Growth for an Established Brand

Over the course of the past couple of weeks, I have been giving a presentation entitled New Technologies in the Marketing Mix to several different groups, including the Arts & Business Council of New York. Every time I give this presentation, I warn folks before I begin, that it will look like I am advocating new viral strategies over traditional marketing techniques. In all honesty, they should be complimentary. I would never advocate completely eliminating direct mail campaigns. Those types of campaigns are very effective with certain demographics. What I do advocate is diversification. Just as your stock portfolio should be diversified, your marketing plans should use all the tricks in your bag.

In the United States, there are four generations dominating the economy: World War II generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. If you have an established brand, most likely you will have a strong presence amongst the World War II generation and the Baby Boomers. These two generations respond well to traditional marketing techniques. If you want your established brand to grow and expand, you need to look to Generations X and Y. New marketing technologies make it cheap and easy to reach these generations, however they require a time commitment. You need to learn how to use them. You need to learn how to craft your message properly. You need to be committed to providing an interactive, on demand messaging system. For those behind the curve in the technology department, really look at how you are reaching out to Generation X & Y. If you aren't, you might want to think about how to hit these important market segments. These folks are going to be your new donors, new board members, and new audiences.