Andy Bubala joined the Sony family in 1995, working first at their worldwide headquarters in Tokyo, Japan before returning to the U.S. The Director of Marketing’s most recent assignment found him competing and winning in a number of emerging segments that leverage America’s growing infatuation with the music and sounds we listen to and block out. During this podcast with Brand Connections CEO, Brian F Martin, Bubala shares insights that touch on the fundamentals of marketing and ways to connect with target groups, while explaining how to take your brand to the top.

Bubala’s entrée to the international electronics and entertainment giant was far from typical. After studying abroad in Japan and learning the language while in college, he sought opportunities for work in the country. Sony just so happened to be a perfect fit. Now stationed out of Sony Electronics’ San Diego headquarters, Bubala has digested the contrasts in the disparate markets. “Understanding how [markets] are different and what motivates consumers differently is really one key to succeeding in [global] markets,” he says. “Leaving your own culture and going somewhere else for an extended period of time gives you a tremendous amount of insight into your own culture and why people in your own culture, in your own market, behave the way they do.” The solid understanding Bubala has of both the U.S. and Japanese markets makes him an asset to Sony for obvious reasons. The marketing director’s early exposures to the service and supply chain side of the business also help him contribute expertise from a unique perspective.

It’s a good thing Bubala has such varied work history, too, because the Japanese firm asks much of its marketing managers. “In the Sony context it really means running the entire operation in the local market here. We have to be responsible of course for the basic marketing, but we also have to be responsible for the product line-up itself,” he says. It’s the winning combination of the brand, product, and marketing that Sony emphasizes. Their stocked stable of engineering and product-planning talent, according to Bubala, is where Sony truly enjoys a leg up. This holistic approach goes beyond the mere promotional element to ensure the product itself lays a foundation upon which marketers can build. “I think the real key is good products will take you to meet your marketing goals long-term,” Bubala asserts.

Sony’s noise-canceling headset line offers a case study. As our culture continues to grow more engaged with personal music devices consumers are increasingly recognizing the benefits of quality headphones. This awareness translates to the noise-canceling market as well, Bubala says. At the same time, more companies are entering the consumer headphone segment as products become better and cheaper. The marketing director saw a landscape where manufacturers with more experience and superior products could dominate the segment despite increased competition. “Really being able to roll out engineering to have a product that delivers on the expectation that the customer has when they see some new technology like noise canceling, that’s what’s going to be able to take your brand or your product line beyond just the initial phase of consumer awareness and buzz and create it into a much more long-standing brand or product line,” he says.

Sony based its promotional push on three notes: 1) Consumers don’t usually pour over research before purchasing headphones, 2) the segment is not heavily advertised, and 3) negative travel experiences are one of the biggest purchase influencers. Armed with that knowledge, Sony based its message-heavy, tech-light “megaphone campaign” primarily in out-of-home, airports, and airline tray tables. It’s no surprise that a campaign specifically targeting core potential customers at times when they’re most receptive catapulted Sony to the conductor’s podium. “I think the lesson is that in emerging product markets or product segments it really is a combination of product plus marketing – sensing where the market is going and being able to have a message that resonates well with customers,” according to Bubala. That sweet-sounding structure helped Sony achieve the No. 1 retail market share position for noise-canceling headphones in 2006.

Packaging development may not be a glamorous job for most marketers, but Bubala says it also helped drive sales. One change saw Sony replace warranty information on headphone sets with product specs and usage instructions that consumers found more helpful. “A lot of attention paid to the package we really feel is going to pay off,” he says, “because that’s where customers are making a lot of their decisions about Sony versus brand X.” Since it’s also wise to assume most consumers make their in-store purchase decisions without the aid of a sales representative, packaging become even more significant. Recognizing that consumers have access to more product knowledge than ever before is a final crucial element, says the Sony man. “The amount of savviness that customers have and the amount of information they have about the product means you have to treat them in a much more intelligent manner than it may have been 10 or 15 years ago.” All tips that rising marketing stars should tune in to.

Before joining Wyeth Pharmaceuticals as a Product Director, Julie Holcombe spent 15 years as an advertising executive. She then moved over to the client side of the marketing equation and now runs a billion-dollar-plus business. In a recent podcast with Brand Connections’ Chief Executive Officer, Brian F Martin, Holcombe discusses her career move and explores the ways the Internet reshaped the pharmaceutical marketing sector.

Many marketers would relish a jump like Holcombe’s, but how did she position herself for the transition in the first place? “It always starts with the relationships you build,” she says, “and I was lucky enough on the agency side to always put the relationship forward. That was the primary thing I worked on with my clients.” Like all strong relationships, the Product Director says her professional friendships were based on trust – which ultimately opened doors on the client side. Wyeth’s promise of a balanced work-life schedule and the opportunity to market directly to consumers in an industry Holcombe already knew well had her jumping at the opportunity.

Her timing turned out to be perfect, as the Internet era was just gathering speed. “All of a sudden it became this channel for information seeking that no one had ever had before, both physicians and consumers,” Holcombe recalls. “The whole dynamic of the doctor-patient relationship was changing. Consumers in general were becoming much more information seeking than they ever had before, and [with] healthcare being such a high consideration category … there is more of an information need from consumers ….” Big Pharma abruptly discovered another tool to brand build, but it remained important to distinguish between messaging for healthcare professionals and potential customers. Professionals are interested in the science of how and why the drug works, according to Holcombe, while consumers need to know about their condition, its symptoms, and what to ask their doctors. Only after providing patient information is Wyeth able to pitch its drug as a “by the way, here’s the medication and this is what makes this one different from that one,” she says. The depth of this conversation makes it uniquely suited for the on-line format rather than a 30-second spot.

With the advent of the Internet age, consumers began approaching media differently than in decades past – a trend compounded by media fragmentation. Media services groups help wade navigate this issue but understanding the totality of a consumer’s lifestyle is even more important. The busy lives most consumers lead results in more distraction, so a large part of the persuasive challenge still comes down to putting the right information in the right place at the right time. “At the end of the day the media channels are there for entertainment and information … if we can hit both in one shot, all the better.” Holcombe sees multi-channel marketing as part of the solution. “You have to be everywhere that your audience could possible be,” but you must also understand when consumers are most approachable and treat them differently depending on the channel, she states.

Holcombe now has a greater appreciation for and understanding of the different challenges on both sides of the agency-client coin. Since moving to Wyeth she’s encountered a “whole different level of complexity that you never see on the agency side.” She suggests that brand managers spend one year with a major agency to help them differentiate between the marketing and sales approaches. “In my mind, sales and marketing are two very different disciplines, and I think there does need to be a certain appreciation for both from each specialty group.”

Moving any brand forward is a team effort no matter what side you’re working from, she says. Nevertheless, there are ways for those starting out to improve their personal performance along the way and bring more to the table. Seize every opportunity to learn along the way and seek out different situations, Holcombe stresses. Her parting words of wisdom: “Be careful of the toes you step on today. They may be connected to the butt you have to kiss tomorrow.” Respecting people at every level helped Holcombe achieve her goals.