NonTraditional Marketing Mash by Omarr Cantú

Non-Traditional Marketing Guru. Social Media Addict. Ad Man. Movie Buff. Live Music Lover. Cigar Aficionado.

Traditional Marketing is Dead. Given this is a bold statement, but it is my belief that with a growing generation of Americans that have become desensitized by the constant bombardment of media the only way to get recognized is by taking a non-traditional approach.

Non-Traditional is the future of the industry, and that's where I come in. I love non-traditional marketing and often come across many original (and not so original) ideas during my travels out in the field. The disciplines discussed will all fall under non-traditional marketing but will include event marketing, field marketing, street marketing, and of course guerrilla marketing. This is a mash of cool ideas that catch my eye that I thought would be worthy to share with you. Enjoy the mash and don't forget to wash your hands.

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Common Mistakes that Every Young Entrepreneur Should Avoid - Young Entrepreneur

The “Great Idea” Business

One of the worst ways to think about a new business is the “great idea” approach. The “great idea” approach can best be summed up as the guy who has a big idea and is sure that by creating it, the business will just roll in. Before putting an ounce of energy into creating your product, you need to identify your target market and understand why they will want what you sell. The easiest way to start thinking along these lines is to ask yourself the question, “who has a problem that my business will solve?”

Until you fully understand the needs of your target customer, you will never figure out how to structure your business to serve them. Venture capitalist Paul Graham talks about this mistake on his blog, stating that “…a surprising number of founders seem willing to assume that someone, they’re not sure exactly who, will want what they’re building. Do the founders want it? No, they’re not the target market. Who is? Teenagers. People interested in local events…or “business” users. What business users? Gas stations? Movie studios? Defense contractors?”

Not Being Willing to Change

Adaptation is crucial to the success of a new business, but rarely is that truer than when you are just starting out. Often times, founders believe they know for certain what people want and how to give it to them. Unfortunately, they become so enraptured with what they believe is the “right way” of doing things that they are unwilling to listen to what their customers actually want. SmallBusinessBranding reminds us that listening to your market and adapting to the needs your customers express is an important part of running a successful company.

Remember – you are not creating your product or service for yourself, you are doing it for your target audience. Who better to tell you how well you are doing than them?

Waiting to Start

Want to know how to destroy your business fast? Wait for the perfect time to start – it will never come. Life always gets in the way of something as time consuming as starting a business. School, work, family obligations – all will be as much of a hindrance next month as they are today. If you can drill one lesson into your head as you wade into the waters of entrepreneurship, make it this: there is no reason not to have progress.

Waiting for Funding

Having no funding gives new founders a comfortable excuse to delay diving in and immersing themselves in their company, which can make the whole thing look and feel a lot less serious. Not only does this “hurry up and wait” approach kill the energy and morale of a new team, it can be a real turn off to investors.

Venture capitalists and bank officers alike prefer to see that you have created something of value without their money before trusting you to wisely manage a huge investment. As terrific as it would be to have a shiny new office and an unlimited supply of materials, that comes later. By all means, aggressively pursue the funds you need, but understand that now is the time to head out to the garage and build what you have set out to create. Again – there is no reason not to have progress.

Being Penny Wise and Pound Foolish

Money is often tight for a new business struggling to get off the ground, and authorizing expense money for anything other than the bare necessities can feel painful. However, as a new entrepreneur with the best interest of your organization in mind, understand that it doesn’t pay to pinch pennies where they truly count. Your personal skill and the talent that you hire will form the foundation upon which your entire company either thrives or crumbles. Therefore, training materials, expert consulting, and skilled labor are necessary expenses of any new business, and should never be ignored in the name of saving money.

Not Setting Deadlines

There is a mantra in the business world that is good for new founders to learn early on: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” This is known as Parkinson’s Law, and it means that deadlines motivate us. Without deadlines, the effort required to complete a task is either overestimated or under-appreciated, and so the founder goes ok chipping away at it like a brick of ice rather than buckling down conquering the whole project.

@AdAge Study Shows Consumers Spend More Time On Social Sites Than Portals

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Cheers,

Omarr I. Cantú
(407) 760-5544 mobile
@OmarrCantu twitter

Follow Me On: Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin

One-Eyed Monster: Austin's Premier Graphics Company, Evolution Graphics

As marketing and advertising professionals we are always looking for vendors, companies to help us get our message out that is affordable, deadline, oriented, and has awesome customer service. My friends over at Evolution Graphics have done just that with all the previous projects that I have tossed their way. They have recently moved their rapidly expanding operation and took the opportunity to show off their wares in the entry way of their new place. This custom piece showcases some of the many substrates they can manipulate for customization. Please note the depth of the stand off signage, great color saturation, and great graphic design. 

Check out their rockin' design and production work online. 

Cheers,

Omarr I. Cantú
(407) 760-5544 mobile
@OmarrCantu twitter

Follow Me On: Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin


(download)

Oak Farms Dairy's 15' Tall Cow

This gigantic promotional trailer was parked outside a new Walgreen's location in Austin, Texas that was having its grand opening weekend. The cow stands a whopping 15' tall and 18' long and is made from solid fiberglass. When I drove past, I thought it was a large inflatable due to is magnitude and was highly impressed when I saw that it was solid. Please note the level of detail in the cow's eyelashes and udder veins, some detail. That must be quite a site staring at a 5' cow butt on the freeway. 

Cheers,

Omarr I. Cantú
(407) 760-5544 mobile
@OmarrCantu twitter

Follow Me On: Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin


(download)