Kristof Neirynck, CMO of AVON, declared, “Nobody ever won in an economically difficult environment by just hunkering down and stopping spending.”

In the short interview on THE FIFTH’S VIP roof terrace at this summer’s MAD//FEST Neirynck said: “You need to look at what makes your brand unique and special, and then really invest behind those. But of course, keep a very close eye on the return on investment of that marketing investment.”

He added: “Going quiet now is not the right solution. Be more choiceful of what you do. And do it well. Measure it and continually optimise it, would be my key advice.” 

On the ‘conflict’ between performance marketing and brand building, Neirynck said that: “Ultimately, it's about balance and doing both, right, because, you know, if you're doing just performance marketing, you're not going to build a brand that will last, you know, years and years into the future. If you're just doing brand building, well, you're losing a lot of inefficiencies, you know, and so as a result, it's not the right thing to do.”

Watch the full interview here, where he also talks about AVON’s marketing priorities for the next 12 months and the importance of authenticity over celebrity in the creator economy space. 

‘MAD//Fest Moments’ is a series, in partnership with THE FIFTH in which prominent industry leaders share emerging trends, challenges and opportunities. We’ll be covering these interviews over the rest of the Summer and Autumn in MAD//Insight.