Urban Marketing Conference Aims For Cutting Edge
“It’s not just Nike that wants to get to the urban customer,” says SRI strategist Rupa Ranganathan. “And it’s not just street teams that are being used as the effective method of urban marketing. There’s a large group of marketers that have come to equate urban marketing with ethnic marketing. And a large number of companies that have come to equate urban marketing with guerilla marketing or buzz marketing.”
Those buzz marketing tactics have included simple posters, handouts or local event sponsorships. But now the tactics are focused around finding key influencers within a neighborhood. The key to urban marketing may not be a billboard or street teams handing out product samples. According to Ranganathan, the key may be in knowing that the beauty salon is where people get product information and that the most respected purveyor of that information is the beauty salon owner. The conference will emphasize ways to find those “influencers” and then influence them.
Presenters at the conference include companies not traditionally associated with urban marketing. Colgate-Palmolive, Verizon, John Hancock, Major League Baseball and the National Kidney Foundation are scheduled to speak.
“You might not think of C-P as an innovator but they are a pioneer in urban marketing,” says Ranganathan. “It comes down to how you connect to the right group of people. That’s what this is all about. You can do it at any level and with any audience. You can do it on Wall Street. But you need to know how to connect to the right people.”
Ranganathan says this year’s conference will be the biggest on the topic her company has seen. In fact, the urban marketing topic grew out of one agenda item at a conference last fall. Now, it has it a whole day.
Recent Online Media Daily Articles
-
CIMM Issues Request For Data, Cross-Platform Metrics June 19, 9:29 a.m.
The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) said it has issued a request for proposals involving ... -
Heads Or Tails: Facebook Grows A Long One, Surpasses 1 Million Advertisers June 19, 7:48 a.m.
Facebook has reached an important ad industry milestone, becoming one of the few mega platforms to ... -
Consumer Action: Most Web Users Want Control Over Tracking June 18, 8:20 p.m.
Most Web users have expectations about privacy that appear to be at odds with current practices ... -
Affiliate Channels Attract Global Buying, Tailored Marketing Programs June 18, 5:54 p.m.
The Internet continues to make the world smaller for affiliate marketers, but there are physical challenges ... -
Microsoft Rolls Out Ad Pano, Mobile Ad Format June 18, 3:03 p.m.
With the help of the broader ad industry, Microsoft this week is rolling out a mobile ... -
Kiip Debuts Self-Serve Option For Advertisers June 18, 2:23 p.m.
Mobile rewards network Kiip has added a self-serve option for advertisers aimed at attracting more small- and medium-sized ... -
Mindshare Taps Elkins As Managing Director, Digital, West Coast June 18, 1:51 p.m.
Mindshare, part of WPP's GroupM, has tapped digital marketing veteran Amy Elkins to be managing director, ... -
Blogging Stake: WPP Invests In Muzy June 18, 9:12 a.m.
WPP has taken a stake in Muzy Inc., an early-stage micro-blogging service focused on mobile content ... -
MSN, Newsy Partnership To Debut June 18, 7:40 a.m.
MSN on Tuesday is expected to announce a partnership with mobile-focused video news network Newsy. Similar to ... -
ZO Shaves Global Ad Outlook: Says Internet, Especially Mobile, Will Be Greatest Growth Engines June 18, 7:34 a.m.
The global ad economy now is expected to expand only 3.5% this year, according to the ...
Be the first to comment on "Urban Marketing Conference Aims For Cutting Edge"
Leave a Comment