A Girl, My Shoes and a Mouse

Disney has recently started a campaign to capture kids that are still in the womb! Whether it is a genius marketing idea or just plain brainwashing, the giant media conglomerate knows how to reach its target audience.

I have to admit, the Mouse House sure knows how to market. Disney has its marketing techniques down to a science - its case studies could probably fill volumes. Its marketing gurus study their target consumers, figure out what those consumers want, and give them what they want. That is the most basic of marketing concepts.

Give the customer what he wants, and later he will think it's what he needs.

The other day, my girlfriend and her toddler daughter came for a visit. No sooner did they walk through the door that the little girl saw my fuzzy pink slippers, rip off her shoes, and put the fuzzies on! It was amusing, and it made me think, "She's only 2, but the girl that she is loves footwear!"

This little girl knows what she likes. And she went after it.  No cajoling or bribing required.

Consumers are still people who know what they want, want what they want, and (if truth be told) love the entire process of being courted in the marketplace. But they are bombarded on a daily basis with all kinds of marketing messages. From sun up to sun down, they are surrounded by billboards, bus signs, shop windows, posters, TV and radio commercials, pop-ups, and even the occasional banner-toting airplane. The consumer is grabbed, startled, and jolted into looking and, hopefully purchasing.

The more savvy marketer will, like Disney, study his subject. Figure out what that subject wants, and then delivers. No hard sell there. Pure marketing - at its best.

Back to my friend's 2-year-old. After a nice lunch and a quick jaunt at the neighborhood park, we came back to my apartment to relax. I had recently purchased a great pair of platform shoes that I wanted to show my girlfriend. Yes, you guessed it, the little girl saw my heels, stopped what she was doing, squealed with delight and proceeded to slip her tiny feet in my lady-size sandals.

Though this pint-size diva is only 2, she already knows a great pair of shoes when she sees them. Not that I think its wise to start a line of toddler stilettos, but the point is, know your target audience: what they want, what makes them squeal with excitement, and be the one to offer them your product or service. Plain and simple.

It's all about a girl and her shoes...

The Basics: Audience

I love Shakespeare plays. The language is so beautiful, the prose so elegant, and the circumstances grip your heart. Tragedy or comedy, one of the greatest things Shakespeare incorporated into his plays is when an actor speaks to the audience. This is always incorporated in a "soliloquy", and it is meant to pull the audience in and make them part of the action. This can be a fun element, because it may be a way to re-focus the audience to the stage, if perhaps they are drifting away. I am not an expert on Shakespeare or the theatre, but I do know that your audience can be a key to your success.

Know your audience - who they are, who you are addressing. Be familiar with them - know their needs, their wants. Customize your message to that audience, or your audience to your message. Kids' products will not garner attention if your target audience are tween-agers. Just like in my previous post on "Brands", setting up a tea and crumpettes booth at a punk rock show will only get you passers-by (and maybe a few snickers).  Focus on those who you know will want your product.