Hasta La Creative!

Michael Fassnacht raised some valid points in his July 9 column, "True Efficiency Requires More than Cutting Costs: Marketers Need to Determine Where They're Wasting Time, Money, Resources." I am CEO of a global marketing consultancy, EffectiveBrands, that works with leading marketers at companies such as Unilever, Starbucks, GlaxoSmithKline and Lloyd's Banking Group. My partners and I are all former marketers with experience at various global corporations including P&G, Mars and Novartis. We know, firsthand, the pressure marketing chiefs face to streamline their operations and somehow squeeze a bigger bang from every buck they spend. Mr. Fassnacht rightly points out that everyone is under pressure these days to cut costs and the initial focus of cuts is usually on reducing expenses in the marketing/media budget, headcount and nonessential expenses by some percentage.