Posts Tagged ‘marketing professionals Tampa’

They’re Cooler than You and They Have Money to Spend

Monday, September 20th, 2010

With every new generation comes a new sense of identity, new ideas on what defines cool and, for marketers, new headaches. How do we sell to kids? What do we say to actually get their attention? Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past few years you have probably seen today’s version of cool walking around in skinny jeans and wool caps, going out of their way to ensure that everyone knows that they do not care about mainstream society or its interests.

In general the new counter-culture that most “kids these days” seem to be joining are called hipsters. Just like past generations did, these adolescents and young adults claim to have no bond with traditional society and exist solely on independent thought (and of course their parents’ money). That appearance of apathy makes some people shudder at finding an effective marketing strategy to target this demographic. But it shouldn’t.

In essence this group is just like any other consumer group in society. While they might just now be gaining in numbers in the Tampa Bay area, their “movement” has realistically been around for a solid decade around the country. There is an argument to be made that this trend is nearing its end and a new one will be here soon enough, but in reality it will be here for a few more years, and you want to keep your sales up in between now and what’s next. Don’t underestimate this market; it might be entrenched in upper middle-class kids who love indie rock, but if you look around you can see its influence on neighboring youth markets like hip-hop and even the prep. Considering the staggering number of kids walking around wearing 70’s style mustaches and plastic neon sunglasses, and the fact that their trends cross over, you should consider their interests and use them as a basis for your marketing efforts.

So what do hipster like?

  • Natural Food- Yes this trend is big in general but huge with hipsters. They like organic foods: this means naturally raised meat and locally grown vegetables.
      • If you put together campaigns for restaurants you may be surprised how well mentioning actually natural ingredients works. Highlight local purchases and environmentally-friendly food processes.
      • Try focusing on health conscious offerings as opposed to redressing existing items with newly sourced ingredients.
  • Vintage
    • Clothing- Arguably hipsters choose clothing by mixing every subculture that popped up between, say, greasers in the 50’s and new wave kids in the 80’s. While many do appear to shop at thrift stores, they all do not. American Apparel would not be what it is and skinny jeans would likely be an afterthought without these kids.
    • Neighborhoods- While a hipster might live anywhere you generally see them grouped in older districts. In our area try Seminole Heights and downtown St. Pete. While rent is definitely a factor here, they also seem to be progressing towards non-modern housing for its aesthetics.
      • The vintage trend is strong with hipsters. Design marketing materials with this in mind (just ask someone in the creative department if you are confused. You can probably find some actual hipsters there.)
      • Put together a promotion that is based on something 80’s and fun, but keep it somewhat authentic. You do not want to disrupt their sense of originality.
  • Technology- As much as they love older fashions and houses, when it comes to technology they like the newest available products. They are involved in all forms of social media from blogs to Foursquare. This makes them a useful consumer group in terms of gathering feedback from first adopters. They will buy new tablet PC’s and cell phones then tell you how they feel right away on blogging forums.
      • Listen to their concerns-as you should all of your customers- and you will benefit right away. They will tell you what the problems are and what features they would like to see on future products. Address the concerns in future advertising materials.
  • Themselves- Hipster feel as if they exist separately from society and strive to stick to their own. While this is nothing new with subcultures it lets us know as marketers and communicators that we might need to engage them differently in order to get the point across.
      • Advertise in local publications that are distributed for free, such as Creative Loafing.
      • Look into advertising at or sponsoring live shows. Contact the cozier local venues about opportunities.

These are the basics, but the options for reaching out to kids are limitless. Has your company successfully reached out to kids with an innovative strategy or creative campaign? If you’d like to share your approach, comment below or write us a guest blog! You’ll be featured right here on the AMA blog site. Email guest blogs to Kristin@ballywhointeractive.com

Sources:

Business Week
The Hipster Handbook
Guarvanomics Blog
AdBusters

Related Posts:

Not in Retail; Consumer Habits Still Matter

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Blog | 1 Comment »

Unwavering Individual Contributions, Key to Chapter Success

Monday, September 13th, 2010

By Colleen Chappell, Immediate Past President, AMA Tampa Bay

The chance to serve as chapter president of an international organization is a once in a lifetime opportunity. As president of the American Marketing Association (AMA) of Tampa Bay, I was able to be a part of growing an organization – while growing my own professional skills.

