How To Become Marketer of The Year

Marketer of the Year Jeremy King

Curiosity, fear, intelligence, luck, experience, resources and support, dedication, … and doing work that stands out. All of those things led me to being named inaugural Marketer of the Year for 2017 by the Columbus American Marketing Association at the Achievement in Marketing Awards in January, 2018.

Yeah…this is November and this isn’t timely, but I’ve had a busy year.

Marketer of the Year Award Jeremy King Columbus American Marketing Association

I’m not going to lie, I’ve always felt that I do good work that stands out, but I was shocked and incredibly appreciative to be named Marketer of the Year. I’ve heard lots of people who win awards say things like “I don’t know where I put the trophy…maybe the bathroom” when asked about the award in interviews. Not I; I do care about this. In some ways I felt that it validated the work I’ve done and its results, especially since the award application submissions were judged by my peers in Rochester, NY.

Feeling validated by an award may sound a little petty or sad to some people, but I could care less. As a kid who proudly went to Columbus Public Schools and grew up in the Linden neighborhood of Columbus from blue collar divorced parents, I may have already accomplished more than most would have expected. For that reason I think writing this can help inspire others.

How to Become Marketer of The Year:

  • Curiosity:

I have a great interest in what drives people to make decisions and I find it thrilling to see the response to work that I’m involved in. Throughout my marketing career there’s been no better feeling than to put in my best efforts and then to see verifiable revenue and results roll in. In marketing you’re observing human nature and what changes in society are driving people to change their habits. To me, there hasn’t been a more important motivator than this in my career.

Michael Jordan calls this “The Love of the Game“.

  • Fear:

Nearly a decade into my career in marketing, each day I still find myself asking “Do I really know what the hell I’m doing?“.

Why? For all of the processes we implement and skills that we as marketers learn, at the end of the day we’re at the mercy of our work resonating with our audience. Of course you do your best to ensure that it does, but you never know until it’s out there.

This is a never-ending process, and its why I strive to get better every day.

  • Luck:

In anyone’s life, luck and chance play a humongous role in their experiences and success or failure.

Frankly, I have absolutely no idea how many applicants there were for this award. Maybe it was 100 people, or maybe it was just me.

I could have never been hired at Caster Connection or worked with Christian Howes and been given the opportunities to do the work I’ve done, but luckily I was.

Maybe the most important part though is to be prepared when luck arrives.

  • Experience:

As mentioned above, I’ve experienced astonishing evolutions in the organizations that I’ve worked in, which has necessitated that I also evolve quite a bit along the way. From my early days in launching marketing efforts in general, to developing my skills and managing a growing department, I’ve learned what does and doesn’t work, better practices in leadership, and how marketing’s efforts affect an organization as a whole.

In summary, perhaps the biggest aspect of my growth as a marketer has been moving from focusing more on tactics in my early days to now focusing more on strategy.

  • Resources and Support:

One of the biggest factors in how I’ve arrived at this point in my career is the support of those I’ve worked for and their investment in the marketing department and me.

With Mr. Howes, I was able to jump in on the ground level of how a small business is run, implement tactics that work in that arena (and specifically the music industry), and was given the trust and opportunity to try my hand at things I had never done before.

Caster Connection has given me the resources to engage in marketing that can produce extraordinary results, because the work that the marketing department has done over time has earned trust in our abilities to produce. Starting slowly by testing the waters with tactics like mass email and collateral gradually grew to investment in aggressive branding of products, the launch of an industry-standard e-Commerce site, a significant brand refresh, expanding resources and head count, and more.

The point is, I had people who believed in me and gave me great opportunities, and in return I’ve worked to make sure their belief is justified.

On top of all of this, I’ve worked with some kick-ass people in marketing who help me look good, and I can’t say thank you to them enough.

  • Dedication:

I give a damn about the work I do, and I give a damn about standing out and doing great work. It isn’t in my nature to skate by, do the minimum and lay on the couch all night after work.

  • Doing Work that Stands Out:

George Lois’ Damn Good Advice (For People with Talent), working with Cult Marketing, an eCommerce launch, and a brand refresh I’ve been apart of have all shaped my career in marketing.

