For the launch of its latest headphones, Bose took an unusual marketing approach. Rather than relying on a feature-rich consumer electronics manual, the audio equipment maker positioned the earphones, which hang around the earlobe in a fashion similar to jewelry. ear, as a stylish accessory favored by cultural tastemakers.
“You can make the argument that one of the most visible forms of fashion is the headphones you wear,” said Jim Mollica, global marketing director at Bose.
The Ultra Open Earbuds, which stream private audio while letting in outside noise to keep users informed, have been promoted to a number of influential and celebrity ambassadors, as well as via Bose’s first fashion collaboration. The hip partnerships helped generate buzz before Bose launched into paid media earlier this fall.
Jim Mollica, Bose Marketing Director
Authorization granted by Bose
The deliberate rollout is part of Bose’s return to brand building under Mollica, who took the reins as the company’s first head of global marketing three years ago after working at brands like Under Armour, Ralph Lauren and The Walt Disney Company. Bose, a privately held company, has long relied on word-of-mouth marketing and in-store experiences, but reduced its commercial footprint in 2020 due to consumers’ shift towards e-commerce.
Marketing Dive recently spoke with Mollica, who was visiting New York to an event with streetwear retailer Kith celebrating the classic Bose 901 speakeron the value of influencers, the challenges marketers face today, and his take on artificial intelligence.
The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
MARKETING DIVE: The big product launch this year was Bose’s Ultra Open Ear headphones. What marketing levers have you favored?
JIM MOLLICA: From a marketing point of view, what I didn’t want was this become a Google Glass. It couldn’t be a portable gadget. How does it become stylish? The very first version was the Kith version which we launched during Paris Fashion Week. From there we introduced it through some of our athletes at NBA All-Star Weekend featuring a rendition with the same gentleman who creates NBA championship rings. Then we went to Maggi Simpkins, who designs jewelry. She had some amazing jewelry. We’ve had everyone from Rihanna to Travis Scott contact us and say, “I want to get a pair of these.” »
It’s about introducing it in a very systematic way to culture and the right cultural influences, and then disseminating it en masse. This product was released last February, but we didn’t launch a dedicated marketing campaign with talent like Tyla until the end of September.
There is the influencer network aspect. Where does paid media come into play?
It was important for us to get them into the hands of people working across different use cases and with a real passion for music. We then did the same thing by clicking on digital content creators. The brief was: “This is how people use the product. What is your interpretation? We allowed them to do their job. All of this isn’t exactly what I would do, but that’s why we went to them. They know how to do it in a way that is thoughtful and respected by their audience.
We’re running a TV spot, but the way we did it was to create an interesting behind-the-scenes look at how the product is actually used by artists. It’s like they get excited before a performance, whether it’s a commercial shoot or a real live musical performance. We made sure to choose the right brand ambassadors to signal that we are a music-obsessed brand. They’re not the biggest stars in the world. These are the hot, up and coming people: Don Toliver, Central Cee, Tyla and Lisa. All we have to do now is raise awareness among more people. That’s what television is for.
What do you take away from this campaign as you develop the positioning of the Bose brand?
The first thing I did when I joined the company three years ago was a rough perceptual map of Bose on the back of the napkin. Bose, where it differentiated itself, was the only brand with 60 years of heritage that was dedicated solely to the singular pursuit of music and sound. All these other people we compete with are technology companies. These are large multinational companies that treat music as a sideline because they make phones, laptops, washing machines and refrigerators. They have ad networks and TV shows.
My belief was that the product should be exceptional, but the real goal lies in the emotional experience of the music. Is it increased, is it better with Bose? It has become the positioning we can lean on emotionally instead of zeros and ones.
What capabilities do you want to develop beyond this emotion-focused positioning?
