Television networks and advertising-supported cable channels like CNN and ESPN have felt somewhat insulated from competition for their advertising revenue because of the importance of video in communicating brand-oriented advertising. This is what you’ll learn when you study Marketing Education and Rebranding. Today, this sort of activity is key.
Leaving aside the prospect of steadily increasing bandwidth in Internet environments, making video a more feasible format for the Internet is key, and what happens to this advertising revenue when marketers shift an increasing share of their marketing budgets to more targeted marketing formats due to the superior targeting capabilities of the infomediary?
Nor is this impact limited to traditional, advertising-supported media. I may sound like bragging and wise-guy bitchy with my college degree, even though I used these GED resources to get my secondary education degree before I could go to college, but what about retail stores that today heavily depend for their profitability on promotional spending by product vendors trying to reach customers at the time of purchase?
This is where my education helps me to analyze these new developments appropriately. Wiseguy-ish or not, it definitely helps!
What happens when the infomediary uses the superior targeting capability embedded in its client purchasing profiles to deliver ads only to the most receptive customers buying competitor products? I mean, I make some extra money with my online blog, but what these guys do… I have a lot to learn, and I will!
What happens when the infomediary downloads promotional offers directly into the smart card that customers will one day use to make their purchases in the retail store? Trust and security are key factors.
I learned that anyone who depends on advertising or promotional revenue today will feel the effects of the infomediary’s expanding reach. Retailers and vendors will need to educate staff, ideally through top-notch online courses, to stay relevant and competitive.
In this environment, competitive advantage shifts from access to information to the skills needed to use that information to deliver tangible, and increasingly tailored, value back to the customer. So when applying for a top position, make sure your resume is up to date, relevant, and free of mistakes that could keep it from being reviewed at all.
I made the most of things in my exams, but vendors will also struggle to learn and master these skills because they require tight integration across the vendor’s business systems. That’s not something you learn in school! You learn that through face-to-face meetings and hands-on instruction!
Information profiles that the marketing organization accesses will need to redirect product development programs, manufacturing and logistics operations, and customer service procedures.
Vendors that develop these skills will be best positioned to earn a return on the price they now have to pay for access to the profiles. Those who develop these skills early will be hard to overtake, though the rules are practically the same.
Today, many product vendors achieve market success by building relationships with distribution channels to gain privileged access to scarce shelf space. Their reference must become clear, and they must learn how to implement it. These vendors need to learn how to motivate again to go back to school or enroll in an online course to, for example, earn a GED (the “Education Quest”).
Other vendors focus on massive advertising campaigns to promote a specific brand image that will draw people into retail outlets and create a “pull” for their products. Both of these approaches typically require substantial financial resources and thus create barriers to entry for smaller product vendors.
In my school years, I learned that in reverse markets, where virtual shelf space is essentially unlimited, infomediary agent services will relentlessly search for the best products based on the client’s individual needs and preferences.
Just as schools look outside our country’s borders for teachers to keep up with international standards and education requirements, agent services will have to look beyond our borders to stay on top of their game. Today, big companies such as Amazon are helping their workers get a college degree for free. And they can also earn a Marketing Degree for free!
Anyway, Marketing will become more about developing superior insight into market needs, so product attributes and performance can be quickly improved and tailored, rather than relying on creative attempts to overcome limited distribution capacity.