  • Damn Good Advice (For People with Talent) is a short and sweet read from legendary Ad Man George Lois that gets to the heart of creating work that grabs your audience’s attention, whether they want to give it or not. I keep this concept in mind for any content project I’m involved with.

 

  • Cult Marketing is a marketing firm in Columbus, Ohio that I collaborated with for 2-3 years that advocated for much of the same things that George Lois did, with particular focus on differentiating businesses that deal in commodities by focusing on developing emotional appeals. This early-career experience helped shape my thinking in how to create content that actually resonates with people.

 

  • My eCommerce journey has included experiences involving conception of the website, to interviewing a baker’s dozen web dev firms, to implementation of well-planned content strategy for SEO, and strategy revolving around continued growth and expansion for various stages of the sales funnel. This has been one of my most rewarding and most enjoyable endeavors, as the results of my department’s work can be registered in the success of the site. Adept Marketing has been a fantastic partner in this journey.

 

  • The brand refresh I took part in was a huge career milestone. It involved defining brand tenets (not a small task), official fonts, brands logos, and an official style guide. This is easily summarized in one sentence, but it was a year-long process that took countless hour less, and left an indelible mark on a decades-old organization.

Have a questions on how to grow in your marketing career? Leave a question in the comments section.

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Tonight’s Box Score: 57 points, 12 boards, 15 dimes, 1 Block, 2 Steals, 0 Turnovers.

 

Easily Build Next Year’s Marketing Plan in 3 Steps

Whether you’re planning your company’s annual marketing plan for the first time or the 30th time, it can be a big undertaking. How do you know what will fly at you in mid-June of next year while you’re planning this Fall? You don’t necessarily know what surprises will arrive to you, but you’ll be a hell of a lot better prepared to tackle whatever comes your way by having a framework in place.

Creating a Marketing Plan

This is my 8th “season” of creating an organization’s marketing plan, and it has evolved from focusing mainly on tactics (the most common mistake in creating a marketing plan), to now focusing intently on our goals and establishing strategy to meet them. If you’re planning for next year and you haven’t started yet, get on it ASAP; I typically begin with preliminary plans in mid-September.

Jeremy King Marketing

Here’s a quick rundown on how I’ve created an organization’s annual marketing plan.

Preliminary Marketing Planning Components:

Determining your brand is paramount in creating a successful marketing plan. Already there? Move on to the next portion. If not, read this!

Target Market

  • Your Brand. Who are you? What are your Brand Tenets (Target Market, Vision, Mission, Positioning Statement)?
    • This is a tremendously important component of every organization’s marketing strategy, because it determines the guiding principles that drive strategy, including where you are, where you want to go, and what you can offer. Hopefully your organization already has this established. If not – there’s more to come regarding this in a future post.
      • Taking it a step further: I highly recommend documenting situational logo usage, color palette, fonts, and more.
    • Target Market: An immensely important component of your Brand strategy: this is the group that you’re promoting your products or services to.
      • Example: Automotive Manufacturers that do $750m+ in annual revenue. It can a lot more detailed than this.
    • Personas:
      • A representation of the people within your target markets. Always remember that people are the ones actually making decisions to buy from you.
        • Example: Facility Manager Molly
          • Age: Mid-Forties
          • Gender: Female
          • Possible Spend: $500,000/year facility budget
          • Attitudes: Quick solutions
          • Behaviors: Searches for quick-fixes for her facility via her smartphone.
    • Vision: What your organization strives to be.
    • Mission: The goal and purpose of an organization.
    • Positioning Statement: Used internally as a guide, the positioning statement documents your target, their need, your offering, your point of differentiation, and reasons to believe you can deliver upon your promise.

3 Main Components of a Marketing Plan:

Marketing Plan

    1. Organizational Goals/Objectives:

      • Rank your goals/objectives in terms of importance to the organization. I suggest 3-5 goals/objectives. Some goals/objectives are financial, market-share related, or growth-centric.

        • Example: $5.5m annual eCommerce revenue.

