Nokia Rethinks Global Marketing as
a Challenger Brand
Alexandra Bruell
Nokia CMO Tuula Rytilä Explains What’s Behind Expanded Relationship
with WPP-owned Agency JWT
Nokia was once a top player in its category, but after years
of watching its sales and market share slip, the mobile
phone giant is finding itself in a new role: the underdog.
The company says its committed to embracing that position
with a new global brand strategy, bolder creative and
an expanded relationship with its creative agency, JWT,
according to Nokia CMO Tuula Rytilä.
“For years we were the leader in our industry,” she said.
“When a leader is [at the top] for a long time, naturally
they have more to lose and become more defensive. Now
we actually get to act like a challenger. It’s quite natural,
and we’re having a lot of fun with it. We want to be more
bold in our approach, and [we want] a global brand as
well.”
The overarching goal is “to reignite the Nokia brand,
bringing meaning, relevancy and emotion to the brand,”
she added. “Whatever messages we create need to
resonate in the U.S., Europe, and emerging markets like
China and India.”
The company has worked with WPP’s JWT for creative
work since 2007, but as part of its new strategy, Nokia
expanded the shop’s scope of work to include a global
brand component, according to Ms. Rytilä. The agency
also will assume the new title of lead creative agency.
The new lead agency role signals a reversal of Nokia’s
decision to do away with its “agency of record” model -a decision that came under former marketing chief Jerri
Devard as the company parted ways with its creative AOR
Wieden & Kennedy in 2011. Since Wieden has been out of
the picture, the company has been working with JWT and
a number of small agencies on a project basis.
“This is a new marketing strategy. For some time we
haven’t had a lead creative agency,” said Ms. Rytilä. “It’s
very important for us to be globally relevant.”
Ms. Rytilä - who was formerly senior VP of portfolio and
business management for Nokia - definitely shaking
things up since assuming the role of CMO last summer.
Her appointment coincided with the company announcing
a number of leadership changes. At the time, Nokia also
announced the departure of Ms. DeVard; Mary McDowell,
executive VP of Mobile Phones; and Niklas Savander,
executive VP of Markets.
Regarding the actual creative objectives, she said, “We
want to [elicit] more emotion and be more daring. We’re
hoping that with JWT we’ll actually drive more disruption.”
The company will continue to work with WPP’s Wunderman,
its lead digital agency, as well as Dentsu’s Carat, its media
agency.
On the product front, Ms. Rytilä said that her team will
focus less on building awareness -- awareness was a
main objective driving the marketing campaign for its new
Lumia phone in late 2011 -- and more on demonstrating
the capabilities of its products in the retail environment.
When asked if the company plans on boosting its marketing
budget in the near future, she said, “We’re working closely
with Mircrosoft and our customers to make sure we have
bigger budgets available. We want to invest what it takes
to win. There’s a lot of noise in the marketplace and we
need to make sure our message gets across.”
It’s no small task, considering what it might take to reverse
Nokia’s sales slump. Net sales were down a staggering
27.9% in 2012 to $38.81 billion, from $53.85 billion in
2011. The translation from euros to U.S. dollars is based
on average annual exchange rates for calendar years. As
reported in euros, sales were down 22% in 2012.
Advertising and promotional expenses of $1.27 billion
worldwide in 2012 also represented 25% decrease
compared to spending in 2011, according to Nokia’s SEC
filings.
In 2011 the company spent $270 million on measured