{"id":464040,"date":"2022-06-16T15:41:29","date_gmt":"2022-06-16T12:41:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/oatly-went-9-years-without-a-marketing-team-stupid-or-wicked-smart\/"},"modified":"2022-06-16T15:41:29","modified_gmt":"2022-06-16T12:41:29","slug":"oatly-went-9-years-without-a-marketing-team-stupid-or-wicked-smart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/oatly-went-9-years-without-a-marketing-team-stupid-or-wicked-smart\/","title":{"rendered":"#Oatly went 9 years without a marketing team. Stupid \u2014 or wicked smart?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3e70cdc7c4a\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3e70cdc7c4a\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/oatly-went-9-years-without-a-marketing-team-stupid-or-wicked-smart\/#%E2%80%9COatly_went_9_years_without_a_marketing_team_Stupid_%E2%80%94_or_wicked_smart%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Oatly went 9 years without a marketing team. Stupid \u2014 or wicked smart?&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/oatly-went-9-years-without-a-marketing-team-stupid-or-wicked-smart\/#Why_kill_the_marketing_department\" >Why kill the marketing department?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/oatly-went-9-years-without-a-marketing-team-stupid-or-wicked-smart\/#Psst%E2%80%A6\" >Psst&#8230;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/oatly-went-9-years-without-a-marketing-team-stupid-or-wicked-smart\/#How_does_creativity_beat_marketing\" >How does creativity beat marketing?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/oatly-went-9-years-without-a-marketing-team-stupid-or-wicked-smart\/#Should_every_company_get_rid_of_their_marketing_department\" >Should every company get rid of their marketing department?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9COatly_went_9_years_without_a_marketing_team_Stupid_%E2%80%94_or_wicked_smart%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Oatly went 9 years without a marketing team. Stupid \u2014 or wicked smart?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n                            How do you set yourself apart from other brands? How do you sell people on a product they\u2019re not used to? And how do you do all that without a marketing department?<\/p>\n<p>John Schoolcraft, Global Chief Creative Director at <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oatly.com\/nl-nl\">Oatly<\/a>, has an answer. In 2012, together with CEO Toni Petersson, John began to turn a 30-year-old maker of oat drinks into a global movement focused on the development of a more sustainable lifestyle.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1388404 size-full js-lazy\" alt=\"Oatly \" width=\"846\" height=\"333\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 846px) 100vw, 846px\" https:=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-12.47.59.png 846w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-12.47.59-280x110.png 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-12.47.59-270x106.png 270w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-12.47.59-540x213.png 540w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-12.47.59-796x313.png 796w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Fgrowth-quarters%2F2022%2F06%2F16%2Foatly-went-9-years-without-a-marketing-team-stupid-or-smart%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Credit: Oatly\" data-title=\"Share Credit: Oatly on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Credit: Oatly on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Credit: Oatly<\/figcaption><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1388404 size-full\" https:=\"\" alt=\"Oatly \" width=\"846\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-12.47.59.png 846w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-12.47.59-280x110.png 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-12.47.59-270x106.png 270w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-12.47.59-540x213.png 540w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-12.47.59-796x313.png 796w\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<p>Speaking at TNW Conference 2022, he explained how replacing the marketing department with a team of creatives enabled the company to create a unique voice \u2014 and succeed in a competitive market.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_kill_the_marketing_department\"><\/span>Why kill the marketing department?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper growth-quarters channel-cta hs-embed-tnw\">\n<div id=\"hs-embed-tnw\" class=\"channel-cta-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"channel-cta-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads.tnw\/uploads\/Boris1.gif\"\/><\/div>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/src=\" https:=\"\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<div class=\"channel-cta-input\">\n<h2 class=\"channel-cta-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Psst%E2%80%A6\"><\/span>Psst&#8230;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"channel-cta-tagline\">Get a weekly dose of entrepreneurial insights from TNW&#8217;s founder Boris<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not just a company with a logo. We\u2019re a group of humans here to help other groups of humans make a few choices in their lives that are good for their body and the planet,\u201d Schoolcraft noted.<\/p>\n<p>The focus on Oatly\u2019s human voice was driven by Schoolcraft\u2019s deep skepticism about the traditional client-agency model \u2014 and his willingness to toss traditional marketing rules out of the window.<\/p>\n<p>He believed that a typical structure including both a marketing and a commercial department wouldn\u2019t work. He wanted to bypass the neverending ebb and flow of briefs, presentations, and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>rovals required.