 

    1. Marketing Strategy:

      • Your marketing plan of action to reach an overall goal/objective. Strategy doesn’t equal tactics. You can buy or do a tactic. You cannot buy or do a strategy.

        • Example: Drive prospects to website to make purchase(s)

 

  1. Marketing Budget /  Marketing Tactics:

I lumped these 2 planning components components together for a reason. Why? Because with both you have to consider what you/your marketing team is capable of.

    • Are you working with a $50,000 marketing budget, or a $50 million marketing budget?
      • Every organization has its own philosophy in setting its marketing budget – even in terms of allocation by quarter or year – but I think this article is a great starting point for those new to marketing budget determinations.
    • Marketing Tactics are specific marketing actions taken to support strategy.
      • Example: Writing blog content to drive SEO for website to be found by prospects.
      • Tactics should be scheduled throughout your planning period. For example, if blogging is one of your tactics, perhaps you’ll plan to publish a blog every 2 weeks to support your strategy of driving prospects to your website.
      • Tactics are done (emails sent) or bought (PPC ads).
      • Considerations should be made whether you have sufficient in-house talent and bandwidth, or whether you must work with a 3rd-party partner (like an agency) in order to enact tactics to support your marketing strategy.

In Summary, Easily Create a Marketing Plan by Determining:

  1. The Organization’s Goals 
    • Financial/Market Share/Etc.
      • Example: Increasing sales X%
  2. Marketing Strategy
    • Increase Awareness/Drive Leads/Thought Leadership/Etc.
    • Example: Increasing brand awareness X%.
  3. *Marketing Tactics:
    • Trade Shows/SEO/PPC/Social Media/Etc.
      • Timing and Frequency of Tactics Matter!
    • Example: Launching a SnapChat account and engaging with followers daily.

Questions? Shoot me a comment.

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Tonight’s Box Score: 32 points, 5 boards, 6 dimes, 0 Blocks, 3 Steals, 1 Turnover.

3 Skills You Need To Outlast Technological Tidal Waves

Getting back in the saddle here…

Normally I see list-type articles as a way to get cheap clicks, but I feel like this is something worth actually writing:

I’m still in my mid-twenties but I’ve realized over time – and especially these last few months – that business and society’s most relevant technology will probably pass me by at some point in my life. It could be because I’m too busy in my career or family life to keep up, or it could be because I simply don’t have an interest or use for it. Either way it seems inevitable, although it seems much more likely to happen later than sooner. I’m not worried though because I think there are a few other rock solid traits that will be relevant throughout my entire life in business and the rest of life.

 

1. Emotional Intelligence: “the ability to monitor one’s own and other people’s emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior.”

Throughout my 10 years of working in a variety of positions, I’ve noticed that the people who seem to most effectively lead others over a long period of time do so because they gain the respect of others by reading people’s emotional states and reacting appropriately. Think about it, if you’ve ever had a coworker who doesn’t seem to get that what they’re doing negatively effects you or annoys the hell out of you – or if you’ve had a boss that is oblivious to frustrations you have at work – you’re unhappy with them.I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always show my own emotions the best or stay mindful of others in the moment, but I do reflect on past experiences to imagine how I could have handled situations better. I think that this reflection is half the battle, as I’ve noticed that it has helped improve my next interactions in similar situations.

 

2. The Will To Learn

Showing up might not be the most important thing in life, but it’s pretty damn close. Let’s say you don’t want to work out but you go to the gym anyway. You’re already there, so are you going to just not work out? I doubt it. But…follow through after you show up, because if you walk into the gym and immediately leave, you’ll look like a real weirdo.

Showing up might not be the most important thing in life, but it’s pretty damn close.

The reason I titled this section “The Will To Learn” rather than “The Desire To Learn” is because sometimes you just don’t want to do the hard work to reach the next level, but you do it anyway because you know it’ll be worth it in the end. In my own life I didn’t always want to stay up until 3am studying for an exam or to finish an essay, but I did it because I knew it would help me reach my next goal. In the past couple years I haven’t always been excited to read books or check out seminars on different topics in marketing, but I do it because I hope that I’ll learn something new to expand my knowledge base and eventually advance my career.

