PPB June 2015

Promote Yourself To

Problem Solver

INAL IN A FIVE

PART SERIES

The rules of marketing have changed, and

today marketing and all of the disciplines within it

are effective only when they communicate a story.

Whether you consider yourself an advertising

executive, marketing maven, branding guru, sales

promotion specialist or experience creator—or all

of the above—you take your solutions for your

clients to the next level when you become a mas-

ter storyteller.

Master Marketer = Master Storyteller

The days of push marketing, focusing solely on

features and benefits, and shouting loud and

intrusive messages, are long gone. Simon Sinek,

author of

Start With Why

and a highly popular

TED Talk presenter, has demonstrated that people

don’t buy

what

you do, they buy

why

you do it. In

other words, people buy your story. Marketing

must be incorporated into everything an organiza-

tion does and it should be a part of why they are

doing it. Marketing is telling the story of a busi-

ness in a way that is aligned with its mission and

values. Real marketing consists of kept promises,

exacting standards, being obsessed with flawless

execution and attention to details, and providing

authentic and timely answers. Help your clients

write and live out their stories, and provide them

with the tools they need to make those stories

come to life for their audiences.

Building A Brand vs. Selling A Commodity

When a product or service offering looks the

same, performs the same and is delivered in the

same way from various sources, it becomes a com-

modity. If your clients are trying to sell a commodity

they are going to experience intense price compe-

tition that will reduce their profitability. To avoid

this, marketers must connect on an emotional level

with their customers to help them build their

brand, differentiate their product and create a

strong affinity.

My favorite business author, Seth Godin,

defines “brand” as “the set of expectations, mem-

ories, stories and relationships that, taken together,

account for a consumer’s decision to choose one

product or service over another.” As your clients’

trusted branding guru, you deal in expectations,

memories, stories and relationships. Promotional

products are essential to successful outcomes.

What other marketing tool creates expectations,

becomes the lasting memento of memorable

interactions, creates and enhances an organiza-

tion’s story, and is integral to beginning and nur-

turing relationships?

People Are Easier To Reach

But Harder To Engage

In today’s digital world, marketers can reach

their audiences instantly and easily through email,

text messages, blogs, podcasts, videos and social

media on their laptops, phones and tablets. The

downside is that people have much shorter atten-

tion spans and know exactly how to tune out, turn

off and avoid unwanted messages. Not only is this

a brand new world, but your clients are also find-

ing that their old models of marketing and adver-

tising are no longer working.

One of the reasons that promotional products

are consistently one of the fastest-growing adver-

tising media and are able to keep up with the digi-

tal newcomers is that our medium provides a high-

touch counterpoint in this largely virtual media

world.

Promotional consultants sell an advertising

medium that engages people through all five senses.

No other media can do that. Putting a promo-

tional product in a potential customer’s hand

marks the beginning of a relationship, and that

relationship continues every time the consumer

interacts with that promotional product for the

life of the product.

How To Create Business For Your Clients

With Sales Promotions

Sales promotion is the marketing discipline

focused on making things happen right away. It’s

not about building awareness or long-term good

will, rather it’s about getting people to make a

decision and act now. While sales promotion is pri-

marily considered a business-to-consumer set of

60 •

PPB

• JUNE 2015

GROW

Real marketing consists of kept promises,

exacting standards, being obsessed with

flawless execution and attention to details,

and providing authentic and timely answers.