How Randstad is using MOM to drive branding

Abstract

ORGANISATION APPROACH Our experience is that MOM can play a central role in branding as long as it is approached as an organisational process and way of working and not as an IT tool, a control mechanism or a cost-efficiency programme. In the 15 years since NykampNyboer was founded, the company has grown to cover the whole field of what it calls ‘visual performance management’. It not only advises clients on ways they can implement their brand strategies and creative translations more quickly, at lower cost and with increased efficiency — but also actively supports the ongoing project and process management. This second part, the less sexy side of MOM — the workflow, ordering, delivery and other brand-related and marketing processes — is actually crucial to making MOM the central nervous system of an organisation’s branding and marketing. MOM ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH Marketing operations management (MOM) can play a key role in implementing and managing your brand. Implement software solution X, the claim goes, and you will enjoy all the benefits of alignment, efficiency and cost reduction. So far, so good; but there’s a problem: there are enough examples around to prove that implementing an IT solution — automation — doesn’t automatically lead to improved efficiency and increased brand impact. With regard to the role of MOM in brainding, clearly, something is missing. In NykampNyboer’s experience, the key challenge is to integrate the MOM solution into both the overall brand strategy and the marketers’ way of working. Unless this is done, MOM ends up in a kind of limbo. For management, it is seen as little more than a means to reduce costs, while for the marketer it remains little more than a storeroom. The result is that MOM never becomes woven into the fabric of the organisation. It never becomes central to the way the organisation approaches branding. And