 

3. Resourcefulness

macguyver meme

This piggybacks on the previous point and from a past post I made, but finding a way to get things done is huge no matter what era or circumstances you live in. In my career I’ve found that I and others who take the extra time to figure out a new way to complete tasks or to use general problem solving skills seem to be more successful than those that don’t.

Being resourceful requires that you’re either desperate, have enough confidence in yourself to find a solution to your problem, or both. I’ve been in both situations, but I’ve found that if you begin to solve enough problems on your own, eventually you become self-sufficient and become someone that others turn to with help for their issues. To the pessimistic this might sound like a curse, but to the optimistic it means that the organization you work for or the clients you serve will view you as a problem solver and want to continue working with you.

Talent and good luck are important factors in having success (whatever you deem that to be), but embodying emotional intelligence, the will to learn and resourcefulness are vital for longterm success, unless you’re stuck on an island with only a volleyball – then forget about emotional intelligence and keep the other skills.

Think that there are other skills more important than these for longterm success? Share them in the comments, and I’ll debate you to the bitter end. It’ll be good times.

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Tonight’s Box Score: 28 points, 8 boards, 8 dimes, 0 Blocks, 0 Steals, 3 Turnovers.

 

Business Lessons From Howard Stern And LeBron James

lebron james
howard stern LeBron James (above) and Howard Stern

You might not think that radio host Howard Stern and basketball phenom LeBron James have much in common, but their ability to fully exploit being the best in their field is extraordinary. Each man is well-known nationwide and beyond and each have captured their fans’ fierce loyalty for years. However, their respective talents in radio and basketball alone haven’t led to their business successes.

Stand out by doing things differently. “King Of All Media”, Howard Stern has been a controversial figure in radio and other media for over 30 years, but he has also been the most popular radio host in the United States for most of those years. Whether offering his unique take on what’s happening in pop culture, or shedding light on the not-so-mainstream world of strippers and misfits, Howard Stern has given his audience the kind of entertainment that they enjoy – whether or not they would ever admit it publicly. If he wasn’t controversial and didn’t go against the grain in the manner he has, he wouldn’t be anywhere near as popular as he is and I wouldn’t be writing about him.

LeBron James was already an extremely popular athlete prior to the Summer of 2010, but his Decision to “take [his] talents [from Cleveland] to South Beach” catapulted him into an entirely new level of superstardom that very few reach. LeBron set a precedent for all elite professional athletes that Summer by taking away some of the power of billionaire team owners, and building a team on his own terms. By making this move, LeBron was exclaiming that team owners are no longer the master’s of athletes careers. In fact, elite athletes can make or break entire franchises, as evidenced by the Miami Heat’s ascension to the NBA Finals the following season while the Cleveland Cavaliers’ value fell from $476 million to $355 million and from 61 to 19 wins. The manner in which he made his announcement was perhaps more radical than the announcement itself, as 13.1 million people watched LeBron and Jim Gray conduct an hour-long special that led to LeBron’s decision after several days of intense buildup.

You can bend (a lot of) the rules if you’re the best at what you do. There’s probably no better example of someone being able to break the rules and being able to live to tell about it because of their huge talent than Howard Stern. Between 1990 and 2004 The Howard Stern Show received fines from the FCC totaling $2.5 million to radio licensees for airing material it deemed indecent from the highest amount of any American radio show. Why was the show able to continue despite these massive fines? Because Howard Stern has had millions of loyal listeners for decades.

Piggybacking off of the previous topic, LeBron James is changing the landscape of free agency for elite players in the NBA by keeping the NBA and its fans on edge every time his current contract expires. Will LeBron sign a one year deal with the Miami Heat this Summer? Will he sign with a totally unexpected team rather than re-upping with the Miami Heat as expected? Nobody knows, except LeBron.

