Keeping Pace: The Evolution of Marketing and Branding

In the digital space, the world of marketing and branding is constantly changing. New technology developments are prompting companies to take a fresh look at the ways they reach and interact with their vendors and customers.

The 2.0 world is evolving rapidly, creating new promotions and marketing opportunities such as RSS feeds, podcasting, blogging, talking avatars and widgets everywhere.

Rule #1, change is constant
The language, roadmap, and delivery methods have changed. In the land of Marketing 2.0, users interact with online content by creating their own sites or blogs; posting user-created content on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and YouTube; interacting with others socially or professionally; and publishing content, such as the article you’re reading right now.

Marketers can see that critical mass has caught up and even surpassed traditional business-to-business sales and marketing. As business marketers, it is now our turn to create fast-paced, engaging and valuable content for end users. What makes this new world of content creators tick? It’s all about “ME.”

Keeping up with the “ME” Economy
Change is constant. We are now, more than ever, on the 24/7plan. It is a “ME” marketplace, where users can choose their content, channel and platform via instant access to unlimited distribution channels. Your potential audience has complete control of how, when, what and where they get the content that they choose to receive. That means it’s tougher than ever to thread the marketing needle. Marketing to “ME” is a “Catch Me If You Can” universe. And once your marketing message is caught, it had better deliver. Talking to the “ME” generation must be one-to-one and on each person’s preferred device—desktop, laptop or mobile.

Here are some strategic points to ponder for keeping up with the one-to-one “ME” marketplace.

Multiple access points or “gateways” to products and services:
Amazon was the first to accomplish this concept via millions of relevant affiliate sites and links. Now custom digital sampling is available for all marketers to offer product and services via Web 2.0 and to deliver one-to-one messaging across multiple channels.

Content should be available across multiple platforms allowing the end user to choose what, how and where they will consume the content offerings. The two fastest growing areas are interactivity/dynamic usage (think RSS feeds and online content) and user-created content, such as MySpace and YouTube, or podcasts. Instant Messaging? Think “instant marketing.”

Mainstream media simply cannot keep pace with the instant options available today. Viral has proven time and time again it can leap frog over traditional news outlets, whether viewers are interested in the daily weather or a catastrophic natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina. Twitter and other social networking sites were the first to report the collapse of the I-35 Bridge in Minneapolis.

Marketers take note. You can weave messaging into widgets and other ‘digital premiums’ that offer communication for “ME” on my time and for the subjects that “ME” and my friends (and business colleagues) make a priority. Creating the channels for users to create and work within B-to-B blogs, for example, can become an online café for users to hang out and share information. Creating a user friendly (and valuable) environment further enhances the objectives of marketers’ and users alike.

Create value.
Dynamic content is what the “ME” marketplace has become accustomed to—especially because of the ability to so easily create user-generated content. As a marketer, your site cannot be tired and stagnant. Think widgets. Unlike traditional video (i.e. TV), and even YouTube, widgets are dynamic, extremely current and have linkability to get materials immediately and on-demand. Adding value can mean providing companion files or other downloads that the user finds of importance and saves the user time such as traffic feeds and weather updates.

Content is still king.
Claiming to “Go Digital” is not a sufficient strategy, as traditional digital is now as much of a shotgun approach as throwing a Billboard up on the Sunset Strip. Your marketing must include a pull strategy, as today it’s now about one-to-one communication. “ME” simply do not want to be a target, they want the control. They want to be the director of their very own personal news retrieval service. It’s about how to get these individuals—whether they are part of your B-to-B or B-to-C strategy—to pull your content. Focus on vertical information as opposed to general news to allow the “ME” audience to pick and choose their news and place at the top of their feeds (i.e. RSS) or add widgets to their very personal desktops and portable storage devices. Deliver on the promise of valuable content and you will build a one-to-one bond that simply can’t be purchased.

Bottom line, adding value to the customer or potential customer is what today’s marketing is all about. Giving content of value builds relationships. The answer is no longer simply giving away a promotional pen or a calendar. It’s about giving away an ongoing flow of targeted information your customers can use every day. If not, they will make new relationships—because it’s all about “ME.”

Ron Friedman is CEO of Flash By Design, a division of PTI Corp. Contact him at [email protected].