<\/p>\n<p>So, together with Peterson, he killed Oatly\u2019s marketing department and established the Department of Mind Control \u2014 the team of creative directors \u2014 at the core of the company, embedded within other departments.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_does_creativity_beat_marketing\"><\/span>How does creativity beat marketing?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>According to Schoolcraft, Oatly\u2019s different approach has brought the following advantages:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The time saved from approvals and briefings allows the company to focus 100% on the details to deliver a world-class product.<\/li>\n<li>The close collaboration of the departments builds trust.<\/li>\n<li>They can focus on creating products for real people, and not satisfying ad and PR agencies.<\/li>\n<li>They can have an opinion and express themselves freely.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>These have allowed the company to develop a unique voice, one that\u2019s instantly recognisable for its consistently inconsistent approach in encouraging people to upgrade their lives and the sustainability of the plane.<\/p>\n<p>For example, here\u2019s the video that made Oatly popular. It\u2019s Peterson singing his own song:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" srcdoc=\"&lt;style&gt;*{padding:0;margin:0;overflow:hidden}html,body{background:#000;height:100%}img{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;transition:opacity .1s cubic-bezier(0.4,0,1,1)}a:hover img+img{opacity:1!important}&lt;\/style&gt;&lt;a href=\" https:=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/_HQU0MB0D5A\/hqdefault.jpg\" style=\"top: 50%;left:50%;width:68px;height:48px;transform:translate3d(-50%,-50%,0)\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The video isn\u2019t the only evidence of the company\u2019s personal and humorous engagement with consumers:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Do you want me to repost it on Instagram? I have a picture of a bus too! <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1qAXgrHn6m\">pic.twitter.com\/1qAXgrHn6m<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Swanky Skulderknuser (@FancyMcUsername) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FancyMcUsername\/status\/902949399105601536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 30, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>And, most importantly, Oatly wants to make clear its message about sustainability:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1388406 js-lazy\" alt=\"Oatly \" width=\"709\" height=\"575\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 100vw, 709px\" https:=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-13.24.13.png 709w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-13.24.13-259x210.png 259w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-13.24.13-166x135.png 166w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-13.24.13-333x270.png 333w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Fgrowth-quarters%2F2022%2F06%2F16%2Foatly-went-9-years-without-a-marketing-team-stupid-or-smart%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Credit: Oatly\" data-title=\"Share Credit: Oatly on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Credit: Oatly on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Credit: Oatly<\/figcaption><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1388406\" https:=\"\" alt=\"Oatly \" width=\"709\" height=\"575\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-13.24.13.png 709w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-13.24.13-259x210.png 259w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-13.24.13-166x135.png 166w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-16-at-13.24.13-333x270.png 333w\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<p>According to Schoolcraft, \u201cIf people are to buy the product they have to know its environmental impact.\u201d He noted that every sold carton is a success for the planet, and he hopes that their product and overall strategy will drive <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a> change and challenge industry norms.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Should_every_company_get_rid_of_their_marketing_department\"><\/span>Should every company get rid of their marketing department?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>I asked Schoolcraft if killing the marketing department is the way to go.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It\u2019s a tricky question.<\/p>\n<p>I wouldn\u2019t say that companies should kill the marketing department, as we\u2019re talking about competent people losing their jobs. Instead, marketing should just think outside the box, allow more space for creatives, and not base its strategy on what PR or ad agencies want.<\/p>\n<p>The situation with Oatly was different. There were only five people in marketing, who were given emerging roles in other departments.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But his advice for companies starting now is to consider not having a marketing department from the very beginning \u2014 and empowering bold, creative minds instead.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/oatly-went-9-years-without-a-marketing-team-stupid-or-smart\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Oatly went 9 years without a marketing team. Stupid \u2014 or wicked smart?&#8221; How do you set yourself apart from other brands? How do you sell people on a product they\u2019re not used to? And how do you do all that without a marketing department? John Schoolcraft, Global Chief Creative Director at Oatly, has an&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":464041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/growth-quarters?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/06\/Untitled-design-90-5.jpg&signature=954754bd9693e5cc159a884da23f8560","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-464040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}