Fan loyalty is king. LeBron and Stern are enabled to push the limits with the methods described above because of their massive fan followings. No fans, no popularity, and no audience to entertain. LeBron hosted his Decision special because he knew that millions of people would be interested enough to tune in because they cared about where he’d be playing the following season. Stern took the risk of jumping to Sirius Satellite Radio in 2005 after his terrestrial radio contract ended because he had faith that a good percentage of his fans would make the jump with him, and he was right.

Never be boring (or find your niche). Howard Stern distinguished himself from the masses of talking heads by positioning himself in stark contrast to status quo broadcasters: by becoming a shock jock and relentlessly pushing the limits of decency. Stern saw that unless a broadcaster was positioned with a ready-made platform to position themselves as a star (see Casey Kasem, Ryan Seacrest), they needed to take it upon themselves to separate themselves in a memorable way that people could resonate with. Stern understands that controversy and emotion riles up an audience more than the mundane ever will. Don’t agree? Why does America love reality television and how did Jerry Springer’s show become so popular?

How does LeBron fit in this category? He is perhaps the most exciting player in the NBA, and constantly keeps the NBA world’s attention by using the methods explained earlier.

Reinvention is the key to longevity. After nearly a decade of being beloved by the basketball-watching world, LeBron James became the enemy in 2010 for the way that he announced his departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite not embracing this persona, LeBron became more popular than ever, maybe even more popular with his haters and his fans. As the evolution of LeBron continues, he could be transitioning back to being generally beloved, as rumors swirl about his possible return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. This ever-changing storyline paired with LeBron’s immense talent makes him a minute-to-minute staple of sports talk shows across the world.

Howard Stern has had a remarkably long career with a common thread of pushing the limits of what is acceptable and shocking his listeners and viewers. In the 1980’s and 1990’s it was all about testing the borders of the FCC. From 2005 to present Stern has operated outside of the FCC’s jurisdiction, instead testing the boundaries of what society is comfortable with while at the same time becoming perhaps the best interviewer in the modern age. While still hosting his radio show, Stern made perhaps his most shocking moving of all: transforming himself into a family friendly personality on network television by becoming a judge on America’s Got Talent in 2012. While some argue that Stern’s shtick grew tired long ago, there’s no denying that he still wields massive power in the entertainment industry because of his ability to stay relevant with continuous reinvention.

Do you have examples of other celebrities who use these tactics in such as masterful way? What about other tactics that these 2 men use? Other comments? Shoot them to me in the comments below.

PS: Baba booey.

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Tonight’s Box Score: 31 points, 9 boards, 7 dimes, 1 Block, 3 Steals, 2 Turnovers.

 

What I Learned From Working For The Best Jazz Violinist In The World

In the Summer of 2009 I had reached the halfway point of my undergraduate career at The Ohio State University and spent many of my days searching for internships that would help to pad my resume and offer me the chance to do work that was relevant to my career path. During this search I stumbled upon a posting from the world’s best jazz violinist, Christian Howes offering “a chance to operate internet marketing for a real business and also to work in the entertainment and music business with a proven successful music industry business“. Working in music in entertainment was especially attractive to me, so I jumped at the opportunity by writing to Christian right away.

Violinist Christian Howes
Violinist Christian Howes

Prior to working with Christian I had already spent a few years working a crazy schedule: in high school going to school then practice for a sport and then off to work, and in college I had already been working 30 hours a week and going to school full time. However, working with Christian gave me a whole new perspective on working crazy hours, self-learning and doing whatever was necessary to be accomplish one’s goals. I’m still in the very early part of my career, but I’ll reflect on the experiences I have from working with Christian for the rest of my life.

My main responsibilities while working with Christian included promoting his 3 businesses (educating, touring and production services) online, booking tour dates, contacting local media outlets for show promoting, doing his dry-cleaning, selling merchandise at shows, learning how to use a ton of online marketing tools and implementing some ingenious guerrilla marketing tactics, including heavy use of Twitter – then in its infancy. At the time I might not have appreciated how many marketing tactics Christian was aware of as a one-man-band (literally), but now I’m amazed by it.

