Water Technology - Jan 2012

UPFRONT Blurring old fashioned with new school thinking By Rich DiPaolo Editorial Director Water Technology Magazine 4 Water Technology January 2012 Vice President of Business Publishing 205 789 0968 Tracy Aston Martin tracy@ grandviewmedia com Account Executive 518 408 3178 Chapman Brown chapman@ watertechonline com Account Executive 518 640 9170 Lisa Williman lwilliman@ watertechonline com Editorial Director 516 404 4532 Rich DiPaolo rdipaolo@ watertechonline com Assistant Editor 205 408 3784 Jake Mastroianni jmastroianni@ watertechonline com Technical Editor David Bauman dp bauman@ sbcglobal net Classified Advertising 518 640 9173 Pat Harrington pharrington@ ntpmedia com Art Director 205 980 6702 Keith Higginbotham khigginbotham@ grandviewmedia com Director of Business Operations 518 640 9156 Michael Perkins mperkins@ ntpmedia com Materials Manager 518 640 9164 Rebecca Wilson rwilson@ ntpmedia com Editorial Advertising Publishing Offices NTP Media division of 19 British American Blvd West Latham NY 12110 1405 Phone 518 783 1281 Fax 518 783 1386 For Subscription information Outside the United States 847 763 1867 Toll free 866 721 4807 or email watertechnology@ halldata com Subscribe Renew Change of Address http www watertechonline com subscribe Corporate General Manager Barry Lovette barry@ grandviewmedia com Vice President of Operations Brent Kizzire brent@ grandviewmedia com Chief Marketing Officer Publishing Services Group Hank Brown hank@ grandviewmedia com Vice President of Business Publishing Tracy Aston Martin tracy@ grandviewmedia com Vice President of Finance Brad Youngblood brad@ grandviewmedia com Director of Circulation Fulfillment Delicia Poole delicia@ grandviewmedia com Circulation Manager Electronic Products Stacie Tubb stubb@ grandviewmedia com Circulation Analyst Anna Hicks AHicks@ grandviewmedia com Water Technology Advisory Board David Chew Fairmount Water Solutions Chardon OH Stephen Grandeau CWS V AQUASCIENCE of New York Clifton Park NY Cang Li Ph D Selecto Scientific Inc Suwanee GA Gary Lindsey CWS VI CI Waterplus of Pinellas Inc Seminole FL Norm Marowitz Atlas Watersystems Inc Waltham MA Steven Richards CWS VI CI CSR CCO The Aqua Source Group Inc Honeoye NY Gary Schreiber CWS VI The Purolite Co Bala Cynwyd PA www watertechonline com At last years WQA Aquatech USA show several examples of past decades marketing and advertising in the water treatment market were on display Im intrigued by old advertisements and in particular entire marketing campaigns It could be that Im lured to these pieces because of my career in publishing but I also think there are other reasons These advertisements and marketing materials represent the times It is interesting to see what messages attracted customers in the 1990s 1980s all the way back to the turn of the 20th Century Print advertising in particular of past decades laid the foundation of how companies can capture a readers eye most effectively Company and product slogans often drove the marketing message Providing customers with a memorable phrase was a good way to personalize your company and keep your message in their minds As technology improved over the years such as the advent of radio TV and personal computers how a company reached and connected with consumers changed as well These old ads tell that story in timeline fashion Slogans over the years were replaced with stunning graphics attractive fonts and creative ever changing content The personal connection between company and end user seemed to wane a bit A shift back to personalizing advertising campaigns is taking hold A few trends are shaping this shift The devices we have used over the past 10 years have decreased in size while increasing in capabilities Consumers have mobile communication abilities that far surpass anything weve experienced before in our history Competition is at an all time high as well No longer are you fighting the company down the block for the dollars in your neighborhood Youre also competing with a company that could be over 8000 miles away with a cheaper price and free shipping no less Having your company stand out with a lasting purpose in traditional print advertising and maintaining a multi media strategy is critical this year and beyond While you can rely on exceptional service leading to more business and a familiar message that attracts customers and keeps your company top of mind continuing to tailor where you place that message is just as important You can choose to ignore the power of the Internet and social media but consider the following Approximately 782 percent of all Americans currently use the Internet and 59 percent of that group currently uses some form of social media You must grow your presence on these channels in 2012