I was watching television the other night, and a
commercial for FreeCreditScore.com came on.
The commercial, in an almost self-deprecating manner, said that viewers
who had ideas for improving their company’s commercials could go to their
website and either create their own commercial or simply suggest a better way
to attract consumers with television commercials. It felt like a cheap ploy to me – why are
people like me doing their marketing department’s work?
The marketing literature suggests that new
entrepreneurs must embrace new forms of engagement that technology
enables. Companies can gather data
faster and more accurately than ever before.
New methods for targeting consumers, such as
mobile/geographic-positioning capabilities, new customer engagement strategies,
and better customer profiling, have redrawn the boundaries of what marketing
dollars can achieve.
Despite my first impression, it would seem as if there is a great deal of genius behind the write-your-own-commercial move. It provides a window for the company to see into the minds of consumers outside of industry reports and demographic segmentation. Using a consumer’s own words, a company can create a more accessible image while refining their marketing strategies to emerging tastes. Who knows – a better television strategy could emerge as a result of such an invitation.
For my own start-up, I realized that I viewed the stories behind student debt as a burden to tell. These are very difficult stories to tell; the mother who lost her home after backing her child’s student loan would likely come off as a melodramatic way to market our social mission. I was concerned that my company would not embrace an effective medium to tell those stories without instilling an equal degree of hopefulness for our solutions.
The readings completely changed my perspective on who and how should tell our company’s story. Debt is a deeply personal issue, and individuals might best communicate the burdens that debt presents as well as the benefits of my company’s work. Instead of our story being a burden, we should take a page from companies like FreeCreditScore.com, Match.com and others to give students a platform to tell their own stories.
Are there emerging marketing strategies that may greatly benefit your business?
Despite my first impression, it would seem as if there is a great deal of genius behind the write-your-own-commercial move. It provides a window for the company to see into the minds of consumers outside of industry reports and demographic segmentation. Using a consumer’s own words, a company can create a more accessible image while refining their marketing strategies to emerging tastes. Who knows – a better television strategy could emerge as a result of such an invitation.
For my own start-up, I realized that I viewed the stories behind student debt as a burden to tell. These are very difficult stories to tell; the mother who lost her home after backing her child’s student loan would likely come off as a melodramatic way to market our social mission. I was concerned that my company would not embrace an effective medium to tell those stories without instilling an equal degree of hopefulness for our solutions.
The readings completely changed my perspective on who and how should tell our company’s story. Debt is a deeply personal issue, and individuals might best communicate the burdens that debt presents as well as the benefits of my company’s work. Instead of our story being a burden, we should take a page from companies like FreeCreditScore.com, Match.com and others to give students a platform to tell their own stories.
Are there emerging marketing strategies that may greatly benefit your business?
Source:
The One Thing You Must Get Right When Building a Brand (Barwise and Meehan,
Harvard Business Review,
December 2010)
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