Research And Why We Love It
Research in marketing is utilized to discover consumer insights which, in turn, drives business decisions and the strategy that is to follow. The world is quickly beginning to quantify and track EVERYTHING (and I do mean everything). This is fantastic news for marketing and advertising. We can use these metrics to our advantage. As a matter of fact, we better use them because it's adapt or die out there.
Fortunately, Mad Men Marketing is ahead of the curve. Not only did we become the first in our market to begin using Rentrak, (a wonderful little tool that lets us target the appropriate media buy to your target audience) but we also offer customizable research delivery and custom-tailored case studies.
Why case studies, you may ask? They explore CAUSATION to underlying principles which allows us to tweek our approach. It is empirical research that investigates real-life phenomena. So while every other agency is out there telling you to “trust them”, we do not remain static in our approach like so many others. We are not so overzealous to think we get it right all the time. NO! We are dynamic. We will get you results, quantify them, and show them to you. We will constantly refine and improve our approach, guaranteeing the highest level of efficiency possible.
In 1985 Michael Porter attempted to improve upon Ricardo's comparative advantage and suggested his own theory of competitive advantage. This emphasizes production, efficiencies, and the acquisition of attributes that can be utilized to outpace the competition. Think of Mad Men Marketing as your Swiss Army Knife or the ace up your sleeve because we are delivering our clients comparables, measurables, and demonstrating causative reasons for market change utilizing a number of inputs.
In short, when you perform research, and you can deliver the goods to your client, you're allowing them to track progress….no matter how small it may be. This keeps clients abreast of changing market conditions and keeps them competitive in their industry.
New Grad’s Guide on How to Transition to the Real World
Everyone is going to give you “advice” and “tips” on how to get the perfect job out of college. I’m not going to do that. I’m going to tell you my story about how I had absolutely no plan after college and eventually ended up finding my passion and working in a job I love. No advice, just experience.
Graduation
The day I graduated was an exciting day! It was also a scary one. With peers getting jobs from their internships, I’d be lying to you if I didn't tell you I felt a little behind the curve. I spent 4 years with professors giving me “advice” that the competition is high today, and you need to be the best of the best in order to stand a chance in the real world. There was a lot of pressure to be employed quickly.
After Graduation
My story doesn’t start out with countless interviews and finding the perfect navy blue suit, (because statistically, you have a higher chance to be hired in a navy blue suit.) The truth is, I was at a party. I was talking with my fellow new grads about their new internships and jobs, which I mainly just listened to due to the fact that I hated the question “Hey PJ what are you doing now?” I met one of my friend’s older brother, who by chance was looking for a copywriter for his web development company. I said “I can do that!” By Monday, I had a job!! Part-time, but hey, I had an answer to the dreaded question.
The Copywriting Days
I worked on writing blogs, social media content, copy, and SEO meta descriptions for a small web development company. It was a team of four of us and I worked about 15 hours per week. The best part about it was the creative freedom I could apply to the work.
Eventually though, I found that I really needed something more full-time. I applied for a copywriter position at a big corporate web development company, and got it after the 2nd interview. This had me excited at first, my first “big boy” job was a huge national company. I saw myself climbing the ladder to CEO status, hopefully by the time I was 30. A long shot? Yes, but hey you got to dream big, right? Well that dream slowly diminished as I learned the difference between a small company and corporate. Simply put, I found my skills to be a lot more valuable outside of the corporate world.
I quit. Everyone told me I was being foolish to quit a steady job without another job lined up. I didn’t care. People also told me “your twenties are a time to screw up and bounce back”. So that’s exactly what I did. It felt like the right thing to do, so I took some time and re-evaluated what I really wanted out of a career. The bills never stopped however, and I was eating Easy Mac and ramen for a while.
Discovering Accounts
Sometime later, I got a call from the first small web company about W2 information. It ended with, “Oh, so we were picked up by an ad agency, there’s a sales position open if you’re interested”. It just so happens that I just finished watching the movie “Yes Man” and I was all about opening myself up to new possibilities. I got the interview, made it past the second interview, and got hired.
