Marketing

I watched the big fight last night and like most viewers, was incredibly disappointed. Not sure what I really expected, given the circumstances on both side of the ring. I was sucked into viewing the event nevertheless and wasn’t the only one; there were nearly 80,000 in attendance and tens of millions viewing on Netflix worldwide. I haven’t watched boxing in a while and although the main event fizzled some of the undercard bouts were pretty good. Still, I kind of wished I’d just went to bed early and gone hunting this morning instead of staying up to nearly midnight to watch what most would agree was a waste of time.

What was this powerful spell that drew in perhaps up to 100 million people to view an event that deep down everyone knew would be just a moment of curious entertainment? Promoting, or as some might call it marketing. I tip my hat to Netflix and any of the other promotors involved. A true stroke of brilliance! I am sure last night’s event will serve as a case study on how to do marketing right.

I didn’t truly understand the importance of marketing and promotion until I began my writing business. Although writing is a passion, I’ve blogged previously about the benefits of operating one’s passions as a business. There are some great tax advantages, specifically taking a loss three out of five tax years. What is the expenditure creating the loss on a writing business you may ask? Advertising. The bulk of what I spend on my writing business is advertising.

I’ve experimented with different outlets over the past four years, Facebook ads, Amazon ads, etc… I’ve done podcasts and sought other promotion means. Facebook even assigned a personal assistant at one point to help me understand the ins and outs of creating ads! I can’t say I know much more about marketing than I knew four years ago, but what I did learn is that marketing and promoting are the true essence of business. As the old saying goes if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, did it make a sound? The same can be said for business, if no one knows about your goods / services / events is it really a business?

Our social media platforms are built on selling advertising. I’d also be interested to know how much of Amazon’s annual profit comes from advertising vs. selling goods. It’s estimated that nearly $500 billion (with a b) is spent on marketing annually in the US. What I learned from the assistants trying to help me understand advertising techniques on Facebook is that marketing is incredibly complex. So many variables to consider when launching an advertising campaign!

And while I am sure they are some of the highest paid in the industry, Netflix’s marketers obviously figured it out. Not just in the brilliantly executed event last night but going back to their transformation from a DVD mail order service to a streaming giant. Well played.

With social media, streaming entertainment and online selling a part of our daily lives, I can’t imagine opportunities in marketing will diminish anytime soon. Definitely a growth industry. Too bad I only learned about the importance of this aspect of business a few years ago. Marketing might have made for an interesting and profitable career. I am sure somewhere right now the lead marketers for last night’s event are celebrating in style.

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