The way people interact with one another and with the things around them continue to change at a rapid pace and as a result, marketing and the way marketers communicate to consumers continues to evolve. I would argue that most marketing is slow to adapt to this change and continues to be one step behind. As marketers, it is important to stay one step ahead of the consumer.

So why is it so difficult?

The consumer moves at ten times the speed he/she did 10 years ago. Why? Because consumers have to. We live in a world where time is of the essence. Innovation has emerged because of “time”, or lack there of. Speed exemplifies success. For example, you don’t see a medal awarded to the slowest runner in a 25 km run. Too far fetched? How about in factories, where success is based purely on efficiency. Efficiency is instilled in our society because it means higher profits for everyone, especially businesses. Because time is valued more than anything else, ways to help preserve time in everything we do has blossomed, through innovation. Blackberry devices (as some would call the electronic shackle) are becoming NECESSARY because someone has to be accessible to work at all times whether through their phone, text message, PIN, messenger, etc. Now some individuals reading this blog without a blackberry attached to their hip would argue that this does not apply to everyone. Well think again. If you don’t believe me, look yourself in the reflection of your computer, because you’re guilty as you read this blog. The computer, or better yet, the Internet has become imperative in our lives … and why might you ask? Well that’s easy … it makes your daily tasks easier and more EFFiCIENT. The blackberry is simply an extension of the home or work computer. The way we do our “everyday tasks” has changed, and will always continue to change. Whether its from looking up recipes, finding directions, looking at pictures, searching for a new house, staying in touch with family and friends, etc. The way we do all of this has all changed because of the computer, and Internet. The pace that businesses are working at right is staggering and it continues to move faster and faster. Why? Because innovation will always be alive. If there is a way to complete any one of the average’s persons’ daily tasks more efficiently, it will be invented … its just a matter of time.

So where does this leave us marketers? How does all of this affect the way we communicate to our target audience? It affects us deeply. Consumers don’t have “time” to take in any messages that they don’t want to. It’s just that simple. The average consumer is exposed to over 3,000 ads (messages) in one day and is very likely to dismiss every single one of them. So how does your message breakthrough? What is that “tipping point” from all the other messages being shouted at the consumer that will grab the consumer’s attention at that very second, and spark an interest? It’s easy … relevance. As my fellow marketer friend would say, relevance is boss. Consumers don’t have the time to listen or watch something that does not speak to them specifically. And that is why relevance is boss. As a result, some may say, mass media is dead. I would beg to differ. Mass media is not dead, its purpose has changed. Mass media no longer expects to directly change or drive a consumer’s behavior and it shouldn’t (although some might). Mass media has evolved to awareness. It’s the way you feel about a brand. The way you identify with a brand and the brand’s personality. What feelings do you get when you see the “golden arch”? Some would automatically think convenience, fast, fun, cheap (not in a bad way), and tasty. While others might think unhealthy, cheap (in a bad way), busy and an impersonal experience. It is these very feelings that determine the way you look and relate with a brand. The brand symbolizes a person and its personality may coincide with some and not with others. Mass media has the ability to portray a personality (or brand) instantly through a marketing channel that has the capabilities of reaching a wide audience. It is a push strategy. If you want to change or drive behaviour (in an action form), then you will have to look elsewhere. How do we as marketers make it easy for consumers (in an age where even the dead don’t sleep) to interact with our product/service. As marketers, we must travel at the same speed as the consumer. We must understand our target audience, and understand everywhere they go and do … we as marketers have to talk directly to our target audience (1 to 1) and ensure the target audience wants to hear what we have to say (relevance). Again, relevance is key to successful marketing. There is absolutely no point marketing your product or service to a target audience who does not want to hear it, or would never be interested. The consumer decides what they want to hear and see and what they want to dismiss. A perfect example would be PVR … the ability to watch any TV show they want at any given time. Why should consumers have to plan their schedule around an episode of the Bachelor on at 8 pm each Wednesday?

So how do we as marketers move forward, knowing that the scale of product/service and consumer has tipped to the consumer’s end? How do we evolve and change our traditional marketing ways to develop impactful and successful marketing initiatives? Well because relevance is boss, it is first important to identify your target market. As marketers we must “hone” and “embrace” our target audience. Our net result should be turning our target audience into brand ambassadors. Turning your target audience into brand ambassadors is important for any brand, because if the target audience’s experience with your product or service is positive, they will tell their friends, co-workers and family. We live in a world where we doubt marketers and only trust those around us. If your product or service can create positive experiences, your customers will become your most important marketing channel. We must speak directly to these brand ambassadors.

So how do we do that? Think outside the traditional marketing box that so many of us have been drawn into. For example, maybe it’s putting an ad in the middle of a video game. Sounds silly? Well video games continue to be an important part of many people’s lives and will only continue to grow. The difference in video games today and video games 10 years ago is that it continues to capture the new youth audience while maintaining participation by their original aging demographic. The people who played and grew up playing video games are still playing, because the experience is that positive. Innovation in video games continues to expand its horizon. If you look at what the Nintendo Wii and games such as Rock Band and Dance Revolution have done, they have opened video games up to a whole new category of people (e.g., older users and females). More and more people are now playing these types of games because they are easier to do and are considered “party games”. A video game by the name of War of Warcraft hit more than 9 million users in July 2007. To put that into context, if War of Warcraft was a nation, it would the 90th most populated country in the world, ahead of Haiti and just behind Sweden.

That is only one example. Perhaps it is sending out an offer through a text message. Text messaging has been an “undervalued” medium for marketing. There are over 20 million cell phone users in Canada. That is 20 million people who carry a communication piece with them everywhere they go, which can be used to send or receive messages. Everywhere they go is the key. This gives marketers the ability to reach an audience immediately. They don’t need to be sitting in front of a television or computer screen at a given perfect time to receive your message. We have seen how television commercials have used a drive to internet as a “call to action”, but why not drive people to .mobi addresses. It is probably easier for the consumer to see the television ad and visit the website on their cell phone then getting up and finding the computer. There is less room for slippage. .Mobi addresses are going to be just as common as a .com address in the forth coming years, so why not be at the forefront of this forthcoming change and use it to your product/services’ advantage. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, then you cannot ignore the fact that over 10 billion text messages were sent in Canada over the 2007 year. If we think about text messaging, it is almost like taking a step back in innovation, but if you really drill down to the purpose, it makes sense why it is the biggest way people communicate in the world today. Text messaging is a product of the fast paced world we live in set above. We use text messaging because it is straight and to the point. We get the necessary answers we need through text messaging and are not committed to having a long conversation with someone. Heck, text messaging has “evn cr8d its own language” to be more efficient.

It could be creating a youtube video that has the potential to be more viral then the common cold. It could be inviting your target audiences to “experiential” events. Whatever tactic you decide to choose, make sure it is engaging and speaks directly to the customer. Ensure you stay one step of your consumer and keep your ear close to the ground. Ensuring you are up to date with market trends is very important and can provide a window of an opportunity to capture your audience in a creative way that has never been done before.