“This election is a seminal moment for marketers to step back and understand what is in people’s heads and what actually drives consumer choice,” said Joe Tripodi, chief marketing officer of the Subway sandwich chain.
The article describes agency / marketing executives' efforts to expand their perspective beyond the coasts and better understand "rural, economically frustrated, elite-distrusting, anti-globalization voters." Subway marketing chief Joe Tripodi described Trump's election as “a seminal moment for marketers to step back and understand what is in people’s heads and what actually drives consumer choice." BUT, as an agency of record for a mass market brand like Subway or Walmart, isn't understanding the nuances of "flyover country" consumers the very least they can do? It's shocking - and arguably malpractice - for Trump's election to really be marketers' first wake-up call. David Sable, global chief executive of Y&R, says they will "double down on . . . spending time with consumers in their own habitats" adding for emphasis “If you want to understand how a lion hunts you don’t go to the zoo, you go to the jungle.” Are they really just now venturing outside of the zoo?
by Alexandra Bruell and Suzanne Vranica
The Wall Street Journal, November 21, 2016