jane bloomfield

Our guest on this episode is Jane Bloomfield, CMO at Landor & Fitch. Jane joins us on the Room 101 podcast to share what things in the industry she’d like to see banished to Room 101 forever. Jane's main pet peeves are: interviewers who ask “What’s it like to be a female board member?” and the like; the race to the bottom in research; and click-bait research and surveys. Jane provides meaningful criticism during our conversation, and we hope you enjoy it. 

Key Quotes:

• “I have no context for what it feels like to not be those things. I can’t say, ‘Oh, compared to being a male CMO or a senior male, it’s like this, right?’ They’re ridiculous questions.” (14:20)
• “It’s partly about calling out and saying, ‘I don’t know any different, so I can’t answer that.’ I think we just have to sort of remind people gently sometimes that’s not the best question to be asking – or what it is they are really trying to understand.“ (17:22)
• “The idea that research should constantly be cheaper, should be faster. Good research should cost money.” (22:00)
• “I don’t think they’re particularly harsh on research. I think it is happening everywhere, and partly, that is driven by undoubtedly what has been one of the biggest trends that we’ve all seen in our lifetime around digital and technology. But those are enablers in and of themselves. They don’t change the fundamentals.” (26:13)
• “It’s not always about being the cheapest. It’s about providing the best value for money. And I think this is why procurement asks you to split out your costs… If you can prove you have saved as much cost as you can in the areas where it’s possible, then you’re in a better position to say, ‘I don’t negotiate on that side of it because that’s the thinking, that’s the people.’” (28:30)
• “I get really furious when stats taken out of context just get chucked out there. You can see the headline ‘50% of People Think This’. Well, then, yes, but that means 50% don’t.”

Key Topics: 

• Jane tells a funny story about her early career and her passport. (9:10)
• Her first pick for Room 101: questions like “What does it feel like to be a female board member?” (14:14)
• She thinks the media asks questions such as these out of laziness. The questions are old-fashioned at this stage. (15:46)
• Jane advises others who are asked the same kind of question to call out the journalist asking. (17:18)
• A brief discussion about “relaxed wear” being here to stay. (20:42)
• The second pick for Room 101 is the race to the bottom for research: the quickest, cheapest route. (21:53)
• Expands on paying researchers for their expertise. (25:53)
• Discusses that this race to the bottom is not unique to research, but research is labour-intensive. (26:13)
• Recognizes that procurement is valuable. (28:06)
• Jane says insights teams tend to talk about technology with clients versus quality (30:40)
• Insights teams need to have better conversations with clients regarding aspects that genuinely matter to them. (32:23)
• Jane’s third pick for Room 101 is click-bait surveys and research. (35:52)
• It’s feasible to stop click-bait with the help of the media. (37:30)
• Jane agrees with Hannah that the race to the bottom should be banished to Room 101. (41:03)

About – Jane Bloomfield:

Jane Bloomfield is the Chief Marketing Officer at Landor & Fitch. Experienced marketing, business development, and insight executive with a proven track record of delivering profitable growth. Jane has experience working across FMCG, Financial Services, Charity, Retail, Travel, Entertainment, Tech and Alcohol sectors and is currently responsible for driving marketing, growth and commercial excellence at Landor & Fitch globally.

Relevant Links:

• Jane’s  LinkedIn.
• Landor & Fitch - Website
• Day One - https://www.dayonestrategy.com/
• Hannah Mann - LinkedIn

The Day One podcast is published by the Day One Strategy and produced by Zorbiant.

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