You can find inspiration for how to stand out in marketing all around you, just
go against the crowd. When was the last time you were influenced into buying something, or visited somewhere because everyone was talking about it? You may have even spent hours baking banana bread when everyone else was!
Following the latest trend happens all the time and it’s not just individuals that do it -businesses do too. In this blog, we discuss
standing out so that customers remember us.
What does your audience want?
I work for an agency called
rocket and we create/distribute content for brands that market to youth and parent audiences. From Gen-Z to millennials, our work focuses on audience behaviours and how to stand out in marketing.
The joy of working with brands that want to reach the next generation of consumers is
how creative you can be with campaigns. Teen audiences are incredibly savvy. They know when they are being sold a campaign! It’s up to us to share with our clients different ways they can stand out from their competitors.
It’s fast-paced and what might be relevant one month will differ the next.
Creating content that will resonate with teen audiences needs to fall in line with their consuming habits. What does this mean? This means that we need to find “their media” – where do they spend most of their time and how will an advert be received by them?
Marketing fomo
As a result of this, brands want to gain an audience in places like
TikTok, YouTube & Instagram. TikTok is a great example of how brands get “marketing FOMO.” Recently, we’ve seen a surge of activity from brands on TikTok, even though it might not fit with their brand values or style. With more users than ever before, and with the launch of the business platform to create adverts, all brands are testing ads.
We’re starting to see brands re-purposing their Instagram Story adverts for TikTok, launching channels and
extending their influencer marketing campaigns over to the platform. Just because a lot of brands are beginning to create a presence advertising on this platform, doesn’t mean everyone should. TikTok has now released a campaign called ‘Don’t Make Ads, Make TikToks!’ This is to get brands to think natively about the content that goes on this platform.
We saw the same trend with podcasts in 2019. A huge spike in listeners and popularity saw brands creating podcasts, running adverts and sponsoring series. Brands making 1 season of a podcast can be expensive and not always worthwhile for meeting business objectives. When pitching ideas to your colleagues for marketing campaigns, only
follow the trend if there are long term goals and a reason for doing so.
How to stand out in marketing as a trendsetter
If you’re looking to get your first job in marketing or looking for a step up,
don’t copy what others are doing to get noticed. Be the trendsetter and think outside of the box! What might be “trendy” in getting noticed for jobs, might not fit YOU as an individual. I know this is easier said than done!
Think about
how you would approach a campaign for the business you work for. Who is your audience, and when are they most likely going to engage with your advert. Hiring managers might hold a lot of power in the current climate and have a number of applications to look through. However, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go for the job you want because of the volume of candidates.
I hope this article helps you remain upbeat and positive about finding your role in marketing!
Written by Sophie Thirlwell
