Walking on the moon

I've been thinking about all the great technology advances in the last 10 years - or even 5 years or 2 years - that have made marketing an exciting place to be. I'm not ashamed to tell you that when I started my first real job writing for a local golf magazine, fax machines were the big technology of the day. At that time, we still produced the magazine on big board layouts using type machines, x-acto knives and line tape. While I was still there, i managed to take a few desktop publishing classes on the new apple computers at school - and we eventually got one at work to do layouts on. Yes those were heady days designing away on that huge 8-inch screen.

The only direct marketing back then was direct mail. I also remember being tutored by a direct mail expert at a later job on how to craft the perfect 3-page direct mail letter. Good times.

I could not have imagined back then where we would be today. Now we send emails out on an automated schedule, have nurturing streams, can enable the pull of information through RSS syndication. Oh, and everyone is predicting the slow death and demise of television advertising. Wow.

Now, more than ever, targeted marketing and advertising is important. And armed with that information and an understanding of available technology, you can really have some fun getting the word out about your products or services.

You can "surround" your customer target so they see your ads in their favorite print magazines, on their favorite sites, they can sign up to be your product's "friend" on mypace and view your "tv" advertisements on youtube or on your site. They can sign up to receive updates from you on the latest events, products and features. They can review other users comments on your site (or other sites). Bloggers, both from inside your company and outside, can share their thoughts on trends, uses and features. Coverage of your product can appear in print and online pubs, which can be syndicated. You can create special user experiences on your web site or (gasp) a brick and morter experience that becomes a travel destination. Add to that partner and other promotion opportunities with events, television shows or movies and other products, and it's really a brand new world.

We've come a long way and i can't wait to see what happens next.