Blog Author Mellissah Smith - Page 81

I work in a very busy marketing agency.

Like mechanics who never fix their cars, we as marketers, are the last to market ourselves. As the owner and founder of Marketing Eye, I am the only person who makes time to ensure that our brand is somewhat visible and I do this in the most time efficient way possible.

While watching prime time TV last night, I could not help but notice how popular PSY’s Gangnam Style has become. 

In case you haven’t seen it, the Korean music star pops some hilarious dance moves while wearing his trademark sunglasses, tuxedo and loafers and has enjoyed global fame since his video’s release.

Before it became all the rage, I watched the video just a couple of months ago when my friend recommended it for its catchiness and cool moves. I watched it and was amused, but that was about it. It was out of my mind after a couple of hours. 

In the background, my television was screening the news. I was half-listening while typing away on my keyboard a hundred words per minute, trying to finalize some last-minute communications with my team.

Then I heard a voice. It was familiar. Manly. Strong. Thoughtful. Original.

I looked up.

We have all stumbled upon a myriad of marketing and social media latest phases and without hesitation either jumped in and had a go, or stood back and watched what our competitors have achieved before investing valuable cash and resources to the latest, hottest marketing platform.

There has been one consistent marketing platform that has been more central to a marketing strategy in the past couple of years, than any other marketing activity bar social media.

Content Marketing

If you have been hearing this buzz word for some time, and haven't done anything about it, then you are in a minority. Unlike the phases of social media platforms and apps popping up into our strategies then quickly falling to the way-side, content marketing underpins all online marketing strategies, whether we like it or not.

"We have a client that is 100 per cent focused on using content to drive leads in the next 12 months and this trend is catching on with many other small businesses," said Julie Schoneveld, CEO, Marketing Eye.

"It's not difficult to out-perform your larger competitors through mileage out of content marketing  that is useful, targeted and information rich."

Happy people are more successful, just ask Shawn Achor, the author of The Happiness Advantage.

"People who cultivate a positive mind-set perform better in the face of a challenge and in every area of your business, you will show improvement if your brain is positive" said Achor at a recent speech to 800 global entrepreneurs.

In fact, sales people who were happy outsell their less positive colleagues by more than 37 per cent and positive people in organisations are not only happier, they perform better and live longer, healthier lives.

I saw this picture when I was travelling overseas. It's brilliant. A young boy watching an older woman walk past and clearly recognising that she is a beauty. It doesn't matter what age she is, or he is for that matter - beautiful is beautiful. There is no gender or age specifications around beauty.

When it comes to brand, it is important to have a brand that is timeless. Yes, it may evolve, but you wouldn't change it year-on-year and hopefully not within 5 years.

An Australian brand that always comes to mind when talking branding is VB. "You can get it walking, you can get it... " voice over on all of their television and radio campaigns played with exactly the same voiceover decade after decade. I remember it, my mother remembers it and my grandfather remembered it. It lasted the generations and VB will never be the same without it.

When developing a new brand, think about how long you  can live with it and whether it will be timeless or not.

As an ex-journalist, interviewing people of all backgrounds and walks of life is second nature to me. I've interviewed police officers, politicians and met the Prime Minister, but have never been asked to have a sit-down interview with my former news organisation's owner (who would be Rupert Murdoch himself - eep!).

Today, I'm on day two in the marketing industry and have been given the chance to pick the brain of Marketing Eye founder, Mellissah Smith – it’s a slightly daunting ask, especially when you consider that she was little older than I was when she first branched out and went solo in her first agency.

“I’ve been in marketing for 20-odd years and was 25 when I started my first agency – what inspired me to start was an account opportunity falling in my lap,” Mellissah said.

It's been a very long relationship. One that I have enjoyed immensely particularly when I have been to the beach and there is sand everywhere, surf boards to fit into the car, towels, dogs, bags and left over rubbish. You have been very reliable and you always come up shiny and new when you are washed.

But... it's over. I am calling it a day.

And here is why...

Every day I meet with male and female entrepreneurs. In some ways, I would love to use these meetings in a study about human gender based entrepreneurial behaviour because it continues to fascinate me the inherent differences between men and women entrepreneurs.