Gretchen Roede Shares Marketing Tips

Our speaker last night was Gretchen Roede, president of the Garfield Group Public Relations. The Garfield Group specializes in media relations, and Gretchen gave an umbrella description of their services as well as her personal history in order to introduce us to the content for the evening.

Gretchen offered the companies a few techniques for conducting "poor man's market research," and went on to introduce a marketing framework that the Innovators could apply to their own companies. These include the strategy document, the message model, and a comprehensive strategy plan. She highlighted the cyclical nature of the marketing campaign with the recommendation to pay attention to the measurements and adjustments manifested in the evaluation phase. Because the message model plays such a prominent role in the basis for communication, Gretchen addressed the three sided nature of the model itself, with each side buttressing the centrally located core promise. The 2000 Clinton political campaign and "4anything" served as clear illustrations of how a concise message model can function as a vehicle for successful marketing.

Another technique Gretchen touched on was the use of "Moniker & the Market." She explained how a Y2K IT company was able to identify and rename one of their strong technologies thereby defining a new and unique space within a preexisting sector. Gretchen also offered some quick tips to aid companies in the brainstorming methodology and to identity a process that sounded both fun and useful to a younger stage company. At this point the discussion was opened up to questions. The session offered an insightful look into marketing mechanisms, both simple and complex, used to promote products and services.

We thank Gretchen and the Garfield Group for her time. This information will surely prove invaluable in an ever-changing, early-stage landscape.