We live in the Digital Age. Nothing new there. You can get most anything and DO most everything – including running a business – from the comfort of your couch and from a device that fits in the palm of your hand. Nothing new there, either.
Don’t get me wrong; all the advances are great (I do love all the shopping apps on my phone!). But, there are times when I wonder if technology has left us all a bit cold, a bit disconnected from each other. I wonder if all the automation and technology we use in marketing has left us yearning for human contact.
I’m not sure of the answer. But, here’s what I know: technology has taken what we do – marketing and branding amazing businesses, products, and services – to new heights. We are able to reach more people, more often, and with more targeted messaging than ever before. THAT impacts our clients’ bottom lines. But, I also know this: despite being as tech-driven as we are, we all still yearn for human contact. In fact, I think we seek those moments of connection out.
So, what does this mean for marketers? For me – and the team at Avocet – it means a world of opportunity to excel at human-centric strategies. If we are doing our jobs right and helping our clients get heard and noticed, we have to get into the minds of their customers. Can you do that with technology? Certainly. But, it’s also important that we include strategies that get in front of customers….literally. Face-to-face. That’s where you gain true and honest insight.
At Avocet, we use marketing to touch the hearts and minds of our clients’ customers. We use what I call, “storytelling marketing” to create Aha! moments and emotional epiphanies that not only build brand awareness and drive sales and customer count, but that also engender true affinity between a brand and its customers.
Take, for example, some of the work we do for arc Thrift Stores. Operations at the organization’s 27 stores provide funding to Arc Chapters, which in turn provide advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout Colorado. Arc Thrift Stores is one of the largest employers of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the state. We worked with a local television station to create a four-minute video highlighting the organization’s Ambassador program for arc’s annual fundraising gala. We chose to illustrate arc’s mission by having it told by the people it helps the most. The video featured interviews with three Ambassadors and their moms, and truly pulled at the heartstrings – and brought tears to the eyes of many of the 700 guests at the event. These amazing families are so inspiring; the stories they told in the video brought home the impact of arc’s mission in a way that had a lasting impact.
One leader that embodies the human connection in marketing like few others is Liza Adams of Pure Storage. Liza is a transformative leader, one who believes that “qualitative marketing should never get substituted by automation.”
Take a listen to her appearance on the Integrate & Ignite podcast here. You will be glad you did!
