Who doesn’t know what a “Soccer Mom” is…But have you heard of an “Old New Dad”? A new segment of the market has emerged that has been grossly over looked. If you don’t believe me I would strongly advise checking out this lecture:  

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hifihRzPevE

( I hope this is right, utube is blocked)

Not only does this fella make a good point about advertising getting exponentially younger while the majority of the population is getting older, but he identifies a new market segment of men who are having their first child well past the age of 35. He also says these dads are spending their Saturdays playing sports with their friends. Now, how does this all fit in to an idea of the day? If I was someone like Nike, who, let’s face it, is not exactly known for it’s “lifestyle gear” (enter everything that is cool about Puma)…I would perhaps consider positioning myself to be the “cool” choice for these old dads. They after all, are still out there having fun, spending lot’s-o-money on sporting goods and might resent doing it in a bright orange checkered hoodie with skulls on it. Gold and diamonds just screams weekend touch football. My guess is that like most men, they still want to feel that they haven’t lost their cool at 40 (probably why they are out there playing touch football to begin with). Thought: Nike should play up the cool factor of being an old dad that doesn’t lose his cool, reaching a much larger market segment, not having to directly compete with Puma and Addis lifestyle brands…pumping the high performance gear we have come to love them for.  40 can be cool too.

I took an intensive colour theory class in my first year of Ryerson Fashion. One of the more interesting classes was a project where the student had free reign over a colour-aid collage. Use any paper colour combo you want and post it on the board. One would have expected a pretty impressive variety given the strong individual personalities in design. Turns out, not so much. The end result of the project was not only a pattern in the colours that where chosen by the students but that individuals tend to gravitate to colours that fall into their personal colour pallets (spring, summer, fall and winter). So if you are a spring, you are naturally attracted to spring-like colours. Explains my attachment to lime green. What is the point of post? I wondering if the fashion industry and even advertising agencies use this knowledge and match it up with some basic demographics. Skin, hair, and eye colour determine what pallet you’ll be. If one can look for pockets of people with similar physical distinctions I wonder if you can create lines of products that have a more colorful appeal.  Just a thought…

Fleeting idea for the day:

If you’re producing themed content on a weekly basis, for example a weekly tax tip, why not set up a hidden blog for that section of your webpage? It seems to be a great way to reach people who might be searching for that category of content. You can disable comments and, like CNN’s political ticker it can still resemble your template (I assume?). Instead of relying on people to make it to your webpage and sign-up for your RSS feed, it would be a slightly more of a push… 

Thoughts to myself…Today I was reading about helicopter parents, a study that said that generation Y prefers to have them involved in their lives. http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/05/08/helicopter-parents-challenge-our-assumptions-about-rank-and-class/So, my thought for today for professional service firms (as I tend to think about solutions for work) is: Why not invite the parents to the first round of interviews? It seems to me this would alleviate the stress of an initial interview for CA students (math majors may not be the most social people), but more importantly it allows you to “market” the company to the parents. I wager they have a pretty big say on where their child will end up. With parent-friendly interviews you are not relying the student to “telephone game” your company information. For instance, the student might be more interested in the flexibility of hours for their yoga class and might leave out the great opportunitys for diverse career devolpment – an issue, it seems that would be important to a parent.

Cover Essay:  

“We must now reach beyond the traditional roles of awareness and driving traffic and extend our selves to the more intimate world of sales and customer relations…”

Standard marketing messaging doesn’t work anymore. Understanding the “What’s in it for me?” focus in your customer will determine your success. Is your content trying to convince people to buy your product by pushing information? Or, is it pulling them in by answering their key purchase questions? Success will come to companies that understand that costumers want things complicated, they want information in a format that they can evaluate. Sales result from customers being able to see value in the material that specifically applies to them. Marketing is moving from the service provider convincing consumers of what they want to consumers telling producers what they need and will tolerate.

Self proclaimed experts (bloggers, peer review websites) are telling us what to buy, and we trust their opinions. Why? They have no reason to lie. These influencers aren’t trying sell the product they are simply offering their opinions. Are you reaching them?

An understanding of conversational marketing and social marketing offers you an advantage. Most companies are still focused on controlling the brand message. A shift to learning from your customer via their honest opinions and feedback, being flexible enough to withstand some negative feedback and realizing that your product is organic and can, based on these suggestions become ever improving and ever more valuable to your customers.

