Don’t “market to” – instead “partner with”…

Just saw this over at mobileyouth.org – a nice piece on getting away from the campaign mentality.  In their words:  

“Engaging youth is no longer about short term spiking (ie campaigns), but a focus on long term creation.  Think long term, think organic, think partnership; here are the 3 most overlooked marketing strategies for successfully engaging young consumers because they don’t necessarily dwell on technology, media planners or the next great thing but do the common things uncommonly well – make youth feel significant, make them feel they belong – welcome to partnership marketing.”

In a world where consumers can instantly see beyond the spin control, you really are what do you, not what you say you are.  In this vein, three focus points:

1. Customer Service is key.
2. Value communication – don’t take yourself too seriously.
3. Event Creation – build something permanent!

Anyhow, the full article is over here – a good little read:

http://www.mobileyouth.org/post/kill-your-campaign-3-youth-marketing-strategies-that-actually-work/