The New York Times recently reported that the millennial-centric nonprofit Do Something is launching a market research subdivision called “TMI.” Short for “Too Much Information,” the company will sell marketing information and strategy about the millennial market. From the NYT article:
TMI will offer marketers and organizations services like those already used by Do Something in creating cause campaigns, which it promotes each year to its 1.7 million members and other Americans ages 13 to 25.
According to Do Something, more than 2.4 million people took action through the organization in response to 25 cause campaigns in 2012. Those services include research, strategy related to mobile devices and text messaging, social media and Web site production.
TMI will also offer marketers a chance to use its services to reach consumers who are older and outside the Do Something demographic sweet spot.
What does this matter to you? Well, watch what happens when I change a few key words in the article so they’re not about a company specializing in the millennial demographic, and are instead about a promotional distributorship with vast experience in the health care market launching a specialized health care business:
Medi-Market will offer marketers and organizations services like those already used by Joe’s Promos in creating advertising campaigns for the health care industry, which it promotes each year to its 1.7 million clients and other Americans in the health care field.
According to Joe’s Promos, more than 2.4 million people have taken a medical action influenced by one of the company’s many health care campaigns in 2012. Those services include research, strategy related to health care institutions and help understanding the legal and trade organization restrictions placed against marketing to certain health care professionals.
Medi-Market will also offer marketers a chance to use its services to reach consumers tangential to the health care field, such as nonprofit or fitness organizations, that would otherwise be outside Joe’s Promos demographic sweet spot.
Not that different, right? I would bet the above press blurb is something most distributors could repeat about their company in 10 or 15 different variations. Not that everyone should start spinning off specialized companies to deal with their best niches, in most cases I think that would basically be the stupidest and biggest waste of time and money, but I do think advertising your company’s niche expertise could be an effective way to market your business. Whether it’s millennials, the health care market, 40-something Harley enthusiasts or any of the other 40 billion market niches out there, letting prospects know about your market expertise could be an effective sales tactic. The demand is apparently there, which makes sense. As our society becomes more diverse and nuanced, clients are going to persuaded by more than just price, customer-service and overall marketing skill-they’re going to want know how much you understand their target market.
That’s it for this week guys! Thanks for reading, and see you all next week!
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