Marcel Marcondes

101 Great Minds on Music Brands and Behavior

Marcel Marcondes, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Anheuser-Busch InBev.

As a global CMO, Marcel Marcondes has developed a unique perspective regarding his people-first approach. As a result, he has been featured in influential publications such as Forbes’ "World's Most Influential CMOs," AdWeek's Top 50, and the Top 25 “Most Innovative CMOs In the World ."A 17-year veteran of AB InBev, Marcel connects beer to people and culture in order to drive growth.

In addition to sitting on Adweek’s Diversity & Inclusion Council, he is also on the Board of Directors for the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and a member of the Cannes Lions CMO Growth Council. Before joining AB InBev, Marcel spent seven years in brand management at Unilever.

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“Brands are like people; they're known for their personality and their values, and this takes time to build.”

— MARCEL MARCONDES, GLOBAL CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV.

Uli Reese: In your previous role as CMO at Anheuser-Busch (until December 2021), what was interesting is that during the pandemic, you relaunched the iconic Budweiser ‘Wassup?’ campaign (this time featuring Dwayne Wade, Gabrielle Union, Chris Bosh, Candace Parker, and DJ- D-Nice). It once again became culturally and contextually relevant - but it was also sonic branding. Did you realize that?

Marcel Marcondes: Probably anywhere in the world, if someone says that one word, everyone over 30 will instantly know the reference so it's a huge asset, and you're right, it's sonic branding. This work was so powerful because it plays different roles and has different meanings. So in 2020, when people were apart because of the pandemic, we knew it could unify people, and that incentivized them to become closer, even if they couldn’t physically because of the COVID-19 restrictions. We encouraged people to connect over a phone call or via Zoom, and maybe create some happiness and excitement during those challenging times. The reboot unleashed a different kind of energy, and it's not a coincidence that the level of engagement that it created was massive. It's definitely a sonic approach that lives over time and can have different meanings if used in the right way.

Reese: Following on from its success, I want to talk to you about trust because the trust was still there for the brand. How important is sonic in trust-building, would you say?

Marcel: I don't believe in building greatness without trust. The role of sonic is very interesting because, at a minimum, I think it connects, or it unleashes, a spirit of familiarity, as we've discussed with the 'Wassup?' campaign. When we hear a sonic element that speaks to us, it strikes that nerve of familiarity, and this is 50% trust because the consumer knows what it is. It expedites the process of building trust.

Reese: One of the main themes of this series is how brands are going to show up in the new sonic consumer touchpoints. Raja Rajamannar, the CMO of MasterCard, says, ‘the ability for marketers to communicate with consumers has exponentially increased because people are now consuming content through multiple devices. With the advent of smart speakers, the Internet of Things, and wearable podcasts, consumers are interacting through the medium of sound. So when you say, “Hey Siri, hey Alexa," and tell the device what to do, the brand has no choice but to show up in that environment. It's vitally crucial for brands to recognize that.’ What are your thoughts?

Marcel: Raja is a great friend of mine, and I’m also a big fan of his work. To the example he gave on Alexa and Siri, this is great because it's an expression of how things are now evolving sonically. We started this conversation by talking about sonic approaches to campaigns, and this is something you'll see after a client buys a media piece - you listen to that sound, and then it triggers something. When we get into the Alexa's and Siri’s of the world, everything that’s going on now is about voice command; it's empowering people through voice to get things done proactively and to be able to choose which brands will show up and what actions will happen. This is the next level in sonic, and I have zero doubt that everything will soon be done via voice command. We're just now scratching the surface.

Reese: I’ll preface this by saying I’m not against licensing in the right context but let’s talk about ‘cool kid syndrome’ because it’s not enough to buy a cool licensed version of you; consumers want brands to behave like humans. They want the authentic you. What do we do to fill all these new channels where media is now being consumed, on all these different devices, and say this is authentically me?

Marcel: Totally, people expect brands to behave like humans. Brands exist at the service of consumers, not statistics, so they should behave like people. As a consequence, sonic branding has a very important role to play. It’s one of the elements that make a brand who and what they are over time, with consistency. There are going to be many opportunities for this personality to be sonically brought to life moving forward because as the world, and consumer behavior, continues to evolve, the obvious conclusion is that it will become harder and harder to grab people's attention.

Reese: …with second and third screens and so on…

Marcel: Exactly. Sonic elements can make a difference in those moments. It leapfrogs a lot of the barriers that every brand nowadays has to face in everything they do.

Reese: When it comes to measurability and KPIs, many CMOs today act like investors. They say this is how much I have, and this is where I'm going to put it because last year it worked. You spend quite a bit of money at AB InBev. Do you measure the data?

Marcel: We measure what we do to ensure everything is moving our business in the right direction. So at a macro level, yes, we measure ROI and all the main KPIs. But I believe that everything we do should start with a clear view of the job to be done. There are no recipes for success, and every challenge is different. Having clarity on the goal is the secret sauce; otherwise, how can you be sure you're putting the solutions to work for the right problem? So therefore, the KPIs we track should depend on the objectives we have. But I won't intentionally give a specific answer because I think KPIs should be directly connected to specific problems. What really moves the needle are the specific objectives, and this varies case by case.

Reese: What's important for you in guiding a brand and brand stewardship?

Marcel: Three elements. The first is to have clarity on the job you’re trying to do, so what’s the specific consumer or business problem you’re trying to address? Second, consistency is key, and we should always remember that brands are like people when we’re aiming for consistency. The third element is the one we started our conversation with, and that is to believe in yourself, your team, and your guts. In our profession, there are always so many people with a lot of opinions. There are so many barriers and so many negative people trying to bring you down that if you don't have that confidence, nothing will get done.

Note: The interview took place in New York, USA on the 1st of March 2022.

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