September 2003
MARKETING ANGEL ™
Success means focusing on a target audience
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
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In Maine, our talent cup runneth over. For such a modest population, we have a fantastic pool of creative types - including actors, songwriters, designers and writers. One illustration of Maine's creativity largesse is The Via Group (www.vianow.com), an integrated marketing and communications company that's been producing award-winning results for a national clientele for ten years. Via recently beat out large agencies based in Seattle and New York to nab The American Skiing Co. account. I asked Via's CEO and founding partner John R. Coleman how his small shop based in Portland keeps attracting and retaining eminent clients.
Marketing Angel: Via works with some of the world's most recognizable brands, including JP Morgan, AT & T and Cisco Systems. How does Via attract and retain such a top-tier clientele?
John Coleman: The VIA Group is the fifth largest advertising agency in New England, according to AdWeek. We win national and international clients due to the quality of our work. We keep a low profile, so most of our new clients come from referrals. We have a reputation for delivering work that helps grow our clients' businesses. When you make companies money, they love to pass your name along to others.
Marketing Angel: Clients are increasingly looking for ways to prove return on investment (ROI). How does Via show its advertising and marketing efforts are cutting through the sea of ad clutter?
John Coleman: Working with our research director and other partners, we have developed innovative techniques to analyze large databases of media information, consumer behavior, and actual testing of our creative work to determine the total impact of a campaign. These metrics allow clients to measure the financial impact of the marketing investment and make changes to large campaigns in real time. We always develop communications plans that show the client company how it will get a payback from its campaign.
Marketing Angel: What is an example of a successful recent campaign you've created? What made the campaign a success?
John Coleman: We recently helped Brownco, a division of J.P. Morgan, launch a new integrated campaign including TV broadcast, print, direct, and e-marketing. The campaign objective is to win new, serious, online traders. The campaign focused on showing people talking about what they expected from an online brokerage firm. The results have exceeded the company's plan because the creative work speaks to the target audience in a direct fashion. The honesty and tone of the advertising connected in a very real way. In an age of hype, people respond to a forthright approach.
Marketing Angel: So how did a guy with a degree in mechanical engineering end up helming such a sought-after and creative enterprise?
John Coleman: My father is an engineer, but my mother is an expressive, creative person. I am definitely their son, split down the middle. After engineering school I received my MBA. Marketing is about problem solving and creating solutions (much like engineering), these skills play to may strength. My partner Rich Rico and I started VIA ten years ago. I feel I have the best job in the world for me.
Marketing Angel: TiVo offers consumers the chance to eradicate ads in their favorite Barney Miller episodes. How do you think ad-bypassing technology will affect how we reach consumers in the next few years? Will it kill TV advertising?
John Coleman: TV advertising is not dead. But the world in changing. The billions of dollars spent on advertising will not disappear, what will happen is that it will be spent in new and creative ways to reach consumers. More targeted and non-traditional channels will be created. For example, recently I was in New York City. The back of my cab receipt had an advertisement for Microsoft Windows - advertisers will track you down.
Marketing Angel: What's your favorite part about working in a field where you can meld creativity with bottom-line business results?
John Coleman: I love that fact that I get to learn about a new industry every month. This month alone I have studied the ski industry, the pharmaceutical industry, a new robotic vacuum cleaner, and pitched a travel account in the Dominican Republic. What more fun could there be?
Kimberly L. McCall (a.k.a. Marketing Angel), is president of McCall Media & Marketing, Inc., a business communications and writing company in Durham, Maine. McCall writes the monthly Sales Force column for Entrepreneur magazine, and contributes to inc.com, MarketingProfs.com and The Wall Street Journal's StartupJournal.com. Her book, "Sell it, Baby! Marketing Angel's 37 Down-to-Earth & Practical How-To's on Marketing, Branding & Sales" will be available this fall. Sign up for her free e-bulletin at www.MarketingAngel.com or contact McCall at 207-865-0055.