This morning while walking Clover I had a flood of thoughts and ideas around marketing and my career. Being at this B2B marketing thing for over 25 years I’ve definitely had some highs and lows when it comes to campaigns. And now, I’m on the Search for a Disruptive Marketing Campaign. Why not? Right?
Just thinking about the broad range of industries I’ve worked with is overwhelming.
- Office furniture
- Concrete cutting tools
- Floor polishing and scrubbing equipment
- Gear actuators and valves
- Sprinkler systems
- Plastics injection molder
- Color measurement equipment
- Fulvic acid for human health and agriculture
- Dental products
- Capital investment
- Bug repellent
- An airport
- Software developer
- Pellet heaters
- Cannabis dispensary
- Trauma therapist/coach
- Performance (sports & creative) psychologist
- Musicians
- Music rehearsal space
- Fire departments
- Fire service trade organizations
That’s a good, solid list of (primarily B2B) experience that I’m proud of. I’m sure I’ve missed a bunch, but these days I can only remember so much.
My Last Big Thing… a Flop
Back to the topic at hand, My Search for a Disruptive Marketing Campaign. That’s something I am searching for now and will accomplish again. Last year I was really proud of my Color Changes Everything campaign. I had lots of great responses about it, but when it came down to the contest that was part… that feel flat. Even with the incentive of winning a new iPad for the top 3 entries (kids 16 and under) with the most popular votes. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Only one entry. Just one from a sweet girl in Asia.
Now this project started out as a Take Your Kid to Work Day presentation about what my color company does and how it impacts the world. A video to inspire and give the kids something to think about and (hopefully) participate in. This was shown at Ford, and then sent to all employees. It was shown at General Motors, and then sent to all employees. It was sent to all employees at my company. All were encouraged to share this as much as possible. No limits. It was shared with church membership, schools, other organizations. All the personal sharing augmented with an aggressive social media campaign, the message was getting out and about. It just didn’t trigger folks to take action. And that’s ok… it was a learning experience.
Now what’s next for me? That’s the question.
The Creative Process
Part of my creative process is to just be and to not force things. I can tell if there’s a spark and something simmering. That’s where I am now. Simmering like a pot of soup. Creativity has always worked for me that way.
Things while this simmering is going on… I keep in mind the basics:
- The goal of the campaign or program
- What type of campaign? (brand awareness, educational, lead generation, referral, loyalty, engagement, advocacy, user generated or any combination)
- The target audience(s)
- The message(s)
- The CTA (call to action)
- How many parts does it take to tell the story?
- What’s the best channel or channels to communicate?
- Is there a marketing mix to plan?
- Timing considerations
- Budget considerations
- How will it be measured?
- What are the expected results going in based on my experience?
I need to think about all these elements and then develop my idea into a cohesive and comprehensive plan. From there it’s on to writing, designing, developing, and executing when the time is right. As the simmering continues, one or two elements may bubble up first and that springboard the rest. I love that part of creativity and marketing – there is no right or wrong way to do things. Marketing is in the grey area, not black and white.
So, back to the topic and My Search for a Disruptive Marketing Campaign. It’ll come when it’s ready. The simmering will simmer as long as it needs to, and I will move forward with my disruptive marketing campaign. Whatever that is. Stay tuned.
