This commercial always gives me chills.
Viewing entries in
Advertising
My friend Tim sent me an article yesterday, written by Nancy Lublin, about what traditional marketers can learn from non-profit marketers. The piece was well written and truthful. I don’t know if he read my previous day’s post or not, but his timing was perfect. The key takeaways from the article are:
- Ask Smart
- Say Thanks
- Hire For Passion
To read the article in it’s entirety click here. Thanks Tim!
Non-profit organizations face unique challenges when it comes to marketing. Non-profits have different types of products and services, timeframes for projects, goals, people, and funding (or lack thereof) than most other traditional businesses. Because of the higher pay, most professional marketers (read: marketing majors) tend to gravitate towards the private, agency, or consultancy sectors.
This leaves those who aren’t formally trained in marketing to assume the marketing efforts and positions of many non-profit organizations. However, this presents a unique opportunity in that they typically end up with people who care more about the cause than the money. Many entrepreneurial types, such as myself, find ourselves in social organizations because we often find ourselves stifled within the bureaucratic structure and slow action of the traditional, corporate atmosphere. Because of the limitations on the social sector, these entrepreneurs often come up with creative and innovative solutions that traditional marketers could learn from, such as:
- How to use social media effectively
- How to build a personal voice in marketing
- How to react quickly to a changing marketplace
- How to identify and reach specific target markets
- How to market through blogs
- How to make use of a collaborative environment
- How to do grassroots marketing effectively
- How to build sustainable partnerships with (public/private and public/public)
- How to engage in guerilla marketing
- How to measure results
Pereira & O’Dell, Advertising Age’s 2010 Small Agency of the Year, asked their employees one question that helped create their phenomenal success: “How do you feel the agency is doing, and what might make it better?” The agency opened their doors in 2008. In the span of two years, the company has gone from conception to one of the premier smaller agencies in the nation.
P.J. Pereira and Andrew O’Dell are leaders in the advertising world because they are leaders in the office. Asking your employees for innovative ways to become better involves the entire team and instills a feeling of community ownership. When people feel involved and appreciated they produce fantastic results. Case in point – Pereria & O’Dell. Congratulations guys and keep up the good work!