Uses of Marketing

We often think about marketing as a tool used by large companies and corporations. We think about the companies that spend millions of dollars on market research to figuring out the most effective ways to reach their target audience. But not every marketing campaign needs an advertisement agency behind it. Marketing can be used as a great tool for many grassroots movements, community organizations and non-profits as well. The strategies may be slightly different, but a lot of the same principles apply.

My hometown of Saratoga Springs, New York has been selected as a potential location for one of the Las Vegas style casinos that the state senator has planned to build. With the racetrack already an essential part of Saratoga, and gambling already integrated into the community, it’s more than likely that Saratoga will be chosen as the site for the casino. However, there’s one small problem with this scenario- the majority of the Saratoga Springs residents don’t want the casino.

When I left to go abroad in August of 2013, there wasn’t much talk about the casino. However, when I returned home that December the movement had grown dramatically. The organization opposing the casino is called SAVE Saratoga. My parents have gotten very involved in with SAVE Saratoga. SAVE uses a variety of strategies to get their message out to people. They have signs up around town; we have a sign in our front yard opposing the casino. They have a Facebook page that has 1,052 likes, and they have a twitter account. One of my friend’s parents even wrote a song about the issue. They made a video to go along with the song which they’ve posted on their Facebook page.

Marketing to small communities is different than reaching consumers across the country. It can be much more personal. You’re also reaching out to a much smaller audience. I’ve seen members of the SAVE group walking around downtown Saratoga Springs collecting signatures and informing people about the issues. This is a great way to get your message to people.

SAVE Saratoga has a very strong website. It’s organized and to the point. It gives you the facts, tells you what you can do, and how you can donate. The web page is well designed, and they’ve posted links to their Facebook and twitter accounts on the bottom of the page.

This community organization has clearly been making great use of the marketing tools that are available to them. They have made themselves a very well known presence within the community and have started to receive national attention for their resistance to the casino. In January, an article was published in the New York Times written about the opposition to the casino.

The principles that we learn in marketing can be applied to a variety of issues. As I was searching through internships last week I saw an internship posted about marketing electric cars. The main purpose of the internship was to reach out to the community to raise awareness about electric cars. I love the idea of using the principles that I’m learning in marketing in these ways.