Keeping Up: An Interview with Marketer Carey Earle

Does today's always-connected world of avatars, online shoppers, distance learners and flighty decision-makers that change brands with the click of a mouse drive you a little nuts? Not if you're Carey Earle,  a marketer and branding consultant well known for staying ahead of the curve. In this interview, she tells us how a new world doesn't necessarily change old marketing fundamentals, but rather how we look at them. 

Does today's trend of multiple email addresses, identities and avatars, make market segmentation obsolete?
I don't think market segmentation as a technique for guiding marketing investments and product development efforts will go away anytime soon, but I do think marketers need to change the way they think about demographics and how they use them.

Market segmentation today isn't so much about who you are in the old demographics sense of the word, but more about how you behave and how you experience life whenever and wherever you are.

For marketers in a virtual world, the zip code may be dead, but the things that motivate you and your avatar, what you think and feel -  that's what we still want to know.

 "[In a virtual world] marketers need to change the way they think about demographics and how they use them."

How has the increased transparency of the Web changed the way we think about customer loyalty?
All of the transparency provided by the Web impacts the value brands the most because those customers are the ones who are looking for the bargain and who care about the best price.

I don't think transparency matters at all in the premium luxury markets or for the millions of time starved consumers who just want to click-and-ship and get it done. The market is still growing for those who target people who want as much of their time back as possible. Saving people time will always provide value.

" I don't think transparency matters at all in the premium luxury markets or for the millions of time starved consumers who just want to click-and-ship and get it done."

How can marketers sell their management on preventing the urge to cut promotional budgets during economic recession?  
It's often said (and observed) that marketing is the first to go in times of recession. But it's during recession that measurement can be your friend.  If you can show how your marketing program increased sales, attracted new customers or changed people's perception of your brand that can win executives over during a recession.  Always measure your success, especially in the best of times. It really pays off when your budget is on the line.

"...it's during recession that measurement can be your friend."

You do a lot of teaching about brand, identity and marketing. How has technology impacted your teaching?
I've done some remote lecturing right from my Mac into a classroom at American University in Washington, D.C.  I felt like one of the guests on Real Time with Bill Maher.  I was this big head up on a screen in a classroom and I had to train myself to look at them and not watch my own head bobbing up and down! 

Have these changes been positive?
I enjoyed the experience, but I really like being a room with people when you're teaching them; watching the body language and non-verbals and knowing when the students are with you and when they need a coffee break. 

That said, I do think remote lecturing is a great way to bring in experts who aren't in your local area. It's also a great way to remove the geographic limitations of knowledge exchange, which adds tremendous value and flexibility to things like mentoring programs.

What's next for your company?
I want to write a couple of business books (maybe ebooks) that are targeted to small business people -- making marketing and branding more digestible for them.  This one has been in my brain for a while and I need to get it out there. 

On a more personal note, I've just finished a first draft of novel which was a labor of love and I'm hoping to get that ready for prime time this year.

"I like watching the body language and non-verbals and knowing when the students are with you and when they need a coffee break."

You moved your company to Vermont a few years ago. Anything you miss about New York's noise, grit, traffic and unpredictable subways, or have you settled in to the joys of New England?
I'm in New York at least once a month, so I get my urban fix and ward off any serious withdrawal symptoms. However, in the middle of a snowstorm when I'm craving Asian cuisine and the nearest Thai restaurant is a 30 minute drive...then I miss the New York magic of walking out into the street and saying:  "So, what am I in the mood for?"

More on Carey Earle
Earle began her career as a copywriter and account manager at Young & Rubicam. Prior to founding Green Apple Marketing, she co-founded Harvest Communications, a New York City based marketing and branding firm which targeted financial services. Earle is an adjunct instructor of marketing at New York University, has lectured at NYU's Stern School of Business and also taught marketing at American University. After a 20-year stint in New York City - she returned to her roots in her beloved Green Mountain State and now runs her business from a log cabin in Southern Vermont, where she lives with her photographer husband Fran Janik.