The secret to great marketing is…

I was listening to some conversations during SXSW last week, and I walked away with a solid piece of advice.  It’s the sort of thing that once you hear it, you become somewhat dismayed that you hadn’t already written it down.

It came from Captain Obvious, and simply put, it was, “Consumers like to be educated, not sold.”

Of course that’s the case, and it’s even more relevant today than ever before.

Consumers have access to more information than they know what to do with these days. They have AI tools that talk to them and answer every question imaginable. Consumers do their research, seek out information and make whatever informed decision they feel comfortable with, based on the information they process.

Knowing the difference

Marketing is about education, not selling, because today’s audience is more advanced and knows the difference.

The role of your media is to align with the audience in a cost-effective way, and as close to when they are thinking about your product

That translates into a very different approach to media and marketing. You have to create content and ensure that content is surfaced in the right moments, and that’s when consumers search, or when they ask for insight from friends.

It must reach them while they are thinking about the situations where your product can fit, and you need to surround them with a cadence that allows you to remain top of mind, even while they are not actively considering your product or service.

The role of your media is to align with the audience in a cost-effective way, and as close to when they are thinking about your product, or the moment when it would be appropriate for their needs.

Proactive placement

That makes media a more proactive placement. You want a fluid, flexible media campaign that can be activated when customers are most likely to be looking for you.

That’s where Media Mix Models come back into play, and if you haven’t invested in one yet, you should probably revisit the idea and start investing now.  An MMM allows you to measure and apply data to unlock the secret.

Pure old-school advertising is about inspiring a purchase. Today’s marketing is more about aligning with an inspiration or a moment of need. That’s the secret to great marketing. You can spend money all day to create demand, but most importantly, you need the foundation of your campaign to align with demand in a very efficient fashion.

Secret sauce

So, are you selling your audience, or are you educating them, giving them information rather than pitching them across your media?

If you are pitching all the time, you should rethink that approach, and invest in a media mix model that allows you to better understand where your messaging aligns with the demand in the market, and keeps your brand top-of-mind when the consumer is close to the point of purchase or consumption.

That’s the secret sauce that will make you most effective.