Marketing Research Uncovers Coffee Differentiators: Emotion!
Posted by Debra Semans on Tue, Aug 17, 2010 @ 09:19 AM
Welcome to the August 2010 edition of The Marketing Dialog. This month’s guest marketing leader is Kathy Bremer. Kathy’s career has spanned advertising, public relations, marketing, fundraising and executive search. She has held senior roles at marketing agencies (examples: NW Ayer Advertising, Porter Novelli) and at both corporate and nonprofit client organizations (examples: Canon, CARE). Currently, she is managing director of BoardWalk Consulting, which specializes in nonprofit leadership searches, strategy and governance. More about BoardWalk and its nonprofit clients at Boardwalk Consulting. Kathy's bio here:Kathy's Bio.
To thank our guests for their participation, Polaris will make a donation to the charity of their choice. Kathy chairs the board of CHRIS Kids, and has chosen CHRIS Kids as beneficiary of Polaris’ donation. The organization is in the final months of a capital campaign to build supportive housing for kids 17-24 who are aging out of foster care and might otherwise be homeless. CHRIS Kids heals children, strengthens families and builds communities. Two challenge gifts will triple all pledges and donations to the capital campaign. To learn about CHRIS Kids and to donate, click: CHRIS Kids.
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TMD: Thanks for participating in this month’s Dialog, Kathy. Because of your unique career path, we are going to have some fun with this blog. In each post, we will talk about marketing research and then we’ll talk about careers in the Non-Profit world. Sound good?
Let’s get started. What important lessons did you learn about marketing research or marketing research companies early in your career?
Kathy: When I worked in advertising, one of my brands was Procter & Gamble’s Folgers Coffee. Conventional wisdom had it that coffee is a commodity product, signifying coming of age and belonging. Through marketing research, we uncovered longings, memories and experiences related to coffee that changed the game. The Folgers brand became #1 coffee in America by “owning” the morning, mountain-grown aroma and anticipation of the first sip.
TMD: How do marketing, and marketing research, map to the nonprofit sector?
Kathy: Many people who have had fulfilling careers in marketing consider what it might be like to apply their talents on behalf of a social cause. While fundraising, also called advancement or development, demands nonprofits’ top priority after the mission itself, large and mid-size nonprofits today appreciate the value of marketing, branding and research. More and more mid-sized nonprofits, as well, are bringing marketing expertise into their staff mix.
Nonprofit work is not for everyone, but it can be remarkably fulfilling for people with the right temperament and mission orientation. Nonprofits tend to be highly participative, with people at all levels weighing in on issues they care about. If you prefer a more structured, hierarchical environment, you might be uncomfortable with the role ambiguity and consensus-building approach of many nonprofits. Additionally, while nonprofit salaries have been rising in recent years, compensation is rarely at the corporate level. Lastly, nonprofits are usually resource-constrained. The need to stretch financial and human resources requires ingenuity and can be stressful.
On the other hand, if you are energized by nonprofit mission and thrive in an environment that is engaged, entrepreneurial and mission-centered, nonprofit could be a fabulous move.
Let us know: Are you thinking of changing to a career in non-profit? What do you want to know? If you work in non-profits, what advice would you give a marketing researcher looking to break in?
Join us in next week when The Marketing Dialog with Kathy Bremer of Boardwalk Consulting continues!
