{"id":1331,"date":"2025-03-05T18:41:22","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T19:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/?p=1331"},"modified":"2025-03-18T13:28:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T13:28:19","slug":"marketing-like-a-castaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/05\/marketing-like-a-castaway\/","title":{"rendered":"Marketing Like a Castaway"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a hint as to the identity of today\u2019s master in marketing: When I asked what his pie-in-the-sky marketing dream was, he sighed like Ahab hunting the white whale.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to get cast members from The Bear<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Hulu\u2019s Chicago-set show \u201d \u2014 \u201cto record announcements or do videos for us, highlighting what a Chicago icon we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Click<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had quite a few cameos in it, and it\u2019s made us look really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Any guesses?<\/p>\n

Meet the Master<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Eric Munn, Director of marketing, Chicago Transit Authority<\/h3>\n

Job:<\/strong> Juggling the marketing of the second-largest public transit system in the U.S. with a government agency-sized budget. (That’s a lot smaller than it sounds.)<\/p>\n

Claim to fame: <\/strong>Introducing these sweet limited-edition throwback CTA passes<\/a><\/p>\n

Fun fact:<\/strong> Juggling isn\u2019t just a day in the life of a scrappy marketer. Eric can also juggle apples \u2026 and take a bite of them at the same time<\/p>\n

Lesson 1: Digital is important \u2014 but it\u2019s not everything.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Munn is by no means a Luddite, but he cautions against focusing so much \u201con the current and latest trend [that you] forget about the reliability and success of some old-school marketing that\u2019s as simple as mailers or billboards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yep, even if your audience is mostly Gen Zers and young millennials<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I was surprised that the CTA\u2019s target audience skews that young, but \u201cthose are the people still learning their transportation habits.\u201d It makes sense \u2014 he\u2019s marketing to older teens who are using public transit on their own for the first time and 20-somethings who moved to Wrigleyville after college graduation.<\/p>\n

So I was doubly surprised at how keen Munn is on old-school advertising. Mailers? Billboards? In this <\/em>economy?<\/p>\n

\"\u201cwelcome<\/p>\n

Photo courtesy Chicago Transit Authority.<\/em><\/p>\n

But one of the CTA\u2019s most successful campaigns is a new resident mailer, reminding them that the CTA is just $2.50 to ride. \u201cI think it\u2019s a great way for a Chicago icon like the CTA to welcome you to the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

It may seem like an old-fashioned marketing tactic, but Munn says he hears from people who kept that postcard because it was the first mail they received as a newly minted Chicagoan.<\/p>\n

Old doesn\u2019t have to mean pass\u00e9. Mailers, billboards, sponsorships, partnerships \u2014 these are all \u201creally great ways to still get your brand and message into places, and might be a lot more affordable.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"photo<\/p>\n

Photo courtesy Chicago Transit Authority.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lesson 2: Go local (or at least regional).<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Last year, the CTA implemented its first influencer campaign, beginning with three Chicagoland influencers. Munn outlines two big advantages to this strategy: Affordability and a higher probability of success.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Munn was pretty specific about what he wanted. \u201cOur campaign was focused on using the CTA because it saves you money, which means more money in your pocket to go do all of the things that Chicago has to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

So he sought out influencers who make content like \u201cfive things to do in Chicago this weekend\u201d or \u201cChicago\u2019s hidden gems.\u201d Because there aren\u2019t as many creators doing this type of content as, say, a top travel influencer, these niche accounts often have extremely engaged, valuable followers. And compared to top travel influencer prices, local influencers are more affordable, even on a smaller marketing budget.<\/p>\n

(And FWIW, all evidence indicates that Munn\u2019s onto something: HubSpot\u2019s latest State of Marketing report<\/span> identified niche-influencer marketing as a rising trend in 2025.)<\/p>\n

Lesson 3: Relationship-building stretches in every direction.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Munn says that some days he feels like Tom Hanks\u2019 character in Castaway<\/em>, who \u201chad to get really innovative with very few resources.\u201d When you\u2019re working for a government agency, \u201cresources are very tight. You\u2019re doing a lot of hard work.\u201d And sometimes you want to knock out your own teeth with an ice skate.<\/p>\n

So when he talks about building relationships, he\u2019s casting (pun intended) a wide net. Riders, social media users, even marketers at other public transport agencies (\u201ca really cool group, because they\u2019re not my competitors, right? We\u2019re all rooting for each other.\u201d).<\/p>\n

\u201cI have introduced myself to many \u2014 I call them transit advocate accounts \u2014 people who are just regularly posting about the CTA or just about public transportation in general,\u201d Munn says.<\/p>\n

\"\u201ci<\/p>\n

He takes the time now to get to know them \u201cso that when I have a campaign, I can reach out to them and say, \u2018Hey, we’re thinking about doing this, and I wanted to get your thoughts.\u2019\u201d (I used to work in the same office as Munn, and can vouch that this isn\u2019t a cynical marketing play; he\u2019s as genuine as they get. I\u2019m unsurprised to hear that he\u2019s found success with this tactic.)<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re facing leaner budgets, lower head count, or other belt-tightening measures, think about the meaningful relationships you can build outside of the usual stakeholders. Like Hanks\u2019 <\/strong>Castaway<\/em><\/strong> character, use what you have around you to build your own success.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lingering Questions<\/h2>\n

This Week\u2019s Question<\/h3>\n

What is a blind spot in the marketing world that, if addressed, would make people’s lives better? <\/strong>\u2014Jeff Wirth, Co-founder of the Interactive PlayLab<\/p>\n

This Week\u2019s Answer<\/h3>\n

A major blind spot in the marketing world is forgetting that most people aren’t as aware of your brand as you are.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many brands use messaging that already assumes people know who you are or what you offer. Make sure you’re clear about what your product or service is going to do to help people. Witty and eye-catching is fun, but the conversion is in solving people’s problems.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next Week\u2019s Lingering Question<\/h3>\n

Munn asks: What\u2018s a career you\u2019ve always wanted to get into but never have?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Click<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a hint as to the identity of today\u2019s master in marketing: When I asked what his pie-in-the-sky marketing dream was, he sighed like Ahab hunting the white whale. \u201cI would love to get cast members from The Bear\u201d \u2014 Hulu\u2019s Chicago-set show \u201d \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marketing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1331"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1366,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1331\/revisions\/1366"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}