There was a complete transformation to modernize marketing when I arrived. We were going to have to consider a model where we moved away from the traditional approach, which consisted of letting the brand represent what it is. We had to adopt a more proactive strategy, meeting consumers where they are, at all levels and across all demographics. We have focused more on creating digital content in a platform-friendly way. The way we create on TikTok is very different from any other platform.
Having worked at Disney and Paramount, I learned that creating content, not advertising, was going to be very important in winning people’s time and attention. I still strongly believe in creativity, but you want to be informed by data, and then you want to validate success by data. These are all mechanisms by which we have modernized the infrastructure, even on the martech and ad-tech side.
As you’ve tried to navigate these changes, what challenges have you encountered?
I have been fortunate to be at different levels of transformation in most of the roles I have held over the past 15 years. It’s difficult any time you come into a company with so much heritage, so much brand strength with a particular audience. But it has to be an evolution. We were going to introduce the brand to 18-24 year olds who didn’t really know Bose. No one is going to sit down and listen to the product features and functionality (pitch). We had to generate interest and desire for the brand through media platforms, content creators and brand ambassadors. That’s both the challenge and the fun part.
Many historic brands currently want to reinvent themselves, including for Generation Z, but many seem reluctant to take risks.
You have to find the right company at the right time. There have been other times in my career where I’ve tried to do the exact same thing and it hasn’t gone as well. You need a few key allies. Brands that are truly struggling need to understand that this is truly an existential moment. You’re not going to change the situation. I don’t think it’s realistic to say, “Everything we’ve done and all these audiences that are buying now are no longer relevant.” » Such a dramatic pivot is extraordinarily rare. There’s a very thoughtful and refined way to take the DNA from that existing core brand and rearticulate it for a younger audience.
Recent research from McKinsey focused on number of hats marketing directors wearbut also a persistent maturity gap. Is this a pressure that you see and how do you react to it?
When I first started in the business, it was much more about the CMO being the spiritual leader of the brand delivering the creative platform. This platform would manifest itself mainly in a television spot and in a few ancillary elements. As role pressures and growth have become greater, this creative element has been put to the test. Being creative is not enough. You need to understand how to create visibility and engagement.
Growth hackers who understood that short-term gains were altered changed certain skill sets, and a lot of hiring started happening for digital natives. The truth is you need both sides of these equations. The challenge is that the CEO gives you the responsibility for growth but not the accountability. That’s where some people are right now and it’s difficult.
If you are sophisticated in how you build the relationship with the CEO and show evidence, then you have a reasonable way to acquire this responsibility. There will be times when you trade investments for things that have a more immediate ROI. If you only discuss building a brand, you have no credibility. You say, “I’m just looking after the upper funnel” and there are high-level brand effect metrics that you don’t even vaguely see tied to results.
Do you have any predictions for 2025?
There has been a lot of angst around AI. I think this is just a new tool that we can leverage to make our work better and more resonant. I don’t think it will be limited in the same way by time, budget, resources or talent, i.e. brand ambassadors and celebrity athletes. This will affect content creators and influencers. There’s going to be a big upheaval there. They won’t be as powerful. There is going to be a shake-up in the creative production and agency sectors. Those who understand not only how to use AI, but also how to better use it in their niche specialties, will be the ones who truly thrive.
The potential disruption for influencers is interesting given the way you were talking about the earphone launch. A lot of this was based on influencers. Do you plan to experiment more with AI next year?
One hundred percent. We work with a company called Automated Creative in England who probably produce 5,000 pieces of content a month. These include still images, videos, product copies, and search copies. It’s not a copy and paste, it’s done (process). It provides different springboards for thinking, which humans then complete.
AI will change content creators, it will put pressure on influencers and probably also change certain relationships with brand ambassadors. You probably have more access to some of the people that you work with, where they’re not needed as much or as long, but you still get to enjoy their brand, their essence, their person.
Artists will always be important. I don’t think AI is going to replace the relationships we have with people like Central Cee, Don Toliver and Tyla. I think by strengthening that connection it will be really powerful.
