What is the most important thing to know about marketing?

I was recently asked: "What is the most important thing to know about marketing?"

My Answer: "It all comes down to knowing your target audience. Without knowing your audience, you can't develop key messages that will resonate with them. That means your advertising copy won't 'hit the spot' and any interviews or publicity you do will be ineffective. If you're not talking to the right target audience, you might as well not be talking at all."

Do you still send out print media kits for your clients?

I was recently asked: Do you still send out print media kits for your clients?

My response: In my experience, it depends on who you're dealing with. There are still those who prefer to take a look at a print media kit rather than something online. Mostly, I find my self sending reporters a pdf/electronic version of the media kit. It's another point of contact and another opportunity to build the relationship with the reporter on behalf of the client.

What are the best uses of a $10,000 Ad budget?

I was recently asked, "What are the best uses of a $10,000 advertising budget?"

I answered:

"The best use of such a budget would be to split the funds between public relations activities and ad buys. Strategic placements of both advertising, interviews, news articles, or even media events (publicity stunts) can be much more effective than marketing efforts alone. Advertising and PR activities will build upon and reinforce each other."