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Marketing Trends for 2007
Getting a Grasp on User-Generated Content,
BRIC & More
There has never been a more exciting time to be a marketer. In recent years, advances in technology have changed the way people communicate—forever altering the marketing landscape. In the American Marketing Association’s “Future Options” issue of Marketing News (Jan 2007) the following predilections were observed about the marketing industry in 2007:
Marketers in the future will do their jobs differently and hire staff with new skill sets that broaden the definition of creativity. Non-traditional hires will shake up the way agencies view the creative and account process. -Dana Anderson, DDB Chicago
Researchers will use a psychoanalytic approach instead of past behaviors to determine how consumers are likely to respond to products or services.
-Bob Skonlnick, Synovate, North America
User-Generated Content (UGC) on the Internet has surged as blogs, social networking and video content sites have grown. Before jumping on the UGC bandwagon, consider the fact that UGC advertising ranks low on the trust scale (23%). The good news is advertising on corporate web sites, news and media sites is still considered trustworthy.
In the future, companies from BRIC ( Brazil, Russia, India & China) will be the next global challengers. -Rohit Deshpande, Harvard Business School
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“We’ve gone through an era of ‘consumer is king’. The next era is if you have 5 million consumers, you have 5 million kings—so there’s a move away from an archetype consumer.”
“I see marketing analytics in the future totally different than the big crowd that is focusing on ROI. If you try to analyze marketing programs with ROI, you will do exactly the wrong thing. It’s a question of developing strategy that has the objective of building a brand. Numbers will never tell you what to do, but they will be helpful in making better decisions.”
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Marketer Profile
Nicole Gray,
VTM, Inc.
Current job/position: Director, Initiatives Management Group, VTM, Inc. a global marketing, communications and consulting firm serving successful companies and influential industry initiatives worldwide.
Main job responsibility: Leader of business unit responsible for managing high-tech standard associations.
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First marketing (or marketing-related) job: PR Coordinator, Imark Communications
My marketing mentor: Sandra Thomas, my mother and retired corporate intelligence/market research guru.
What I like most about being a marketer: Everyday you get to experience something new in this industry – it is ever evolving.
What I like least about being a marketer: The ups and downs of the industry as a whole. Marketing is always the first to get impacted in a downsize.
Marketing trend I am happy to see gone: Telemarketing. With the onset of the ‘Do Not Call’ List, telemarketing is soon becoming a thing of the past.
My favorite tag line: Portland General Electric, “We Do This Everyday.” It is a simple tag line that displays ease and confidence.
If I had to sell marketing as a profession to teenagers—my message/value statement would be: Marketing is a timeless and ever-evolving industry where you can experience more diversity in one day than you ever thought possible.
Newest marketing trend to watch: “My Space”, it is everywhere…
First choice for a new career: I would never leave the marketing industry; it is too dynamic and fun. |
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Local Marketing Scene
What's Hot in Market Research for 2007
Mike Riley has been in the market research business for more than 25 years. He’s worked with just about every industry—from political polls, to consumer surveys. These days, Riley Research Associates have been doing a significant amount of research for companies in the healthcare industry. Working with each company, ad and PR agencies, Mike helps his clients understand what their customers’ perceptions and opinions are, and how to use this information to develop strategic marketing initiatives.
We recently caught up with Mike at an AMA Oregon meeting, and we asked him about the big trends in market research for 2007.
“I’ve seen a recent shift away from traditional forms of information collection such as telephone surveys,” Mike said. “People have more cell phones and fewer landlines than in the past. The decision-makers are more difficult to reach, and they are often so over-saturated with telemarketing calls that they are hesitant to take the time for a telephone survey.”
"Executives and influencers inside companies are more elusive than ever. Better-trained gatekeepers and corporate policies that limit survey participation can make information gathering time-consuming."
Mike was quick to point out the good news:
There are more opt-in polling options available which allow researchers to reach people who are willing to participate in surveys. It is very important to have a clear profile of the target audience and use web-based surveys that offer a cross-section of people (not just the more vocal “squeaky wheel” zealots who have a passion for the subject.)
Better lists are available for targeted research—the best results are achieved with lists of people who consider themselves "members" of a group (consumers of a specific product/service, patients of certain medical services, associations etc.)
Busy executives can be reached through a more personal approach. Networking, referral and one-on-one contact work best. Many influencers are willing to participate if they are asked by the right person.
To gather information from a larger audience, nothing beats going to the source. Mike’s research team uses person-to-person research on location where the target group is located. Observation, brief verbal surveys, and choreographed conversations allow researchers to gather highly qualitative information.
“If I had to pin down the biggest trend of the year, it would be the increased use of the localized hands-on technique of 1:1 research,” said Mike. “It’s quite different than traditional methods, but the results are astounding.”
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Hard Sell | TriMet's Plans for Attracting People Downtown During the 2-Year Reconstruction Project
It’s every marketer’s nightmare—being asked to promote a product that’s going through huge public upheaval. For the core marketing team at TriMet, the challenge is big, but nothing new.
“We realize that marketing is messy,” said Drew Blevins, Director of Marketing for TriMet. “We’ve been through other large construction projects in the past, and that has helped us in planning for these new challenges."
With a marketing budget that is a fraction of the overall TriMet annual budget, Drew and his team must get creative to get the word out to riders and the public in general.
“The marketing team was brought into the planning process earlier than usual due to the scope of the project,” said Drew. “With the added time, we were able to develop strategies, communicate with stakeholders, and build critical partnerships that have really made a positive difference.”
A marketing campaign was developed to educate the public, encourage ridership, and promote the downtown during construction as the Portland Mall undergoes a much-needed facelift. “The Next Big Thing” has and will use a variety of methods to keep messages fresh and relevant over the next three years. Direct mail, community outreach, public events, bus signs, radio & TV are all part of the advertising mix.
“We have three main audiences for this campaign: riders, employers, and the shopping public. We need to leverage our resources and be
exceptionally
creative. From a marketing perspective, TriMet is in a good position because we have high visibility, incredible partnerships, and a loyal (and growing) customer base.”
Drew has worked in private and other non-profit jobs, and TriMet is the by far the most rewarding.
“My family and I moved to Seattle for awhile,” he said, “They have nothing like Portland for public transit. It wasn’t until we moved away that I realized how important this aspect of a city is to me—how much it impacts the livability of Portland. We’re on the cutting edge. It’s ever-changing, always evolving, and I love it that way!” |
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