I began my presidency in the throes of unparalleled economic times. Our chapter risked outpacing our structure with consistent year-over-year membership growth, while chapters across the country were losing rather than gaining strength. In many ways, we faced the perfect storm. It was daunting to take on this leadership role while so many risk variables were simultaneously at play. Now, looking back, the challenge proved to make us all stronger.

I am incredibly proud of the milestone successes we achieved this fiscal year. Some highlights include:

· Adding more new members this year than any year in the history of the organization.

· Winning the international membership drive for all other organizations our size.

· Breaking the 400-member mark for the first time in our chapter’s history.

· Closing the year as the 8th best chapter (out of 75) in member retention.

· Setting new attendance records for both a regularly scheduled and a specialty interest event.

· Most importantly, positioning AMA Tampa Bay as the source and resource for marketing professionals in our area.

How did we do it? In a single word – tenacity! Our board and volunteers harnessed an inner passion to succeed that inspired me as a leader. Being a part of an international volunteer professional organization can be as demanding as a full-time job. It takes extraordinarily strong professionals to put in the quantity and quality of time, passion and strategy it takes to move an organization like this forward. Looking back, the unwavering resolve of each individual contributor was the key to our collective success.

Handing over the reins to Tara Hustedde, our 2010-11 fiscal year president, we are poised for even greater success as we continue to hit the “best in class” bar across the U.S. and Canada.

Tara, if I can pass one thing on to you, it would be to never lose sight of that individual member as we continue to grow. AMA is far more than a professional network; it’s a critical asset to marketing professionals who want to move their careers forward. Best of luck to you and your new leadership team as you take this chapter “Above and Beyond.”

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Blog | 1 Comment »

Save Your Silver Bullets for Slaying Werewolves: Marketing And Marketing Research Require An Arsenal Of Understanding

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

By Jay L. Roth, President, J. L. Roth & Associates, www.jlrothassoc.com

Magic bullets only exist in fairy tales and fantasies. Marketing success requires understanding consumer needs (be they the needs of a business or an individual) and magic bullets remain un-forged.

True understanding comes from listening to and observing people and using empathy and insight to provide them with products, services and experiences that fulfill their needs. Marketing research came into being to help companies gain this understanding, especially as companies grew and became less directly involved with their customers. As eye contact and handshakes became less common, ways were needed to know the markets’ needs.

In recent years a number of “experts” have claimed to have found magic bullets, which provide “THE” path to marketing success or at least are superior to all other paths. These include people, who promote “Net Promoter” as the single question to tell companies what to do to succeed, those who have said its time to be less dependent on information and more frequently use our intuition a la “Blink,” those that say focus groups are dead and promote the ZMET Research Process, those that say online research is the only way to cost effectively conduct marketing research and those that promote “Black Box” models.

My response simply stated – No magic single measure exists and research has proven faults with all of these perspectives. Life isn’t that simple. We must beware of false prophets and any tool a consultant sells, but can’t clearly explain so you understand it. Different research tools (AKA research methods) are needed based on the audiences you are looking to understand and what you are trying to learn.

What is needed is to start at the beginning – a philosophy and the issues needing to be addressed.

If you believe marketing is a business philosophy based on developing products and services that fulfill a consumer’s needs and says it is easier to sell someone something they want/need, then it should be crystal clear we must understand people’s needs so we can satisfy them – make them happy. A corollary to this core principal is businesses are made up of people and therefore everything we say about understanding and fulfilling people’s needs applies to businesses (albeit complicated by the needs of the different people making decisions in the business.) If you disagree with these premises, stop reading now.

When invited to write this guest blog for the AMA, a number of related questions were posed to me:

1. What component/factor do most people overlook when they conduct market research?

2. What mistakes do people make in interpreting/applying their findings?

3. Will online marketing research ever completely replace offline research?

4. How does marketing research influence/correspond to marketing metrics?

The answers to questions 1-3 can be summed up by the following statement — Successful marketing research and marketing require we clearly define the business issues and the key gaps in information which exist. This means we need to understand:

· Our company’s or client’s business and the business issues the company is addressing.

· Who the target audience is – who are you trying to satisfy and make happy. Remember:

About 30% of the population isn’t online – until everyone is online or unless all of your target audience is online, you’ll need alternative ways of collecting information.

About 25% have no land telephone line – if you only call landlines you’ll under represent younger and more mobile people.