While working with Christian I quickly realized how important it is for someone in a field like Christian’s to have an intense desire to learn and to get things done. No one else was around for Christian or I to pass the buck to. Either we learned how to use a piece of software, worked to get the attention of the right people at music clubs, or we didn’t make money. Another important piece of knowledge I picked up from Christian was how important it was to surround yourself with a network of people who had the same drive and similar goals to yourself. Christian was – and by all appearances still is – fantastic at capitalizing on the top guerrilla marketing tactics of the moment, whether it was gleaned from a webinar from his brother Lewis Howes or from research he had done on his own. Perhaps the most important point to make is that all of this work was in support of what I assume was and still is Christian’s goal: to be the best violinist in his category, in the world.

If I had worked for the last 3 – 1/2 years at large corporation where I was plugged into a role with a very specific set of documented responsibilities I might not be writing this right now and likely would feel much less fulfilled than I do. However, my current – and first – job out of college was as the first ever marketing employee for a then-23 year old company. Early on I had to pull more from my time working with Christian than I did from my years in school, including my time at OSU. For that I’m extremely grateful for the time that I spent working with Christian and for the opportunity he gave me to get my hands dirty, learn, and to have a first-hand look at the results of the work I did. As I continue in my career I still pull from experiences and skills I learned working with Christian and hope to reach the heights that he has by staying at the top of my game through continuous self-learning and by striving to be the best in my field as well.

Curious about Christian’s music? Check this cover of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”.

Questions/Comments? Shoot me a comment.

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Tonight’s Box Score: 36 points, 11 boards, 5 dimes, 0 Blocks, 0 Steals, 0 Turnovers.

Why Columbus Needed this NHL Season More Than Anyone

This past Monday night, the Columbus Blue Jackets were eliminated from the NHL playoffs. Despite that, the city of Columbus may have received more exposure than it has in (non-presidential election) years.

The Blue Jackets gained gxposure from NHL fans for Columbus and strengthened their ties with their city's fans this season
The Blue Jackets gained exposure for Columbus from NHL fans  and strengthened their ties with their city’s fans this season

Before the City of Columbus brokered a deal to partially fund the Blue Jackets’ Nationwide Arena with Columbus’ Hollywood Casino revenue, Columbus was in real danger of losing its hockey team. I’ve never been the biggest hockey fan in the world, but I never wanted that to happen because I feel it would discredit Columbus as a major city and as a city that deserves any kind of professional sports league. For some people, Columbus’ position as the nation’s “smallest big city” is a positive, but it’s always annoyed the hell out of me. It always irks me to travel to somewhere else in the country, say I’m from Columbus and have the person I’m talking to say “Columbus, where?”. I know that part of that comes from the fact that “Columbus” is associated more with the famous pillager and doesn’t have a strong identity, but you don’t get that kind of response from people if you say you’re from Cleveland. You’ll get other responses if you say you’re from Cleveland, but I digress…

This season brought the first overall feelings of goodwill to the Blue Jackets in years, rallying their base of loyal fans and drawing in the casual hockey fan

Because the city invested so much in keeping the Blue Jackets and because the team’s home games have had poor attendance as of late, this season’s success couldn’t have come at a much better time. The team was irrelevant for many in the city, and it wasn’t on the best terms with many people who they were relevant with because of the recent controversial arena deal. This season brought the first overall feelings of goodwill to the Blue Jackets in years, rallying their base of loyal fans and drawing in the casual hockey fan (like me) who just want to see a Columbus team to do well. This season also took another piece of ammunition away from those who constantly point towards the casino deal as a huge waste because the team it supports isn’t worthy of its benefits.

Game 4 of this season’s first round Stanley Cup playoffs series between Columbus and Pittsburgh was one of the top 3 sporting events I’ve ever attended in person. I’ve never been in a louder sports atmosphere, and I’m glad it was with the CBJ because I wasn’t the only one that took notice and it showed that Columbus is a city that can support a big-4 professional sports team. Being a Cleveland sports fan doesn’t create many opportunities to witness playoff games, so that added to the positives for me as well…

Questions/Comments? Shoot me a comment.

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Tonight’s Box Score: 27 points, 2 boards, 5 dimes, 3 Blocks, 4 Steals, 2 Turnovers.