ME 52-2: Social Media Marketing is Here to Stay

For the past 4 years, Athena Chang has been working as a search marketing manager in New York City. In her opinion, Twitter is a part of a social media phenomenon that is here to stay.



Athena Chang, SEM Manager
Ai Media Group
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/athenachang
Twitter: athenahoya



What site(s) do you have to visit every day for Marketing news?
http://www.clickz.com/

What site(s) do you go to at least once a day for fun and inspiration?
http://nymag.com/

Greatest skill a good Marketing professional requires?
Analytical skills

What's the recent "it" Marketing phrase/trend of the moment that you hear almost everyday and what does it mean for the industry and the marketplace?
Social media marketing

There have been fads in the Marketing world. In your opinion, what are recent developments that are here to stay?
Social media marketing

What is essential NOT to do when it comes to your area of Marketing speciality?
Being lazy

What's an imminent hurdle in the Marketing world that you think will cause significant changes to the way we market to consumers or businesses?
Mobile advertising

Can Marketing ideas travel across continents and languages? Does globalization work or is localization more effective?
Depends on the market and the products. I think it is a combination of both but it is really a case by case situation.

Best piece of advice you have received professionally or personally?
Keep learning or you will fall behind.

Growing up, what was the first thing you can remember wanting to be?
A teacher.

To tweet or not to tweet? Fad or here to stay?
Stay. It is part of the social media phenomenon and has turned into a great marketing tool.

Is Marketing more of an art or more of a science?
Definitely a great balance between the two.

ME 52-1: Marketing is Science with Creative Edges

For the past 2 years, Michelle Ehlert has been working as a communication and media "marketing investigator." In her opinion, mobile marketing is an important, up-and-coming communications platform to keep our eyes on.

Michelle Ehlert, Sr. Associate, Communications & Media dunnhumbyUSA

Twitter: maehlert

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/michelle-ehlert/2/4b4/492

What site(s) do you have to visit every day for Marketing news?
http://www.adage.com/

http://consumerist.com/

What site(s) do you go to at least once a day for fun and inspiration?

http://twitter.com/
http://www.beatnikindustries.com/

http://www.slate.com/

Greatest skill a good Marketing professional requires?

Being able to look outside in - always putting the customer first.

What's the recent "it" Marketing phrase/trend of the moment that you hear almost everyday and what does it mean for the industry and the marketplace?
"Let's tweet about it." - Twitter fosters a breeding environment for viral marketing. While everyone thinks that tweeting will generate positive buzz, it's uncertain if it's a sustainable marketing channel. For the industry, it affirms that never before have consumers had such control.

There have been fads in the Marketing world. In your opinion, what are recent developments that are here to stay?
Mobile marketing is just scratching the surface in the U.S., but when the technical infrastructure is ready to support it here, it will explode, changing the speed at which consumers process information and providing a platform for targeting messages any time, any place.

What is essential NOT to do when it comes to your area of Marketing speciality?
When communicating with consumers at the household level, it's essential not to overlook the targeting methodology. It should be scrutinized for errors because missing the relevancy mark with consumers is unforgivable.

What's an imminent hurdle in the Marketing world that you think will cause significant changes to the way we market to consumers or businesses?

I believe that mobile marketing (though not mainstream yet) will lead to significant changes in the way consumers and businesses are marketed to.

Can Marketing ideas travel across continents and languages? Does globalization work or is localization more effective?

Yes, if the idea transcends cultural differences and is relevant to consumers; though, the challenge for marketers is not for the message to get lost in translation. Think global, act local; it can work if organizations recognize that it can't be a blanketed execution.

Best piece of advice you have received professionally or personally?

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Growing up, what was the first thing you can remember wanting to be?
A doctor by day; a ballerina by night.

Is Marketing more of an art or more of a science?

Marketing is a science with creative edges - getting the right message, to the right person, at the right time requires strategy and planning and cannot be left up to artistic design.

Which marketer do you admire most, and why?
Of course I'm biased: Clive Humby. He had the vision to start dunnhumby with his wife 20 years ago, working out of a bedroom in their London home. Now, with over 1300 employees worldwide, he continues to inspire the organization to keep innovating, though never forgetting the promise to put customers first.

Welcome to Marketing Experiment 52 | ME52

Most marketing-related sites appear to focus on a product and campaign approach, reviewing what is already being done, but often stop short of featuring the people and the creative process. Here, we are interested in the “who” and “how.”

As a result, we decided to launch a year-long (52 week) social experiment, by bringing together marketing people—and their thoughts and ideas. Thus Marketing Experiment 52 (ME52) was born.

Over the course of the year, we’ll see how the conversation develops via interview format, within a global viewpoint, across marketing industries and at different experience levels. At the end of one year, we’ll observe what trends, similarities and differences emerge from within the entire scope of the community.

Our hope is that the best advice comes from all sides of the aisle, the creative and analytical, the tenured and the enthusiastically new, and from all parts of the globe.

Finally, we, ourselves, are marketers that have different expertise and come from different parts of the world, but are passionate about what we do and excited to host a place that serves as a resources as well as an inspiration.

Welcome!