Telain Ware – President/CEO, Marketing Consultants of Atlanta, Inc.

I had the pleasure of conducting a marketing and Branding workshop in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area yesterday. This session was for a regional gathering of 100 Black Men. It was positively received and I wanted to share some key points.

What really is marketing? A big question to tackle in a short presentation. I find it best defined as everything you do to connect with your targeted audience. Think of it as a huge umbrella with the spokes representing the components of your marketing mix: Product/Consumer, Price/Cost, Place/Channel and Promotion/Communication. Since my expertise is marketing communications, that was what I shared most with the group, e.g. advertising, promotions, public relations and media outreach, online marketing, including social media marketing and more.

The branding discussion soon followed. The easiest analogy for this southwest group was reminding them when brands were placed on livestock.  It simply is the name, symbol, phrase, design or a combination of these. It must differentiate you from competitors. I could not have a discussion on marketing and branding without sharing what I feel is the most important item of all…positioning. It is the unique place your product or service holds in the mind of your customer. If done correctly, your marketing and branding should achieve the following:

Marketing

  1. Creates awareness (inform and educate)
  2. Drives trial and purchase
  3. Drives repeat purchase

Branding

  1. Establishes presence and identity
  2. Resides in the hearts and minds of the target audience(s)
  3. Brand identity must be consistently communicated forever (if not, the result is brand genericide).

Public relations and integrated marketing were also discussed, offering the following key takeaways:

Public Relations

  1. Creates awareness with various publics
  2. Connects your business to the community
  3. Builds relationships with the media

Integrated Marketing

  1. Traditional vs. New or a combination of the two? (Depends on your audience)…positioning and communication must be consistent across all channels.
  2. Online Marketing, a.k.a. web marketing, iMarketing, eMarketing…it all means communicating, connecting and selling online.
  3. Social Media can be an effective marketing channel if you are establishing and maintaining online conversations.
  4. Mobile Marketing at minimum your website and email communications must be mobile compatible.

We completed the workshop with specific promotion examples, integrated marketing techniques and SEO recommendations to implement today.

It is a great day when you can share knowledge and your passion for marketing and communication excellence with a receptive audience. It is an outstanding day when you are sharing with a group of men who give so much back to young people and their communities.