July Consumer Connection Roundup

The Consumer Connection Roundup features the top articles and blogs that catch the attention of the Motista Team each month on issues and events related to consumer connection.

Here are some noteworthy articles on marketing and advertising trends from the month of July. If we missed any articles that you thought were especially provocative, please share them with us in the comments section.

Articles of the Month for July:

• Marketing to the Heartland: How to build brands for the U.S. faithful by Paul Jankowski, Adweek – The Heartland, like every other region in the U.S., has a very distinct culture that marketers and advertisers must adhere to in order to gain traction. To reach the Heartland, marketers need to understand its lifestyles and core beliefs. After conducting market research, Paul Jankowski discovered that faith plays a role in nearly every aspect of life in the Heartland, from purchasing decisions to media consumption. While you don’t have to include references or images to any or every religion in your marketing efforts, this is great insight when developing a campaign specific to this region.

• As power shifts to consumers, get ready for a Renaissance in advertising by Gian Fulgoni, Advertising Age – The Internet has greatly affected pricing power because consumers have become accustomed to using it as a tool to find the best price for anything, forcing brands to price products more competitively. Thus, retailers and manufacturers have had to find other ways to differentiate themselves, which has led to a 9 percent increase in TV ad sales and a 23 percent growth of online advertising in the first quarter of 2011. While it appears that advertisers will have bigger budgets for the first time in a long time to create more creative ads, the extra money won’t translate into an increase in sales unless connecting with your audience remains the top priority.

• Do not market to Gen Y by Patrick Evans, MediaPost – This is really an amusing article written by someone from Gen Y. The writer provides the best guidance to any marketer—don’t be fake because consumers can see right through it! When you try to reach any demographic, conduct your due diligence and be true to your brand. Connection fails on any level if it’s under false pretenses, even if you enlist the help of star power like Lady Gaga.

• Coach K on How to Connect by Mike Krzyzewski, The Wall Street Journal – Even if you don’t watch basketball, this op-ed by former USA basketball and current Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski shows how connecting with players led him to win multiple national championships and the gold medal in Beijing. He states that choosing the right words at the right time is just as important as choosing the right players and strategies for the court—and we agree! Connecting with your players is what inspires them to play with the passion to win. And in our case, connecting with consumers motivates them to purchase your products and advocate on behalf of your brand. Well said, Coach K.

• Why Google’s screwup on Google+ brand pages is a big deal by Mathew Ingram, GigaOm – Given the buzz that Google+ has generated in a little over a month, we had to include an article about the new social media service. Google+ has already rolled out a beta of their brand pages to Ford and MTV, but has been slow to open brand pages to all companies. It will be interesting to see how brands interact and engage with consumers via this new social media avenue, and how that interaction differs from already existing social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.