| Join Our List
|
|
|
|
| December 2010 | |  End of the Decade
This has been a momentous decade, not only for our country and economy, but for me personally. Ten years ago, I was employed at a public relations company in New York. The economy was chugging along--for a few more months, anyway--and we had just been through a traumatic presidential election that was finally settled by a decision of the Supreme Court.
Whew! I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Luckily, change does not scare me; I generally view it as an opportunity. The changes I made nine years ago have yielded tremendous benefits, not the least of which has been meeting so many terrific and talented people through networking and the various professional organizations with which I've been involved.
So Happy New Year, and New Decade, everyone! May you grab onto the speeding train we call Time and make the most of it!
|
|
Everything Is Marketing | | Lessons I Learned In Poland
Some places have beaches. Some have architecture. Some have history. How do you market a place that, until about 20 years ago, was behind the Iron Curtain? How do you market a place from which millions of people fled, and which they could not forget soon enough, to a US audience? Not only has Poland developed and enhanced a tourist-friendly infrastructure (hotels, restaurants, museums, transportation), but they grabbed onto the growing interest in geneology and promoted services to assist Americans in finding their Polish roots. I first discovered this while surfing LinkedIn. I noticed an ad for a Polish tourism site and clicked on it, just out of curiosity. On their site I noticed a section on Geneology Tours. I clicked on that. The resulting information gave flight to my imagination and made my dream of visiting the places from which part of my family had emigrated realizable. I had very few expectations of finding any family, or even concrete traces of my family because most of them left 125 years ago; and most of the rest perished during WW2. Tomacz Cebulski, founder of Polin Travel ( www.jewish-guide.pl), knew the area and the specific towns from which my great-greats had come, very well. He searched birth and marriage records before we went, and we discovered some relatives we never knew about. Moreover, he gave us an idea of what life may have been like when they lived there--the picture above is an example of the kind of house in which they might have lived. He answered one of my burning questions: why did they leave? Most people figure their families left because of economics and religious or political freedom. That's largely true in my case, but what came out is that the tipping point was...MARKETING! Yes, that's right. Marketing. It seems that the market for steam ship tickets in Germany had tapped out just around the time the railroads came through Galicia (Southern Poland, which was controlled by Austria at the time). So the ship agents came through the area, which was quite poor at the time, selling The American Dream. Some families came here one or two at a time, and some came together, but the marketing of emigration gave flight to THEIR imaginations of a better life for themselves and their children. And they were right.
Some people trivialize marketing and demean marketers as opportunists. Perhaps there are some of those. I prefer to think of marketers as dream actualizers. They let us know what is possible. The rest is up to us. | |
|
Multi-Cultural Marketing | | |
Hispanic Markets Are Not To Be Ignored!
As any communication professional knows, the diversity of the US population is increasing and the fastest growing group is of Hispanic ancestry. As such, municipalities and companies alike are offering multilingual services in the hopes of improving relationships and engaging customers. The challenge many agencies face in connecting with this vital market is not only in language, but also in understanding the culture and values their Hispanic audience members hold dear. Speaking the language alone does not mean you can effectively appeal to these customs and values. You can avoid potential alienation and start connecting at a better level by following a few tips.
- Open your mind and do your research. Too many brands take a one-size-fits-all approach to connecting with Hispanic markets. This audience has differing needs and unique emotional triggers. Depending on your product or service, what clicks with someone of Mexican descent may not necessarily click with someone from the Dominican Republic, Peru, etc. There is plenty of easily accessible research data about Hispanic-Americans ranging from ethnic and geographic characteristics to buying habits to media consumption, among many others. An excellent set of resources comes from the Pew Hispanic Center. (www.pewhispanic.org)
- Segment intelligently. Are you communicating with adolescents or family decision makers? Do they fall into the first- or second-generation immigration group? Do you want to talk about a new computer or personal finance services? Craft your messages and goals around their needs, not yours. Using research insights, develop a communication strategy that builds a relationship at a personal and emotional level with the people you wish to reach. As a starting point, consider that Hispanics are traditionally more family-oriented and need a high level of trust before entering into a business relationship.
- Collaborate. There is no shame in seeking expert help in developing informed communications and intelligent research. If your business' needs grow beyond the capacity of internal account managers with Hispanic marketing experience, it may be time to find a partner. As the Hispanic-American population grows in numbers and, ultimately, in buying power and influence, the marketing industry has recognized the importance of addressing this group. AdWeek offers an extensive resource list at www.marketingymedios.com.
Multicultural marketing and communications do not stop with the Hispanic community. Every ethnic and cultural group has its own unique values and requires an equally informed approach to establish an effective dialogue and successful relationship.
Daniel Johnson Ederra is an integrated marketing professional of Hispanic descent in New York. He holds an MBA in marketing from ESADE Business School in Barcelona. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SpanglishBrand.
IABC-Long Island will be presenting a program on Multi-Cultural Marketing on April 27th at 5:30pm. Watch for details!
| |
| Upcoming Events | |
December 15, 6:00-10:00pm
The International Association of Business Communicators, Long Island is holding its holiday party at the fabulous FOUR Food Studio on Broad Hollow Road (Route 110) in Melville. While this is usually a rather pricey place, the Board of Directors decided to offer deep discounts as a Holiday Gift to our members and friends. However, you MUST pre-register for this (the restaurant is very popular, and there will be no room for walk-ins) by December 10th, so please go to http://tinyurl.com/29yn4g6to register with PayPal; or sign up at register@admmarketing.com and pay at the door. I look forward to seeing you there!
December 6, 5:30-9:00pm
SMPS-LI has its holiday party at Westbury Manor, Jericho Turnpike, just East of Glen Cove Road. Live music, good food, and good company! Go to http://www.smpsli.org for more information, and to register. December 7, 12:00-1:30pm |
|
|
This practice is dedicated to helping companies become knowledge-driven, rather than assumption driven about strategic and tactical decisions concerning lines of business, branding, communications, and various marketing activities. For more information about how we do this, case studies, frequently asked questions about marketing research, and testimonials, please visit our web site:
Sincerely,
Ann Middleman
Principal |
|
|
ADM Marketing & Research Consulting 
News From The Top Floor