· What motivates the company’s/client’s customers to do business with them?

· The competitive frame of reference and how your brand/company fits into the frame of reference.

· The current marketing mix – product, price, promotion and place (and yes the internet is a place)

The biggest mistakes people make, when requesting, conducting and interpreting marketing research, are related to how they define their business issues. Too often people go down the wrong path or get answers to the wrong questions because they haven’t properly defined their business issue. If one defines the business issue incorrectly, the wrong people are asked the wrong questions and the wrong behaviors get observed/measured. The result equals failure to get the guidance needed. Clearly defining the business issues is critical to getting the information needed and assuring the information gained is useful/actionable.

In terms of the question, “How does marketing research influence/correspond to marketing metrics?”

The answer is: The best marketing metrics are those which assure your customers’ needs are fulfilled by your company while also meeting the company’s financial goals. If your marketing research has been conducted so you truly understand your consumers’ needs and you’ve established processes to meet these needs, your metrics should be closely tied to the research. If not, something is awry.

While silver bullets may remain great for killing fictional werewolves, a knowledgeable marketing researcher with a sound grounding in marketing theory and practice owns an arsenal of tools to provide the guidance you need to succeed. Let them help you slay your marketing beasties and fulfill people’s needs so your company lives happily ever after.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Blog | 2 Comments »

Not in Retail? Consumer Habits Still Matter

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Last week, we looked at the results of Deloitte’s annual Back-to-School Shopping survey. Results indicate that, although they’re nowhere near ready for spending freely, consumers have adopted a less pessimistic attitude about their finances. Retailers were especially pleased with this news, since it indicates a fundamental increase in consumers’ willingness to spend money.

But what if you’re not in retail? While the survey results may be interesting, do they really impact you as a marketing professional? Particularly for those in B2B marketing, consumers’ retail spending habits may seem a bit irrelevant, or at least tangential to overall marketing strategy. But any marketing professional can gain insights from these results.

Marketing is about People

We all know our target markets. Your target market could be married women over 50 who own multiple cats—or it could be Fortune 500 companies that need accounting consultants. Either way, a person somewhere is responsible for making the choice to purchase your product or service. Even in the B2B marketplace, where all prospects might fall into disparate demographic categories, the targets are still all people.

Our challenge as marketing professionals is to reach those people with compelling messages that will inspire them to trust us—and ultimately to patronize our businesses. Therefore knowing about consumer habits, attitudes, and preferences makes sense, regardless of your individual industry or focus.

Lessons from Back-to-School Shopping

This year’s trends in shopping indicate not only an increased willingness to spend money, but also an increased use of multimedia to enrich and inform the shopping process. For marketers, this means it’s important to follow the ABC’s of 21st-century marketing:

  • A is for Authenticity: Customers increasingly crave transparency and authenticity from corporations. And that doesn’t mean a corporate blog. Customers want a personal connection with brands and they also want to know that their social networks recommend those brands. Consumers turn to mobile apps and social networks with more and more frequency, looking for reviews, feedback, and recommendations.
  • B is for Balance: That explosion in social media and mobile apps has led many companies into “shiny object marketing,” where they abandon traditional marketing tactics for the Next Big Thing in the marketing universe. But the most successful marketers know that they must maintain a balance of traditional and online marketing strategies if they wish to maintain brand awareness. After all, consumers still watch television, open mail, and read magazines, so it makes no sense to completely discard traditional marketing and advertising practices.
  • C is for Choices: We must always remember that every prospect—and current client—has choices, and those choices are growing ever more accessible. Illustrating point of difference—and taking steps to improve accessibility—are critical for successful marketing. Even components that may seem to have little relation to marketing can work to support marketing efforts. In other words, if you think search engine optimization is just for the IT department, think again. The right SEO and landing pages facilitate prospects’ discovering you online.

What’s your take on how the marketing landscape has changed? How do you believe it will evolve in coming years? Share your opinion with us! If you’d like to write a guest blog, please email Kristin@ballywhointeractive.com.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Market Research | 2 Comments »

Back-to-School Shopping Shows Promise for Marketers

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Students in Hillsborough County head back to school today, wearing new clothes and laden with school supplies. Each year, back-to-school shopping brings a boost to the retail market, and this year, shopper trends may indicate that consumers are ready to spend more freely. For marketers, these new consumer habits can impact marketing decisions—and provide valuable insights about new shopping trends. That’s why Deloitte conducts its annual Back-to-School Shopping Survey each summer. The 2010 results are promising, even for companies that don’t work retail.