What Should You Do?

Test your content. Are you offering something that will appeal to the “what’s in it for me” customer?

Be flexible. Let go of the fear of always being in control of the content that is out there.

Offer up something that is not contrived, that is believable and that has value.

Start a dialogue with your customers

What Mix Should Be Considered?

Transactional E-mail Marketing

Blogging

Podcasting

Viral Marketing

Interactive Marketing

Social Marketing

Search Engine Marketing: Pay-per-click

Search Engine Marketing: Optimization

E-mail marketing: Non-transactional

ECRM – Electronic customer relationship management

With the new line of mobile devices touting peer podcasts and browser settings that offer instant credibility-checks based on fellow consumer reviews, along with the creation of the most powerful voting tool ever created, the “back button,” a move away from in-your-face messaging to a demonstrated understanding of your clients needs has become imperative. Companies now not only require an understanding of the risk of not being in control of how the masses process and interpret your messaging, but they can make significant gains by knowing how to leverage this perceived threat and turn it into an advantage for a company.

The “What’s in it for you” portion of this cover-essay, is gaining someone that has a solid understanding conversational marketing trends, four years in media marketing of a professional service firm and who compliments her knowledge of new media with a solid creative background in art direction, graphic and web design. 

Sincerely

Jennifer Stubbs

Summary

A dedicated and resourceful professional with a background in graphic design, project management and new media initiatives, looking for a challenging role that merges creative development with effective marketing practices.

An excellent team player, leader, problem-solver, and communicator with an approachable personality.

Technical Skills

Software: Adobe Photoshop CS, Adobe Illustrator CS, Adobe InDesign, QuarkXpress 6.5, Macromedia Flash MX, and Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office Applications (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook)

Relevant Work Experience

BDO Dunwoody LLP, Toronto, Ontario [National Accounting Firm]

New Media Specialist 2007 – present

• Lead designer and content manager of national website (www.bdo.ca) redesign launching March 30th. Integrated internal graphic design department, programmers, and management on new media projects. Creation of holiday flash eCards campaign accessed by 3,000 associates yearly. Created e-brochures, advertisements and web standards. Monitored national online activities. Managed and update bi-monthly targeted e-newsletter campaign. Researched, presented, executed web 2.0 strategies including introducing RSS feeds, recruitment Facebook groups, heuristic website assessment. Currently designing and promoting SmallBusiness wiki that has attracted support from CIBC, Gowlings, and Xerox. Solid understanding of SEO best practices, one to many conversational marketing, and new content distribution channels.
  

National Marketing Co-ordinator 2006 – 2007

• Consulted with external media designers to ensure outsourced projects maintained BDO’s brand consistency and met project deadlines.

Graphic Designer 2004 – 2006

• Managed production of 2005 and 2006 Recruitment Campaigns, including an interactive Flash CD and brochure, and designed supporting elements such as PowerPoint presentations, letterhead and invitations. The material has been requested by over 100 schools nationwide to educate students about career opportunities at BDO.

• Liaised with printers, illustrators, graphic designers, photographers and internal clients to ensure accurate delivery of logos, publications, and support materials in a deadline-driven environment.

• Responsible for layout and production of Annual Statements, hundreds of national ads, partner announcements, national brochures and newsletter templates, ensuring timely and accurate delivery.

• Created flyers, billboards, letterhead, display panels and fact sheets to promote the Firm’s activities, monitoring each element for branding consistency.

Ontario March of Dimes, Toronto, Ontario [Non-Profit Organization]

Marketing Coordinator 2003 – 2004

• Directed the production of marketing materials for the company’s two national programs (Stroke Recovery Canada and PoliO’Canada®) with a view to increase awareness of the campaigns.

• Organized special events including golf tournaments, gala dinners and launch parties, accommodating special requests and adapting quickly to last-minute changes.

Education

Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario

Bachelor of Design– Fashion Communication April 2003

Service Marketing Management Diploma Ongoing

Member: Canadian Marketing Association – Digital Marketing Oct 2007

DPA Communications, Toronto, Ontario

Advanced PowerPoint September 2006

Adobe InDesign CS June 2005

Advanced QuarkXpress January 2005

Macromedia Flash December 2004