Playing to win

L’ Oreal’s Albet Buddahim

Albet Buddahim was recognized during the 2017 Mansmith Young Market Masters Awards (YMMA) for his role in helping turn IPG Mediabrands into one of the fastest growing marketing agencies in the Philippines.

He is now the Chief Marketing Officer of L’Oreal Philippines and shares with us here his “play to win” philosophy and strategy.

He will present “Play to Win: The Mindset of a Champion Marketer in the Digital Age” in the Young Market Masters Summit on Sept. 6, 2018.

Q: You like to use the phrase, “play to win.” What does it mean to you?

A: For me, it’s either we (1) play to win or (2) play not to lose. The meaning of play to win versus play not to lose is

• Play to win is about being vision-led and to be excited about what can be won or gained.

• Play not to lose is being risk-averse, fearful of what might happen negatively.

Play to win is a mindset and a strategic approach that an organization can leverage on to win in a competitive marketplace. It is an integrated cascade of choices that positions a company/brand or an agency/team to gain a competitive advantage and a stronger value proposition to win more customers/ consumers versus competition.

Play to win is one of my favorite frameworks to use, as I lead teams to become winners and champions, as they grow from good to great and become highly effective in achieving their goals.

Q: Before joining L’Oreal, you helped IPG Mediabrands become one of the fastest growing marketing agencies in the Philippines. What were the pillars of your play to win strategy that won IPG Mediabrands its clients?

A: The play to win strategic approach is something I learned from the book “Play to Win” of A.G. Lafley (the 2000-2009 Chair and Global CEO of Procter & Gamble) and Roger Martin (known business strategist and dean of Rotman School of Management.)

There are five questions informing the play to win strategy.

1. What is our winning aspiration?

2. Where will we play?

3. How will we win?

4. What capabilities must we have?

5. What management systems are required?

Back in 2014, I was the second employee of IPG Mediabrands to start the company in the Philippines with Venus Navalta. Today, IPG Mediabrands Philippines is one of the biggest media agencies in the country. In just three years, it grew from two to more than 150 employees.

The marketplace of agencies is very dynamic and so, strategies and business plans need to be revisited and evolve to play to win. I cannot disclose the IPG Mediabrands strategy which goes beyond play to win, because it was fused with other strategies to increase our winning chances.

For illustration purposes, allow me to create a play to win strategy for a media agency to be able to win clients.

1. Our winning aspiration for our company is to become the number one media agency in the Philippines that provides services to deliver high return on investment marketing campaigns and increase the long-term brand value of our clients to their customers in the digital age.

2. Where to play (to win)

2.1. Talents. We will hire professionals from diverse backgrounds (versus a homogenous media agency profile)

2.2. Clients. Our key customer will be either the marketing head or the President (versus media head)

2.3. Quality of work. Provide high ROI marketing campaign plans then execute with excellence and creativity.

2.4. Point of market entry. Use digital and social media services as the way in to become an agency of record of target companies.

3. How to win (in our where to play choice)

3.1. Talents. Build a strong team with diversity from marketing companies to creative and media agencies.

3.2. Clients. We start and end our presentation with sales and shares goals per campaign we recommend.

3.3. Quality of work. Deliver holistic value to clients from sufficient planning to effective execution and efficient buying per campaign.

3.4. Point of market entry. Provide a very competent, certified and capable multifunctional teams with a culture of champions that enables our clients business to win via digital platforms.

4. What capabilities must we have?

4.1. An organization with a culture of champions and plays to win

4.2. Talent attraction and recruitment

4.3. Business development team with strong marketing network

4.4. Matrix organization where business leads will work with function heads to ensure quality of work delivered to clients

4.5. Digital (from strategic planning to performance media, search, social, e-commerce, CRM, programmatic, creatives, coding, etc)

5. What management systems are required?

5.1. Build systems that will support our “culture of champions.”

5.2. Invest in organizations like MarkProf who have talents we need.

5.3. Create an incentive program for partnership and freelancers.

5.4. Merit-based incentives and promotions (versus age and tenure)

5.5. Invest 1 percent of revenue to teams’ internal and external training

Q: Can play to win be applied even if there is no “right to win” in a declining or crowded marketplace? Can you cite some examples?

A: Right to win is what we gain by applying the play to win approach.

And even if it’s a crowded marketplace, you can build and strengthen your right to win by addressing the five pillar questions. Aside from IPG Mediabrands, I will be sharing two more examples in the upcoming Young Market Masters seminar on Sept. 6.

For those who would like to strengthen their right to win, below is the guide on how to leverage on the play to win strategic approach.

1. What is your winning aspiration?

• Future-oriented statement that clearly spells out what winning looks like

• Do not be modest, be ambitious

2. Where to play?

• Specific spaces where you will and will not compete: customer segments, distribution channels, product/service, geography, stage of production, etc.

3. How to win?

• What will be your competitive advantage on the chosen playing field.

• Example is low cost (not price) and/or differentiation

4. What capabilities must we have?

• Current and future activities that will enable your organization to bring the where to play and how to win choices to life

5. What management systems do we need?

• Processes, structures and rules that build your capabilities, reinforce and measure your organization’s strategic choices

Q: How are you applying your play to win strategy in L’Oreal Philippines to reinvent beauty in this digital age?

A: The five pillar questions of play to win strategy helped me a lot when I joined L’OrealPhilippines because it became my framework on the importance of:

1. Understanding the vision of the company (winning aspiration)

2. Looking for where I can add value and contribute to the vision (where to play)

3. Identifying what needs to be true to achieve our vision (how to win)

• Segments: What is the size of prize and sustainability of our chosen segments?

• Channels: How can distribution across channels and partners be a win-win?

• Customers: What do our customers truly value and can earn their brand loyalty?

• Capabilities: How does our capabilities compare to those of our competitors?

• And more such as costs to total shopping experience

4. Collaborating with ManCom and organization leaders to address the capability gaps

5. Improving the processes, structures and rules of the organization/business entrusted to me by the company and our country managing director.