Broadband Marketing Strategy & Tactics

What Is Marketing?

• Education

• Translation

• Motivation – the call to action

Why Is Marketing Important?

• People have to know about network

• People have to understand benefits

• If no one uses broadband, you’re hosed!

• Poor marketing = few users, low revenue

How Will Marketing Succeed?

• Project team learns or hires the skillset

• Understand your various markets

• Plan thoroughly

• Execute well

How Will Marketing Fail

• You don’t understand stakeholders

• Your messaging sucks

• People have the wrong expectations

• Underestimate competitors

Good Marketing Begins with Great Vision

• What is the network to accomplish

• How will the primary stakeholders benefit

• How will you measure success

Know What You’re Marketing

• Benefits

• Infrastructure

• Services

• The community

Know Who You’re Marketing To

• What did needs assessment uncover

• Shape marketing messages accordingly

• Constituents evolve, come and go

What You Ask Is Key

• If you have broadband, how can you help

yourself, help others?

• How would broadband change what you do,

how you do it?

• What are impacts of this change?

Create Marketing Roadmap from the Answers

• Answers define technology

• Translate technology to benefits

• Created vehicles to deliver the messages

ID Marketing Partners

• Who can make/save money, operate better

• Who’s dedicated to the public good

• Who has marketing leverage

• Who’s willing to commit

Grab Your Partner Dosey Doe

• Partners offload marketing expenses

• They enable faster market penetration

• They create barriers to competition

Typical Targets

• Government agencies

• Medical/Healthcare community

• Businesses

• K-12 schools, colleges, universities

Marketing Starts Long Before Service Begins

• Constituents need clear picture of network and

its benefits

• They need to understand progress, delays

• Will you have an aggressive PR effort

Build Following While Building Infrastructure

• Articulate the value proposition

• Offer incentives for early commitment

• Prepare internal operations

• Kick butt & take names

Launching the Service

• The pilot project as marketing foundation

• Make it a big #$%@#! deal

• Roll out the usual suspects

• Make the network a marketing vehicle

What’s in Your Tool Box?

• Are marketing points strong, consistent,

used by everyone and every thing

• Will media relations carry the day

• What role will marcom play

• KISS me, fool

Think Globally, Act Locally

• Integrate with other communication

• Be sure to deliver on the promise

• Turn satisfied customers into mini-

marketers

Execute Well Designed Launch

• Encourage word of mouth

• Constantly gather data

• Adapt and perform

• It’s the economy, stupid

Brace for the Backlash

• Know thy enemy

• Use incumbents’ strength against them

• Understand power of “hometown team”

• Never, ever compete on price!

Marketing Your Community

• On par with costs, education & workforce

• It’s not the tech, it’s what you can do with it

• Coordinate your efforts

• Make the network a marketing vehicle