Reaching consumers and other target audiences with mainstream marketing messages has become increasingly difficult. The average consumer is bombarded daily with thousands of commercial communications and hundreds of personalized messages in the form of phone calls, e-mails, faxes and memos. Add recent questioning of corporate credibility to this mix and it is easy to see why an outbreak of books, articles and blogs now cast doubt on the efficacy and value of traditional advertising and marketing strategies.
To help companies overcome these communications challenges, Yellow Dog Media helps business and organizations identify, connect and manage relationships with the marketing influencers that directly affect buyers' perceptions and behaviors.
Despite the growing importance of influencers, most marketers and business executives realize that they have limited, if any, processes in place to truly develop, manage and measure their influencers. This is why HOlt expands the influencer net far beyond traditional influencers, such as media and industry and financial analysts. While these audiences remain critical, research indicates that consumers and buyers increasingly look toward key individuals or small groups with specific knowledge to determine what, where, why and how they should buy, think and act. For these reasons, the Yellow Dog Media program has been designed to cover a complete range of marketing influencers and allow organizations to identify and engage the following groups:
- Buyer/Key Target Influencers: Individuals who make final purchasing decisions or take final actions leading to a desired change.
- Ultimate Influencers: Individuals or small groups most likely to exercise maximum positive influence over buyer/key targets.
- Determined Detractors: Individuals or small groups most likely to exercise maximum negative influence over buyer/key targets.
- Initial Influencers: Individuals or groups most likely to have the greatest impact on the buyer/key targets, ultimate influencers and determined detractors.
Every organization has its own particular set of marketing influencers to be targeted. Through extensive primary and secondary research, the Yellow Dog Media team identifies, evaluates, prioritizes and benchmarks the perceptions and attitudes of the leading influencers in each of these areas.
Influencing the influencers is not a new concept in the public relations world. Nearly every organization acknowledges the value and appreciates the impact of marketing influencers. Most companies, however, don't have a formal program in place to develop and manage these critical relationships. This is where Holt comes in.
