In the LA Times today there's this article which mentions animal shelters trying to persuade people to go to them (instead of pet stores) to adopt pets. In it the Director of San Francisco's Dept. of Animal Care and Control said, "I don't want to diminish it by saying it's marketing, but in a sense we have a product we need to get out to people."
It's an odd statement, because getting people to the shelters by putting ads on buses and in newspapers is, in fact, marketing. (Which is something his marketing department probably should have pointed out to him.)
The question is, why is he bagging on marketing? And why does marketing get such a bad rap so often?
This has been part of a semi-heated discussion here and here on Matt Grant's Aquent blog,which sparked the former president of the Boston AMA to write this post, What is Marketing?
Though this seems like a simple issue, it isn't, it's merely the most basic issue of marketing.
As Matt asks: "Are marketers really in the business of manipulating people?" If yes, then is that such a bad thing? I would say many people think it's a bad thing, demonstrated by the statement above.
Any of you marketers reading this have any thoughts?
maybe he isn't bagging on marketing per se by saying he doesn't want to diminish what he is doing, maybe marketing just inherently has a salesy or wheeling and dealing connotation? like free oil changes to the first 5 customers this saturday or look at our new snazzy phone-ipod-camera-PDA thingy, aint it snazzy? come buy one. organizations who do things like try to save unwanted and stray pets from being euthanized or who feed the homeless might think what they do is slightly more noble than a slick product or a free tire rotation? I sure do. BUT if they could change their perception of marketing as a less than noble thing, maybe more people would be informed and then gravitate toward their causes... just a thought.
Emily - And a good one at that. But you have to admit (or I guess you don't for that matter) that whether your cause is a noble one or a gimmicky one, it's still marketing that gets you the customer base you need. Maybe it's a small wake up call to marketers to choose to represent companies that they are proud of. And yes, I'm speaking about myself. (But then again, you know I'm overly proud of this lil' company.)
I think in the US we actually enjoy marketing. How many people perked up to watch Superbowl ads? It's become part of our culture - we demand quirky, smart, witty, innovative marketing to keep our attention. We like brands. Even people who like alterative brands still like brands, or like non-brands.
But sales has a whole other cultural connotation. We hate being sold to.
It's a matter of choice, we respond to marketing and we reject sales.
Marketing. Sales. Advertising. All compartmentalized.
Drea - You have a good point and it's true, we do crave marketing, whether it's for the Prius (green) or the Hummer (tough). Maybe it's just the car salesmen people have learned not to like?
I'd say the basic definition of marketing is simply letting people know what you have. It's hard to really be too negative about that, right? It's basic human communication.
But it's often done dishonestly or ineffectively, which has given marketing/advertising a negative stigma. Marketing encompasses sales and advertising as well (that whole 4 P's thing), and these also have negative stigmas. Sure we like to watch the Super Bowl ads, but people in general are put off by most advertising. Anytime you antagonize your target market, you're probably not marketing very effectively. ;-)
True that, Steve. Our HQ blogger, Matt, suggests changing AMA's code of ethics to read : "Marketers must foster trust in the marketing system by simultaneously fostering a healthy skepticism towards all marketing efforts." You might want to check out his whole post Here
Thanks Tim, will check it out. One of the vestiges of the dot-com era that I thought was of real value was the whole Cluetrain Manifesto thing. Where substance was the only thing that mattered- after all, if you genuinely have something of value to offer, you don't need to resort to tricks to sell, you just need to communicate (the right people) what you have to offer.
On a somewhat related tangent, just the fact that Aquent has this blog is a huge plus IMO, as it has for me differentiated the company from the various other anonymous headhunters and staffing companies I've run across over the years (and no one has tried to sell me anything! ;)
I think simple, genuine communication has far more value and appeal than people think in this day and age of mission statements, spin, 'staying on message', and other nonsense. But most people are too afraid to come out in to the open, and continue to hide behind these shells.
Steve - I appreciate the sentiments about the blog - and I'll pass them onto the Powers that Be! I hope people recognize companies being genuine, or at least trying hard as they can to be.
I do miss those early days of the Web, but it seems that once people sniff out the next hip thing, whatever it is, they will try to co-opt it to sell something. Maybe not always a bad thing, but when you come from a DIY background it can get disappointing.