“We
work with visionary companies. Ambitious companies. Companies that stand for
something and companies that want to transcend their categories and be a
positive force in people’s lives.”
About
GSD&M:
GSD&M is a full service advertising agency in
Austin that was founded by four graduates of The University of Texas. It is
part of the Publicis Omnicom Group which is one of the biggest agencies in
America that provides advertising, marketing, and corporate communications in its
services. GSD&M has done work for several well-known and respected companies
such as Walgreens, John Deere, Goodyear, and Southwest Airlines. GSD&M specializes
in a conglomerate of marketing aspects including online/social media campaigns,
website creation, integrated production, re-branding, and media planning, just
to name a few. According to Austin Business Journal, GSD&M is both the
largest and the best advertising agency in Austin based on its largest gross
income of $67 million dollars a year. It’s most recognizable work: “Don’t Mess
With Texas”. What started as an anti-littering campaign for the Texas
Department of Transportation not only decreased litter by 72% in 10 years, but quickly
also became the slogan of Texas and its proud citizens.
The people who work at GSD&M are passionate. And because of this, they work with passionate companies using “purpose-based branding”. What does this mean? It means they consider identifying what the company wishes to change about the world the most important factor in building a relationship with clients in order for GSD&M to properly create for them.
The people who work at GSD&M are passionate. And because of this, they work with passionate companies using “purpose-based branding”. What does this mean? It means they consider identifying what the company wishes to change about the world the most important factor in building a relationship with clients in order for GSD&M to properly create for them.
Why
GSD&M is of interest to me:
In Austin, GSD&M is a home away from home for
hundreds of creative professionals, and the company is known for its diverse
and informal, yet professional company culture. I have already moved away from
Austin twice in my life, and after the last time I knew I could never leave
again. As a marketing student who is about to graduate in May, I already have
been excitedly and hesitantly thinking about where I am going to jump start my
career. Since I will be looking for a marketing job in Austin in the (too) near
future, I want to use this business report to help me learn more about this
advertising agency and the marketing climate in Austin. If I find what it
offers exciting, and think its business model is respectable, then I would like
to pursue an entry level job there and having done this report will give me a knowledgeable
edge when applying there.
Customer
segments and their value propositions:
When looking at the online list of GSD&M’s past
clients, I identified three main customer segments: retail stores, manufacturers,
and companies that sell services. According to our text book, Business Model Generation, GSD&M
uses customer segments rather than diversified, niche, mass, or multi
sided-platform segment types. This is because it serves customers with similar
needs but also with significantly different relationships, product offerings, profits,
distribution channels, and wants. I am
going to briefly discuss the individual value proposition of each of these segments.
Value propositions are one of the nine basic building blocks “that show the logic of how a company intends
to make money”. On their website,
GSD&M states “Our Purpose is to
do whatever it takes to grow our clients’ business so that they can fulfill
their Purpose.” While
this is GSD&M’s universal goal, they apply it to each customer segment
differently by offering each one different value.
GSD&M works with retail stores such as Walgreens, Marshalls, Zale’s, Ace Hardware, and Popeye’s. While these companies all offer several different types of products and have different strategies for selling them, they all have the goal of wanting to increase the value their products offer and therefore also increase their profits by having more people shop and purchase in their physical and online retail spaces. These companies often do not produce their own products but instead specialize in creating an appealing, convenient, and enjoyable shopping experience. Therefore, the value proposition of GSD&M to its retail store customers is to create marketing strategies that will bring more people into their stores.
GSD&M works with retail stores such as Walgreens, Marshalls, Zale’s, Ace Hardware, and Popeye’s. While these companies all offer several different types of products and have different strategies for selling them, they all have the goal of wanting to increase the value their products offer and therefore also increase their profits by having more people shop and purchase in their physical and online retail spaces. These companies often do not produce their own products but instead specialize in creating an appealing, convenient, and enjoyable shopping experience. Therefore, the value proposition of GSD&M to its retail store customers is to create marketing strategies that will bring more people into their stores.
Examples of manufacturers that GSD&M
works with include Goodyear, John Deere, Campbell’s, Lee, Jarritos, and
Pacifico. These companies differ from the other two segments because they are
experts in production, manufacturing, design, and packaging of products. They
do not specialize in retail spaces and therefore often don’t sell directly to
the public. Despite this, in some ways these companies must have multi-sided
marketing strategies because they must appeal to consumers and also businesses:
retail stores will only want to place these products on their show room floors
and shelves if their customers will buy them. The value proposition of
GSD&M for manufacturing companies is to create marketing strategies that
will increase the number of stores selling their product and the number of
people who buy those products.
The last customer segment, service providing
companies, includes companies such as Southwest Airlines, The University of
Texas, Austin City Limits, AT&T, and Sports Clips. These companies offer varying
services from education to entertainment to lawyers. While the services are
diverse, the products they sell are all intangible. They must convince
customers to pay for something that they may not physically take home but will
receive benefits from. This is often a losing battle when it comes to health
services or insurance—it’s hard for people to be willing to pay a lot for these
intangibles. Therefore, GSD&M’s value proposition for service providers is
to create marketing strategies that help customers see the value in their
intangible offerings.
Concerns:
While I am very excited about studying GSD&M in my market report, I worry that these customer segments are not different enough in their needs to qualify as actual segments. I see their basic underlying need for all of them is to increase profit. I also could not find ways to distinguish between the different segments trough the values discussed in the Business Model Generation text book (newness, performance, customization, price, design, etc.) because I think GSD&M offers the same values in these areas to each segment.
While I am very excited about studying GSD&M in my market report, I worry that these customer segments are not different enough in their needs to qualify as actual segments. I see their basic underlying need for all of them is to increase profit. I also could not find ways to distinguish between the different segments trough the values discussed in the Business Model Generation text book (newness, performance, customization, price, design, etc.) because I think GSD&M offers the same values in these areas to each segment.
Sources:
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/subscriber-only/2013/08/09/austins-largest-advertising.html
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/creative/2013/08/austins-5-largest-ad-agencies.html
http://www.indeed.com/cmp/Gsd&M
http://www.gsdm.com/#/default.aspx
Course textbook: Business Model Generation
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/subscriber-only/2013/08/09/austins-largest-advertising.html
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/creative/2013/08/austins-5-largest-ad-agencies.html
http://www.indeed.com/cmp/Gsd&M
http://www.gsdm.com/#/default.aspx
Course textbook: Business Model Generation
Hi Kathleen. I think you’ve done a good job identifying three customers out of such a large firm as well as identifying the value proposition. I understand and empathize with your concerns and its smart of you to point them out and look to address them early. Maybe think of it beyond the act of creating “marketing strategies.” Or de-couple the components of a marketing strategy to the portions of it that each customer segment really cares about. For instance, with retail stores, its more than just bringing people in to their stores – its also bringing them the right kind of people.
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