By Michael Palmer
I'm not in the market for a RV, so no matter how great an RV advertisement, I'm going to ignore it. I don't care. But there are people who do, so of course target them. And don't we all know by this point that narrow casting is more efficient than mass advertising. Come on, we marketers have to push back and let the world know that we get this message, that we are in fact not blind mice still chasing the farmers wife.
What then is important? I think social currency. Russ Klein, Burger King's CMO, introduced me to this concept at the ANA's Masters of Marketing meeting. Its the ability of marketing to get the right audience talking about your product. Its the ability to get those you want to love your brand so much that they tell others, bring brand references into their conversations, that they relate their brand experiences to others. The Burger King King has become a new personality relevant enough to be the subject of hallway conversations. He has become cool, so then are the products and brands with which he is associated. What are people doing - they're telling stories. And it is the practice of story telling that can truly bring a brand alive.
So I say to all the marketing pundits and consultants - get over it. We know relevance is important. What we have to learn is how to tell our story so that those who care, will tell others. Then in the words of Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, we have built a lovemark.
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