Saturday, April 17, 2010

The Transition of Advertising

Advertising: a form of communication intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to take some action. It includes the name of a product or service and how that product or service could benefit the consumer, to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume that particular brand - Wikipedia

According to the Advertising Age, the first newspaper advertisement was an announcement for a buyer of a Long Island estate, published in the Boston Newsletter in 1704. It of course appears as though America were the pioneers in Advertising with this inaugural placement. This was followed by several milestone events in the 18th and 19th century which saw advertising evolve into magazines, the use of slogans, the formation of professional groups, commission-based sales, and so much more. You can view the chronology of advertising timeline at http://adage.com/century/timeline/index.html .

Fast forward to the 21st century – what has become known as the digital age, the age of the information super highway, the age of information at your finger tips, the age of the obsoleteness of traditional communication of all forms, including advertising. The publishing of advertisements in the print media – newspapers and magazines primarily – are now being replaced by Internet web banners, strategic placement of advertisement buttons on websites that see high traffic, ultimately resulting in a high click through rate for retailers of all types and sizes.

It would be amiss of me to speak about the digital age and not mention Social Networking as the catalyst of marketing today. I’ll dedicate a whole different post to Social Networking in the coming week. However, it is noteworthy to mention the increased popularity of Social Networking as a means of communication and promotion of goods and services for consumption. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace just to name a few, have opened many opportunities to entrepreneurs, small business professionals, large multinational corporations, Charitable and non-profit organizations who are seeking a low cost alternative to expensive advertising methods. The reach of the internet through social networking is tremendous. By creating your online space through a website, Facebook account of a blog, you have the capacity to reach thousands of thousands of people, target persons who have an interest in the product or service you have to offer, and lure the prospective client into your world through email subscriptions, joining online groups and more.

So, what is the fate of traditional advertising in the form of print media? Certainly, we can all appreciate that there will always be a place for this type of advertising. We can also acknowledge that we won't be seeing the back of the ordinary newspaper and magazine ad placement any time soon. Even though there are online versions of most paper publications today, believe it or not, there are still some people in the universe who are technologically challenged and always will be. The thought of using a computer to wire money overseas for example, would be thought of as some demonic attempt to steal our money or that using a telephone that is not by a bedside table or nightstand is so liberal it has to be a sin.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Charting the Path to Success

The marketing profession has been a passion of mine since pursuing studies at the University of Technology.  As a student who was pegged to excel in the field of Accounting, I took the road no one expected me to travel, and explored the realm of Marketing.  It was nothing short of life changing to say the least. 

I remember my first exposure to Marketing in my academic life.  I was in awe of this wonderful technique of using various methods and techniques to obtain buy in to a good or service, through the use of the tools of Marketing.  As I continue to learn more about this profession, it became clear to me that this was a career, guaranteed to  always exist no matter what happened.  I remember thinking back then, in what I thought was my young and naive state of mind, that the role of the Marketer would never become extinct or redundant, so longs as goods and services exist.  Yes, the marketer will never suffer at the hands of downsizing.  The marketer will be the shining beacon in the dark, leading companies and professionals to the promised land.  The marketer would in all its glory, show wayward companies the way to increased revenues, greater profits, increased customer base, brand recognition and the list could go on.

I have come a long way from a young marketing student to a budding marketing professional who is still learning more about the art of the field and continues to be excited and passionate about the role marketing plays in our world today.  All human beings - every single one of us - markets something to someone on a daily basis.  Whether it is an idea we pitch to our boss at work, a meal we try to convince our child to eat, or a discount we try to negotiate at the boutique while buying a fabulous pair of shoes.  It is all done, through that simple, underestimated process of marketing.

This blog, as the name suggests, will be a forum for marketers at all levels, who want to keep abreast of the profession, learn more about trends in this evolving global marketplace in which we are all trying to survive and provide an opportunity to share views, concepts and ideas with others.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Hope you enjoyed reading this with a cup of coffee in hand.