A World Without Marketing

Why did you first decide to study marketing? For most of us, it was the decision to expand our knowledge and curiosity about the marketing world, and one day to have a career in this field. Can you image what a world without marketing would look like?

There would be no personality! Giving a company a personality is important in marketing. With the help of integrated marketing communications, direct marketing, and market research, companies are able to grow their own personalities for their consumers. Without marketing, the world would be so plain and little competition would exist. 

Nothing would be memorable! The main purpose of creating a company personality is so the company is memorable. Being able to have consumers acknowledge the advertising efforts a part from the millions of other messages is what makes it memorable. This will ensure that consumers, both current and new, all know that the company is still around and happy to fulfill their needs.  

Marketing is a long-term investment! Marketing is not just something that happens when a company first starts; it's something that is continuous. Prime examples of companies that invested are Coca-Cola, Apple, and McDonald's  Though all of these companies are successful, they're continuously using marketing to continue to reinforce the branding they have created.

Being able to listen, react, and create is the most important part of marketing! Marketing is a conversation that is constantly going back and forth between the company and its customers. With the help of social media this conversation has never been easier for consumers to communicate their opinions. Being able to listen to consumer responses and, react to them is the sign of a successful company.  

The world would be such a different place if there was no marketing! When being part of the Humber OCMC team, one must acknowledge how important marketing is to the business world. One must also understand the value marketers contribute in the success of a company. With the weekly advice from coaches the Humber OCMC team is one step closer to competing at the Windsor event on November 21-22. The sky is the limit.     

Can You Keep Up With Digital Marketing?

The digital era is well under way, and it’s now up to you to keep up with it! Every day we are introduced to new marketing statistics and data that show us just how significant social networking has become.  Many of our students are Millennial’s- products of the baby boom also known as “Gen Y’s” and this puts them at the center of this new trend in technology.  The internet has become the center of most media consumption for the Millennial age group and this presents significant opportunities for us as marketers.

A snip from a demographic profile released by the eMarketer in March suggests that over 90% of this age group is online and almost as many of them are using social networking sites.  If you haven’t seen the info you can check it out here @ http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008382.

So what does this mean for the digital era, and how significant really is this information?  The increases in social media consumption are clear to me as I sit in the middle of this age group.  But while many are actively part of this social networking trend, there are still plenty that have accounts that remain dormant and unused.  While older generations remain skeptical to the security and privacy of social media- younger millennial’s tend to embrace the concept, using the networks to share tastes and preferences and furthermore as a platform for opportunities.  

Businesses are still learning how to use social media in a way that can create opportunities and boost credibility- many have done well, some have failed miserably, and others are just not there yet. This is where we see the shift in digital marketing beginning, as certain businesses solidify their presence in online and digital marketing others find themselves becoming left behind.  An interesting question arises, what will happen when one the most powerful cities in the world goes digital and according to a new TechCrunch article- New York City is looking to be that city sooner than later.  Check out the post here @ http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/16/ny-digital-city-road-map-2011/.

Interestingly enough, there is one social networking site that has however had an impact on older generations.  LinkedIn has produced several studies that show that older generations (like boomer’s) have found benefit in the LinkedIn network as a place to both find opportunities and showcase their achievements.  A recently published infographic suggests that the demographic on LinkedIn is dominated by the age groups of 25-34 and 35-54; a likely result of the professional image of the network.  The data also suggests that the major industries on LinkedIn are in Tech, finance and manufacturing- check it out below or @ http://www.vincos.it/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/state-of-linkedin-0311.png

       

To gain a better insight on the growth of LinkedIn in Canada I looked to a QuantCast traffic report to see what kind of increases had occurred.  The numbers were impressive showing users had almost doubled since January, and have not stopped growing at that rate since! So if you haven’t made the step into social media, a great place to start may be LinkedIn- and while you’re there don’t forget to become a member of our Humber OCMC 2011 Group @ http://linkd.in/ffJCkG .  To see the full Quantcast report, check it out here@ http://www.quantcast.com/linkedin.com?country=CA#traffic .