TRENDSETTERS: Kraft’s Global Media VP Mark Stewart Addresses the New Normal
Mark Stewart has a long career of media expertise, and in his new role at Kraft Foods, he is helping the company rethink the way it operates in today’s fast-changing media environment. In a recent presentation in New York at the ANA’s TV and Everything Video Forum, he shared how Kraft is leveraging the “new normal,” or a world in which consumers live with “a TV remote control in the left hand and a video cam in the right hand.” According to Stuart, “this is one of the most exciting times to be a marketer.”
He believes that within the range of traditional broadcasting and the new promise of addressability, there is a huge opportunity for “aggregated narrowcasting.” According to Stewart, “Brands have communities of users with varying life stages and interests.” He notes that today’s media fragmentation can actually help marketers earn attention for relevant and engaging brand stories.
Mark Stewart is clear in his assertion that we live in a time when “exposure has nothing to do with engagement. They are different. And the days of bludgeoning consumers into submission are long gone.”
Rather, he sees an old world of reach and frequency being replaced by a new “c-suite” of media rules that lead to real activation. They start with composition, and then involve understanding content, connection, context and coverage. He also recognizes that for a consumer to opt in to any Kraft marketing effort, the company also needs to provide additional value in the form of customer utility, participation or fun.
Some of Kraft’s recent initiatives have ranged from launching the iFood Assistant for Apple's iPhone to finding authentic talent like the Jen and Barb Mom Life blog as a forum for telling brand stories. The company also embraced a provocative campaign for Miracle Whip targeted toward the 18-34 segment which involved a Mayo War with comedian Stephen Colbert.
Mark Stewart jokes that the today’s media bazaar is a far cry from his childhood world of Lithgow Australia where the traditional family gathered around the television to all enjoy the same show. The Internationalist is also proud to have named Mark Stewart an Agency Innovator in 2008—just in time to pave his road to Kraft!
