What Nashville Taught Me About Marketing

By Anesa K. Chastain Jones - Advertising Insights with Anesa

Oklahoma’s Choice Weekly

A funny thing happened while I was walking through a trade show in Nashville.

Nobody was shopping.

At least, not in the way most people think.

Thousands of people filled the exhibit halls. Booth after booth stretched across the convention center floor. There were new products, new technology, flashing screens, demonstrations, giveaways, and enough sales pitches to last a lifetime.

Yet as I watched people move through the crowd, I noticed something.

Most weren’t looking for someone to convince them.

Most were looking for someone they already knew.

They would spot a company name and immediately change direction. They would see a logo and walk straight toward a booth. They would point and say things like, “I’ve seen them before,” or “I’ve heard of them.”

It struck me that what was happening in those few seconds wasn’t sales.

It was recognition.

And recognition is one of the most valuable things advertising can create.

Business owners often ask me whether advertising works.

The honest answer is that most of the time, we don’t notice it working until much later.

Advertising is a lot like planting a tree.  The day you plant it, nothing seems to happen.  The next day, nothing seems to happen.  The next month, nothing seems to happen. Then one day you realize you’ve been sitting in its shade.

That’s how marketing works.

Most customers aren’t ready to buy the first time they see your business. Many aren’t ready the tenth time. They are simply collecting information, storing names, forming impressions, and deciding which businesses feel familiar.

Then life happens.  A roof starts leaking.  A vehicle breaks down.  A family needs insurance.  A business needs printing.  A homeowner needs a contractor.  And suddenly all those advertisements, social media posts, sponsorships, websites, and community involvement efforts begin paying dividends.  Not because they convinced someone in that moment.  Because they made someone remember.

The longer I watched people move through the convention center, the more obvious it became.  The busiest booths weren’t always the newest companies.  They weren’t always the largest companies.  They weren’t even always the companies with the most impressive displays.  They were often the companies that had invested years into being visible.  Years into being remembered.  Years into showing up.

That lesson hit especially close to home because it’s something we see right here in our own communities.

The businesses that seem like overnight successes rarely are.  Usually, they’ve been advertising.  They’ve been sponsoring local events.  They’ve been supporting community projects.  They’ve been posting online.  They’ve been telling their story.  They’ve been showing up consistently while everyone else wondered whether the effort was worth it.  Then one day people start saying, “They’re everywhere.”  The truth is they weren’t everywhere overnight.  They were simply there long enough to be noticed.

As I made the trip back to Oklahoma, I found myself thinking about all the businesses that stop advertising because they don’t see immediate results.  I understand the temptation.  Advertising can feel invisible while it’s working.  But Nashville reminded me that the most important thing advertising creates isn’t a click, a view, or even a phone call.  It’s familiarity.  And when the time comes for a customer to make a decision, familiarity is often what opens the door.

After all, people don’t usually choose the business they’ve never heard of.  They choose the one they remember.

ANESA K. CHASTAIN JONES, General Manager/Graphics Director, 918-285-1314, graphics@oklahomaschoiceweekly.com

You cannot be chosen if you are not seen.

For information about print, digital, video, website, app, and social media advertising opportunities, contact Oklahoma’s Choice Weekly at 918-528-7689.