just small talk. It was as if the marketers there were fascinated by Yaccarino and her pitch. This is not surprising. Platforms like X and the executives they work with have a well-honed knack for engaging marketers and always know the right things to say to keep marketers interested.
“she [Yaccarino] Magnetic. She has everything you want in a struggling company from a leadership standpoint,” said one advertising executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak candidly about what happened during the meeting. “She pulled the team out at the right points and was honest and just a normal person. Like, she was easy to talk to. She's great. She's really great.”
This is exactly why client councils and their derivative organizations are so important. They give platforms like X and his sales bosses to do what they do best: turn skeptics into believers. Few people in the world of advertising are as adept at this as Yaccarino.
“I came away from that positive feeling and thought there was a lot more I could do for the clients here,” the advertising executive continued. “I'm not saying I'm going to do it right away.” [going to spend there]. We are at a loss as to recommendations. ”
Simply put, the council did exactly what it was supposed to do for I opened it.
However, whether it actually benefits more marketers is another story. Yes, this executive was all smiles, but there are many others who have had this experience before. They've heard optimistic sales pitches like this one too many times, but in many cases, X simply doesn't live up to the hype, or is still too risky.
This was made clear at a recent conference. Yaccarino made big promises that big advertisers would return and the platform would be safer for advertising, but it was overshadowed by a flat admission that Elon Musk's controversial posts are here to stay. became. Mr. Musk hasn't changed his approach, so advertisers will either simply have to accept them or consider alternatives. It felt like a replay of the first call Musk had with the platform's client council after the acquisition, only updated for now.
Boondoggle or business advice?
A question arises here. What is the purpose of a client council if it is just a relaxing gathering?
It is clear that these councils are important focus groups and are not as simple as the traditional view, consisting of key clients hand-picked to provide direct feedback and fresh ideas to the platform.
No, the truth is that these councils are a means for platforms to curry favor with senior marketers and extract market intelligence from them. Sometimes this arrangement turns out to be mutually beneficial for the marketers involved, but sometimes it gets put on the back burner.
Speaking of results, this seems to be the fate of Snapchat's AR Council. Where advertising executives from both sides of the Atlantic once gathered to discuss the potential of augmented reality, now they're not even sure the technology is even a priority anymore—all in the space of a few months. At home.
“Everything about city councils changed the moment the AI boom happened,” said one government executive, who requested anonymity in exchange for candor. “The conference was canceled as the company, like many other companies at the time, decided to focus more aggressively on AI.”
To be sure, marketers must always be aware of these changes when working with platforms, but agency executives were more than enthusiastic about them. But it's still a little disappointing. Especially when Snapchat executives are putting so much effort into getting marketers to spread the word about their AR plans. They even persuaded agency executives to promote the technology to some customers who were actually considering joining.
Whether they follow up on that interest is up for debate for now. The council hasn't reconvened since the last quarter of last year, and Snapchat executives have been in touch with members, but at least to executives, the big AR plans they had been discussing until recently are now in the works. One thing is clear. A mode of serious rethinking.
“I was in a sense an ambassador for this council, which made things difficult for me in terms of relationships with certain clients,” said the agency executive. “But it wasn't always like this. Snapchat made me feel special as a member of the AR Council.”
Councils tend to have this kind of influence on marketers, for better or worse. And they have a lot of tricks up their sleeve to make it happen.
From taking CMOs to Deer Valley Ski Resort in Park City, Utah (Facebook) to having CMOs sit in a circle and share something personal while holding rocks (Snapchat), the platform has senior marketers There is a trick to attracting your instincts. It gives them a range of emotions, from fulfillment and inspiration to, at times, a little bewildered.
smart about the road
Marketers are not completely ignorant of this point. . They recognize that the benefits of these councils may fluctuate as platform priorities change. Still, they prefer to stay inside the tent and actively participate, so to speak, rather than stand outside and look out. This way you won't be caught off guard by what happens next. They are in a place where they can see how things play out and adjust their expectations accordingly.
And those who have been doing this long enough are even starting to see some tell-tale signs that help predict which direction things will go.
Lou Paskalis, CEO and founder of AJL Advisory, is one such savvy marketer.
After nearly 20 years of experience on various councils, including then Twitter's Influence Council and now Snapchat and Vox, he believes the most effective councils are those that truly value marketer feedback. I'm pointing it out. That was certainly the case with the then-independent Turner Broadcasting System, before it was acquired by AOL Time Warner. His CEO at the time, John Martin, frequently attended the company's customer council, which was not very common for his CEO. But his purpose on this special occasion soon became clear.
“For example, he asked us, should we buy Barstool Sports? And it was a group of very senior marketers who were on the council, probably a dozen or so in total. “We had a fruitful conversation regarding the pros and cons of acquiring Barstool Sports, including the financial aspects,” Pascalis said.
For Pascalis, the experience was particularly enriching as it confirmed the council's role in empowering marketers to make vital business decisions.
Jeremy Hull, chief product officer for Brainlabs' North American operations, has a similar view.
Before deciding whether to join a council, he evaluates the council based on three criteria: If the council is just a testing ground for new pitches aimed at senior marketers. Or it could be mostly for show, featuring occasional staged Q&As with him where the questions are cherry-picked, with little chance to get real opinions.
“We've found that the further down those opportunities for feedback, the closer we are to the teams and people building the tools. This usually means the conversations are more productive.” Hull said. “This happened 10 years ago when 12 developers were waiting to talk to us about a new UI that Microsoft was launching. I came away from the meeting feeling more inspired and knowledgeable about what the company is trying to do.”
LinkedIn's own Client Council definitely falls into this category. Founded last year, it serves both B2B and B2C marketers based on the East and West Coasts.
“A lot of it had to do with executives talking about what kind of product LinkedIn should have compared to other platforms,” said Shamsul Chaudhry, vice president of paid social at Jellyfish. he said. “That said, we also spent a lot of time understanding the amount of data the platform has and how it is powered by the fact that LinkedIn is part of the broader Microsoft ecosystem. .”
This includes not only understanding how to branch out into the B2C space, but also a measurement plan, Chaudhry continued.
It is only natural that no two parliaments are the same. What's more, the benefits a marketer gets from his LinkedIn council aren't the same as the benefits he gets from other platforms like Snapchat or X.
Each council is created to achieve specific goals in line with what the platform is trying to accomplish. In essence, they represent a virtual partnership, a marriage of convenience, between platforms and advertisers.
