‘Your intent is the right intent’: Specsavers’ CMO on creating a ‘psychologically safe’ environment for marketers
Specsavers’ marketing community is becoming “stronger and better” thanks to its ability to test and learn – something its CMO Peter Wright attributes to the brand’s culture.
By Molly Innes
Marketers are often told to test and learn. But it’s not that straightforward when budgets are squeezed, marketing’s under scrutiny and each mistake is measured.
However, Specsavers’ CMO Peter Wright is a big believer in fostering an environment of psychological safety and encouraging his marketers to try new things. “If we’re not trying new things out, we’re not going to work out what does work and what doesn’t,” Wright tells Marketing Week.
And it’s paying off. Last week, the brand won gold at the IPA Effectiveness Awards for ‘I don’t go’, the campaign where Specsavers subverted its longstanding ‘Should’ve gone’ tagline to highlight its home visits proposition. The campaign, which raised some eyebrows internally before launch, proved that taking risks pays off while delivering an estimated £19.8m incremental profit.
In the same week as winning gold, Specsavers brought all its senior marketing leaders across the globe together for its internal Festival of Marketing, something the brand has been doing for three years. This year, Marketing Week was invited along.
