Ad agencies and traditional marketing firms are most concerned about impressing you with fancy images and slick graphic design because that’s how they make their money. They impress you and you pay them before you can measure the actual results of any given campaign that they create for you. Sweet deal for them, isn't it?
Somewhere lost along the way is the fact that effective marketing must speak to the ultimate customer, offer superior value to them and communicate with words and imagery that resonate and motivate them to modify their behavior in some way. Usually this behavior modification means that you make a strong enough case that somebody purchases your product or service -- and they are happy they did so long after the fact.
Also lost or often concealed from you is the fact that building brand awareness is nearly worthless (even though this is probably counter to everything you've been told by ad agencies) without building strategic brand awareness that differentiates and builds brand preference amongst people who actually spend money for your type of product.
This latter type of marketing is more difficult to achieve but it is precisely the kind of marketing that builds great brands. It is also the kind of brand building that makes cash registers sing. Brands that benefit both you and your customers over the long-term. Brands that ensure your profitability and customer satisfaction. This is the kind of marketing you should be trying to achieve.
Forget about the way brands were built yesterday. Yesterday is gone. Mass media are not so "mass" anymore. Consumers are different. Technology is different. Attention spans are shorter. Cynicism is everywhere. True connections are more important than ever.
Are you ready to step outside of the ad agency box and listen to more effective ways to approach your marketing? Are you ready to embrace the marketing of the future?
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