Spending Habits

For the first time in years, consumers are exhibiting a more optimistic attitude about their finances. Fewer people intend to trim their shopping budgets this year.

  • 28% plan to spend more on back-to-school shopping than they did in 2009.
  • Only 17% said they’d spend less than they did last year.
  • In 2009, about 90% of people surveyed said that they intended to drastically reduce their back-to-school shopping budgets. This year, only 58% planned to do that.

iShopping

More and more consumers are turning to mobile applications and social networks to inform their purchasing choices.

  • 29% of consumers plan to use mobile apps while they shop: of those, 38% will look for pricing information; 33% will view retailers’ ads; and 30% will search for coupons or other discounts.
  • 29% will also turn to their online social networks before making a purchase: 64% will look for promotions and deals; 26% will read recommendations and reviews; and 42% will browse products.

Store Preferences

Although the drive for the deal still pushes most shoppers, higher-end stores are commanding a greater market share this year than they have in the recent past.

  • 89% plan to shop for most supplies at a discount store.
  • 36% plan to shop at office supply or technology stores.
  • 33% will head to dollar stores, down from 40% in 2009.
  • Last year only 21% said they’d head to department stores, but this year 36% of consumers plan to shop there.
  • 23% will head to specialty stores, up from 17% in 2009.

Although these figures aren’t all rosy, they certainly represent an improvement in spending attitudes and habits. Next week, read how these results can help marketing professionals make the most of their opportunities, even outside the retail arena.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Marketing | 1 Comment »

But We’re the Marketing Department—Why Does Exit Strategy Matter?

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Every successful business begins with an excellent plan, and that plan generally—and should—include an exit strategy. That exit strategy outlines the end goal for the business; for example, do the owners plan to sell it and retire, or expand it to include multiple divisions? Once the exit plan is determined, every aspect of the business should align with attaining that goal.

Why Exit Strategy Matters

While the exit strategy might be easier to ascertain at self-owned or small businesses, even the largest companies are steered by some exit strategy. The marketing professional’s job is to investigate that strategy, and then find a way to support that strategy with marketing tactics. This task seems to present a challenge to marketers, who may feel more comfortable marketing products, instead of long-term plans.

But really, marketing to support the exit strategy requires thinking about what potential investors would look for if they were seeking to get involved with a business:

  • A clearly defined long-term vision, with the short- and long-term goals to accomplish that vision
  • A sense of confidence in the long-term viability of the business endeavor
  • An infrastructure that can support measured, methodical growth and can be scaled to fit that growth over time
  • A compelling product or service that anticipates and meets the needs of intended customers

Aligning Marketing with Exit Strategy

All these factors boil down to trust and reliability. In the end, that’s the same thing that consumers are looking for—and what qualified marketers work to establish every day. This also means that at every turn, the marketer isn’t only addressing potential customers, but also potential investors, using a very similar approach. The key is to approach every customer-business interaction as a potential “marketing moment.” Consider these factors as you look to align your marketing efforts with your company’s exit strategy:

  • Color and style: Colors evoke emotion, so it’s critical to make sure that you’re evoking the intended emotion. Meanwhile the style of lettering and layout should also look polished and professional. Simply rearranging elements on the page to make them “flow” better visually give a better sense of the company. Even the logo sends a message about the company.
  • Tone: From word choice to grammar, every written element of a marketing piece communicates volumes. Even punctuation contributes to overall impression. Choose words that have the right connotations, that is, words that remind readers or viewers of trust, longevity, and innovation. And stay away from too many exclamation points!
  • Focus: In this age of “shiny object marketing,” it can be easy to proceed scattershot into the realm of social marketing or the latest direct mail tactics. Investors will pick up on subtle signs of consistency, so it’s important to evaluate the best way to use any new strategy, so that it fits seamlessly and intuitively with the overall marketing plan and business objectives.

Ultimately, considering the exit strategy in all marketing decisions is simply another way of evaluating the appropriateness of any given marketing venture. It shouldn’t replace other measures of evaluation, nor dominate that process. Rather, the exit strategy represents another layer of that onion that marketing professionals must peel away as part of the campaign development process.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Marketing | No Comments »