Anthropromotion: Understanding the Nature of Consumer and Marketplace

The takeoff marketing strategy is a phenomenon that evades many companies that invest fortunes in trying to have it realized. Yet effective
marketing is really another form of a "positive" epidemic that has spread rapidly and stuck with consumers because it has tapped into what
drives, inspires and motivates them. "By understanding how epidemics take off, we can better understand what elements are required to have
our ideas and products take off," says Tracy Williams of publicity and marketing firm Casey Sayre and Williams and speaker at this week's Larta
University marketing workshop, Attacking The Market.

Social epidemic is a term Williams is specifically referring to from a recent book by New Yorker writer and cultural anthropologist Malcolm
Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Gladwell's book theorizes social dynamics to explain mass
behavioral change, exploring the concept of how "ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do," and how the
smallest things can trigger phenomenon. Gladwell cites examples of when tiny, intangible fads can penetrate the most far-reaching spheres of
influence such as government and popular entertainment.

"It's all about how ideas take off," Williams says. "I'm going to address some anthropological research that addresses the psychology and
behavior of people, what makes them decide what to buy and when to buy it."

Although these basic golden rules of promotion apply to selling shoes as much as selling smart cards, the variations are drastic between company,
product, targeted customer and market. Williams says that many start-up companies hope to achieve penetration by selling a product before it
exists, missing the interest of investors and customers.

"Often in the past few years, people would have a great idea and want to go out to venture capitalists and want to talk to the media and
sometimes talk about their great idea. What they had was a patent on some new technology or new idea or some new gizmo, that would for
instance make the Internet work in some specific way," Williams says. "However, they didn't have it yet and the media is far more jaundiced
then it was five years ago and the media's jaundiced to begin with. They want to see the product as well as customers and venture capitalists. Also you don't want to sell it until you really know your market. If you're out there selling something and don't know your market, you could be off on your audience, you could be off on what they're interested in. You may think that's the greatest thing in the world but your target audience doesn't want it or doesn't think they want it."

by Wendy Hall
Larta Staff Writer

Attacking the Market: Marketing and Selling Your Product
January 16 in Irvine (8-noon) and January 17 in Santa Monica (8:30-12:30)
A business can fail or flourish depending on how well its product is marketed. Effective marketing is about establishing, building or protecting an organization's reputation through partnerships, the recruiting of talented professionals and effective strategies that make a product stand out. This workshop covers publicity and marketing strategies, from brand placement to consumer contact, to creative alliances.

Speakers Include: Farida Fotouhi (FA2), Tracy Williams (Casy, Sayre & Williams), Gray DeFevere (Grubb & Ellis), Jack Syage (Syagen Technology Inc.), and Matt Walton (E Team)