Isn't it always fascinating to look back and see
how we ended up where we are today? In fact, most people are working a job that
is in no way related to their university degree. It is also quite amusing to
look back at our early career goals from primary and secondary school and see
how those led to our current passions and ambitions.
Today, we were discussing how many of us on our team had been in a band at some point in their life. Growing up, a large percentage of male teenagers develop unlikely aspirations to someday become super stars. Unfortunately, I was among that percentage.
Today, we were discussing how many of us on our team had been in a band at some point in their life. Growing up, a large percentage of male teenagers develop unlikely aspirations to someday become super stars. Unfortunately, I was among that percentage.
From age 14-19 I would say that I made a
substantial run at that dream, playing in four different bands on and off over
that time span and logging countless hours practicing, traveling, and playing
in obscure venues across the country. Although I never sold out a 30,000-seat
venue, I would say that overall, that point in my life was still successful. I
was able to record and perform with the likes of Clive Bradley, Robert Greenidge,
Machel Montano, Len "boogsie" Sharpe, one of my last live
concerts I performed was opening for David Rudder, and trying to be
successful in the music industry established my deep-rooted passions for
creativity, entrepreneurship, and branding.
When I started college, reality started to settle
in like it does for the majority of those teenagers with aspirations to be the
next Bono. I started college as a Motion Picture major. As I dived into my
marketing studies, though, my aspirations drifted from one glamorous career
(rock star) to another: advertising.
When I first became interested in advertising and
branding, Mad Men was at the tipping point in its popularity. This glorified
version of advertising and marketing, though, is not what caught my interest.
What caught my interest was the significant shift and evolution that's been
happening in marketing as a whole since the dawn of the Internet era. No longer
are brands tied to loose calculations of "impressions" and
"circulation" numbers. Digital marketing has revolutionized the
industry and transformed the possibilities available to brands.
Many agencies I was looking at, though, were
still hesitant to fully embrace digital trends and were, and in some cases,
still are, focusing mostly on traditional marketing efforts. If a brand wanted
to do something modern or digital, they would hire a separate firm to do their
digital marketing. Beyond creative concepts, over the past five years I've
fallen in love with this idea of creating Brand Love and recently interacting
with ExactTarget and their philosophy of a "customer
company." It envelopes something much bigger than simply
"advertising."
A quote they often use that we have embedded in
our thinking from Sam Walton is that "There is only one boss. The customer.
And he can fire everyone..." I now have this fascination of the customer,
how he or she thinks, and how to market as a customer company.
From a super star to a modern-day Don Draper,
it's inspiring to see my passions and aspirations evolve over time. Today, we
sit at an unprecedented intersection of marketing and technology with our Data
and Analytics Partner, ExactTarget leading the way as the 1:1 Customer
Platform and I have the opportunity to be a part of that intersection and
revolution.
As we explore the full potential of content
marketing and we unwrap what it means to be a customer company, I'm excited to
be sharing on emerging marketing and digital trends, how to become a customer
company, my take on the digital marketing space, and my experiences of
"Creating Love".
