What Kind of Marketing Friend Are You? Volume 1
Do you like people who want to talk only about themselves and then want you to buy something they are selling? Not many do, yet that is exactly the kind of marketing friend we’ve become — braggadocios, haughty, callous and self-absorbed.
Is that the kind of friend you listen to? Or do you want the kind of marketing friend who values your time, thinks about you and your needs, and provides the kind of information that makes your life better in some way?
What would make a true marketing friend:
- One that doesn’t exaggerate the truth (Name an organization that has not exaggerated their ability to deliver on their brand promise or tagline?)
- One that doesn’t conceal important information (Car dealers and financial planners, you can put your hands down)
We talk about developing trusted brands, yet we talk like carny barkers. If we want more friends in the digital world, we will need to adopt more friendly tendencies. Acting more ethically is just one.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle. After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant. He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.” Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.” One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College. Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board. Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.
