You could be a digital dinosaur
What are you going to do differently to make this year better than last year?
Newspapers are going out of business on a daily basis. Television advertisers are leaving in droves. Radio stations are forced to lay off employees due to declining revenue.
Back in the 1990s, the economy was in a recession, the media had been hit hard by USA Today, cable TV, and more targeted advertising. I decided to shift marketing from a commercial print company to consumer broadcast, and in the process learned that Wrestling and NASCAR were well-targeted audiences for the company’s product.
I knew there was no way I was going to convince the Board to let me spend the ad budget on Wrestling, so I quit NASCAR. That decision turned into a race team sponsorship. This caused a stir in the organization because he was spending money on a race team when the organization was going through cutbacks and shorter work weeks. Immediately after hearing the first rumors of trouble, I explained that the race team spending was done to increase our brand image and exposure in an effort to increase sales and get everyone back to work.
It worked. They accepted the idea and became big supporters of the effort.
In 1993 I spent $500,000 on our NASCAR Busch team and we won the championship. As a result of our efforts, the company received $1,000,000 of television exposure in addition to significant print coverage and incredible team spirit within the organization. It increased our brand image and helped us gain ground with some major accounts. I also believe it was a key ingredient in the 60% unit growth achieved while working with that company.
Today, as then, traditional media is undergoing tremendous changes. This is evident by the drop in revenue from traditional media. At the same time, there is a way that continues to grow and that is Web 2.0. This is a new arena for marketers and there are few precedents to follow, but in this uncertainty lies great opportunity.
Test your understanding of this new medium by answering the quiz,
You could be a digital dinosaur if:
You think Facebook is the family photo album.
You think your office is MySpace.
You think tweeting is what a bird does.
You think LinkedIn is all about keeping your dog in the yard.
You think Tweetdec is the front porch of a birdhouse.
You think WordPress is what Gutenberg used to print the Bible.
Here is how to rate your results.
If you have:
5+ = marketing guru
4 = Social Networks
3 = Tweet – Tweet me @CannonAdvantage
2 = barely conscious – Talk to a tweeter
1 = Digital Dinosaur calls a tweeter immediately for help.
