Are we lost in history?
by Judy Camp
(c) http://ourbusinessoffice.com
We are in a decade with no name. Most of us lived through
the 70s, the 80s, the 90s -- and now where are we? The 00s?
Sounds like a mistake. Uh-Oh, I goofed. The 2000s? That name
will eventually mean a hundred years of time, until the
2100s take over.
What did they do about this dilemma in past centuries?
I recall the history books referring to "the early 1900s,"
which generally means 1900-1920, encompassing two decades.
Within that time, references often state something like,
"around 1910."
Not very specific. So what does this mean? And who cares,
you might ask. Well, we all like to identify trends. Not
just the history buffs, but all of us. We like our time
in history to be known for something.
The trend among teenagers and fashion moguls is 70s retro.
Choker necklaces, crop tops, and hip hugger, bleached-out
jeans are in style, just like in the 70s. The 70s were known
for this trend, among other things. What will this time be
known for? Will the history books say, "In the early 2000s,
there was a strong 70s retro trend." Yawn!
Now, you might ask, what is this article doing in a marketing
ezine? Well, if anyone is better than history buffs at
analyzing trends, it's marketers. We need to continually
check the pulse of our audience to make sure we have
up-to-date products, and our campaigns will be well received.
We also need to make sure we are placing ads where our
audience will see them.
The science of media buying encompasses a huge range today,
including newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, billboards,
trade shows and the internet, primarily. Many statistics
and research graduates, the ones who don't teach, end up
working for companies that compile huge amounts of data.
These are looked at by marketing professionals and the media
themselves. For a research resource guide, click on the
following link: http://www.ourbusinessoffice.com/adresearch.html
It's our job as marketers to keep our eyes on who is buying
what. If your products go out of style, or the radio station
you run commercials on changes its format, and you don't react,
you could go out of business, and not even know why.
So watch the trends, and keep your eyes open for changes.
Years from now, when you write your glorious company history,
you can write about your success in the early 2000s, rather
than referring to them as the 00 years.
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Judy Camp has been a writer and marketing manager for
twenty years, and has focused on web marketing for the past
five years. Her web site http://www.ourbusinessoffice.com
provides resources for web businesses. To subscribe to the
OurBusinessOffice ezine, mailto:subscribe@ourbusinessoffice.com
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