My first day, I felt completely overwhelmed, but I surprisingly picked up the pace pretty quickly. This experience was different. I didn’t feel like I was doing meaningless tasks that no one else wanted to do. I was thrown into important meetings, large deals, and big clients all at once. After a while, you become comfortable in this realm. Before I knew it, I was the one hosting the important meetings.
I learned how to speak to potential clients, how to negotiate a quote, how to close deals, how to manage projects, how to work with a budget, how to produce results, and most importantly how to love what you do for a living. Working in accounts has been challenging and exciting all at the same time, and I feel like I have something that a lot of people don’t find in life, career passion.
So I didn’t get a prestigious internship that led to the perfect job. I made mistakes, opened the wrong doors, and fell into the right place. My only advice to someone stressed about graduation is to never be afraid to fail, because you will. You ARE going to make mistakes, so it’s better to learn to roll with the punches than to avoid the inevitable. Life throws curveballs and you can only plan so far, so make sure to never lose the courage to change, it could be the best change you ever made.
Crossing the Finish Line
Being competitive isn't the same as being spiteful or jealous, I encourage the people around me. A competitive nature simply means that something is driving us to perform and out-perform our previous accomplishments. There are many studies done on different learning styles and different way of being motivated. Well, a competitive spirit is definitely a motivator! So if you have one, and you know that you do, how can you implement this talent to better serve your business?
Competitive spirit is not something you can change or fix. It is drive, drive to do more research, drive to reach more people, drive to learn new platforms and obtain new business. Be goal-oriented, not people-oriented. Despite the stigma attached to competitiveness (especially for women), there is nothing wrong with wanting to be the very best at what you are doing. Besides, working against your nature just wastes time and energy, and both are very valuable.
Sometimes a competitive attitude comes with a “win at all costs” mentality, and that is the downside. An honest game is the only way to play, otherwise you will not ever be satisfied and your “win” will be of no importance to you. Sometimes a collaborative “team” effort will help you get ahead!
Remember to relax! Internal pressure that we put on ourselves can be greater than others put on us. Don't let your competitive nature turn into insecurity or inability to find happiness in what you have already achieved because you want more. Take the time to be proud of what you do accomplish!
Why I Worship At The Altar Of Google And You Should Too
Google is the leading mobile operating system with Android OS, which is used by Samsung, (which by itself has a 30%+ smartphone market share) HTC, and many other smartphones. If that didn't impress you, maybe this will. Google is obviously the world's largest search engine, but did you know that YouTube is the 2nd largest and is owned by Google? Still not impressed? Google is aiming to become a leader in digital television and even becoming a high end internet service provider with speeds that reach 1 gigabit/second or faster. The internet is so fast, your TV is able to stream live television just as if you were connected to Comcast. If you're still on the fence on whether or not you will pledge your fealty to Google, they are producing Google Glass. These are glasses that provide the wearer with a heads up display of web content and other user selected apps. Should you find yourself wanting to distance yourself from Google just to spite them, you're out of luck. For those of you avoiding Google Plus, you may see a dip in your SEO because Google has incorporated social circles and interactions on Google Plus into their search algorithm. Swear your unwavering allegiance to this zaibatsu juggernaut or perish in the undertow that is the Google tsunami.
The Curse of Steve Jobs’ Ghost
All that being said, the company has failed time and again to innovate in recent years. QUICK…name your favorite Apple innovation in the last two years (don't worry, I'll wait). Do you hear the sound of that void of nothingness? The great innovative company may have lost its panache when Steve Jobs left this mortal plane. Year after year and quarter after quarter, they rehash the same devices with upgraded hardware to stay competitive in markets that THEY CREATED. Not only are they not leading innovation anymore, but the price point on their merchandise is far too high and their software is incompatible with everything on the market. This means that Samsung, HTC, Motorola, and all the other heavy hitters can crank out the latest and greatest smartphones and/or tablets while implementing Google's Android OS. The only telecommunications device that uses Apple's operating system is Apple and that's why everyone waits 2 years for a new phone that isn't even competitive with what's out there right now. I miss you Apple, so this is my plea for your return to normalcy, to innovation, and to listening to what customers want and being ahead of the curve.