News flash: You don’t get to decide who buys your product. Sure you can do everything your budget will allow to research consumers, talk to them in their own dialect, figure out what motivates them, and use every medium to get your message out. But in the end you have to cross your fingers and hope.
Which is what makes a stunt like this so remarkable and yet so frightening to marketers. Every day in marketing offices and ad agencies around the world conversations about consumers are happening. They’re just not so mean-spirited. We talk to death about who we want to buy our product. We just don’t usually articulate who we don’t want to buy it.
But calculate and strategize and plan as best as we can (New Coke), success is always in the hands of the buying public. And that’s marketing in a nutshell. You do the work and then wait and hope you haven’t somehow sabotaged something. And sometimes it’s easy to forget that success and the public are fickle and that our own arrogance and complacency can get in the way.
The recent meetings between the presidents of the United States and Mexico got me thinking again about my trip to Mexico City just a week earlier. I was thankful to have seen real business in action on the ground level outside political halls while the presidents pontificated on the continued importance of maintaining strong trade relationships and “bonds” with each other. It reminded me that despite political framework; people in business will find a way to deliver to consumers what they need and want regardless.
My name is Mical Bailey and I am a sophomore at Trinity University. Coming into KGBTexas as an intern I did not quite know what to expect. Was I about to walk into the stereotypical internship where a day’s work consists of grabbing coffee and clerical duties?
Luckily, the answer to that question was, “no.” I was immediately welcomed and thrown into the fire with the advertising staff. In the weeks I have been here, I have been able to lead or provide input on a few projects helping me build a strong portfolio.
One of the things I like about working at KGBTexas is they really try to make an effort for interns to feel like they are a part of the team. To that point they had me plan an “unsanctioned” KGBFiesta event. They also make sure each intern is getting the most out of each opportunity. They do this by personally interacting one on one and helping mold each individual into a better business person.
A recent report by Rent.com ranked Houston as the top city for new college graduates. We have proof of that. Her name is Katherine McDonnell, though she goes by Kat.
Kat graduated from the University of Texas in December with a degree in public relations. She is now the new account coordinator in the Houston office of KGBTexas.
“I was specifically looking for jobs in Houston,” Kat said. “A lot of my friends moved here after graduation.”
We live in a digital world and must be thinking about how to interact with our audience in new and inventive ways. Traditional marketing/advertising will not go away, but we should be coupling these campaigns with interactive and user-friendly experiences. No matter the audience, their time is valuable and they expect the buying process to be easy and seamless.
Think of automotive and retail segments. Buyers are doing their research and purchasing more online. An interactive experience online is an approach that pulls at the heartstrings of consumers and offers convenient and fast approach to brick and mortar stores. Brands such as Warby Parker have coupled their online experiences with their home try-on service. Smart, effective and valuable to time conscience consumers. Free-standing stores need to continually think about how to capture consumers as they shop. Popup banners and “buy one at regular prince, get the second 50 percent off” approaches are just not enough.
