I like the commercials being put out by Apple. I like them well enough that I watch them rather than changing channels. I’m not in the market for a Mac. But due to the fact that I am willing to watch their commercials, it is more likely that I will hear something at some point that is compelling to me.

So how do you ensure that I hear a message about your product when I need to? By being sure that I am willing to listen to your message even when I don’t need it.

Want to know some sites that I read regularly, and derive value from? Well, let me through out some of the less obvious ones:
Jason Alba at Jibber Jobber

Rob Merrill at UtahTechJobs

Yahoo

There are lots of others, but I wanted to throw these three out. Looking at these you might ask yourself why I am interested in help finding a job… I’m not. But that’s the key… I am reading the sites because I derive value and enjoyment from them… even though I am not in the market for their products or services. Both Jibber Jobber and Utah Tech Jobs talk about relationships, and their importance, and say it in unique ways that resonate.

What about Yahoo? Everyone is all about Google now. Don’t get me wrong, I love google, and I use Google… but everyone now and then I like to search on Yahoo because it shows me other cool stuff. I derive other value than just searching.

That’s the key to keep people coming back again and again. Sure, you want them to hear you or see you when they are looking for exactly the value proposition that you are calling out. But give them more than that. Build relationships with people, even if they are not your target. One day they might be, or they might know someone who is.

This is true in every industry. If you develop materials use to build buildings, then put on free events once or twice a year where local builders can come and hear all of the cool news tips/tricks/products about building. Make it an event that people will want to come to even if they are not in the market for your product. Give them value and they will keep coming back. Then, they will already be there, and know you when they are in the market for what you offer.

Marketing need to do more than just shove their value points down my throat. They need to make me smile, or think. Otherwise I have already hit another webpage, deleted the email, or changed channels.

I Just HAD to pass along this tidbit from the main Twelve Horses Blog:

This hilarious parody, entitled “The Couple”, pokes fun at the disconnect that currently exists between traditional advertising and today’s consumers.

There is definitely a need for change within the industry as advertisers continue to view their audience as a statistic or dollar opportunity instead of forging meaningful relationships that will benefit all those involved.

“You’re saying you love me but you’re not behaving like you love me. It’s not genuine.”

The world needs more genuine advertising.

When putting together Marketing content, the brass ring we all reach for is the real connection.  Something that grabs the reader/watcher/consumer, and sucks them in.  One of the hardest parts of trying to do this can be realizing what you are really selling.

That may sound odd, but think for a moment.  What do Mountain Dew commercials sell?  If your answer was soda pop you would be wrong.  The commercials are selling hip, and young, and edgy.  They are selling risk taking.  you will never see a Mountain Dew commercial do a taste test against another soda because they are not selling great taste.  They know that their consumer wants to feel a little cooler, a little freer, and when they grab a Dew instead of a Sprite they do.

Similarly, if your product is high quality pasta dinners in freezer bags that you can pull out and warm up in minutes you have to ask yourself what you are really selling.  It’s not pasta, peas or baby carrots.  The real reasons people buy, the real deliverable is a happy family, a happy spouse, the appearance of being on top of things.  That is the message your adds and pictures should convey.

Don’t be too wordy in your message.  Make the pictures, the colors, the flow, and the mood of your add invoke an empathic response from the consumer as much as you can.

Ask yourself the normal marketing questions: What are my key value propositions; what differentiates me from my competitors; but also ask yourself:  What does the consumer of this content like to believe about them self.  If you have a product for sales and marketing people make it look professional if appropriate, but also make it look aggressive, edgy, hip, energetic.  Sales and Marketing people love to believe this about themselves.  It’s what they want to feel, what they want to convey.

Who is your market?  What are you really selling?  What should your customers feel like after they benefit from you and what you have to offer?

So I just got back from vacation in Norway for two weeks (wonderful experience BTW), and was completely slammed with stuff that needed to be done. Once I spent a week mowing through the backlog, I am now three weeks out from when I last wrote anything for this blog. It got me to thinking…

Have you ever noticed that the things that are never really a fire, never really urgent, seem to be the ones that sneak up later and bite you in the butt? Things like exercise, spending time with you kids, telling your spouse how much they mean to you.

I think marketing can often fall into this same trap. Sure, you market when you have a new product release, or some new flashy doodad that you want to make sure everyone knows about. But if you have not laid a consistent groundwork, you can find yourself stepping out onto your balcony to cry your exciting news out to…
no one… no one is there, because no one knows or cares who you are.