Grandpa Marketing

On March 28, 2010 my daughter Katherine changed my active status to Grandpa Marketer. She was still in diapers herself when I started Palmer Marketing in January of 1988. She spent the evening with us recently and I must say it was amazing how quickly she has adapted to being a mom. I would also say I have no remembrance of it being so much work.

So how do I switch from talk of babies and grandpas to marketing? In addition to being a lot of work, there are many parallels. Your brand needs to be well conceived. Sometimes it happens quickly and naturally, sometimes it too can take 9 months and many laborious hours to come into being. For your brand to develop and stand for something meaningful it requires a strong foundation and consistent nurturing. As the keeper of the brand it is very much a full time job. If no one in your company is the “champion of care” for your brand it can lose its way and change into something you had never intended. And just like we never stop being parents, or grandparents we should never stop offering guidance, even when our brand is mature and has a life of its own.

Speaking of mature, as company owners of the baby boomer era, we have more challenges today than ever. We grandpas have to plan for succession and make sure our current branding and face of our company conveys the right message to today’s decision makers. Our company is well on its way with this transition and gradually I’m able to step back more. I have complete confidence that the group I have assembled will keep things rolling to the standards we as a team have established…I couldn’t always say that. Along with our administration and promotions support, we now have 6 artists, a senior creative and a business development VP that are all in their thirties…I’m the only Grandpa.

People ask me ‘How’s business?”  My answer is we are the best version of ourselves we have ever been…and doing our utmost on a daily basis to give birth to new thinking, precise messaging and exemplary creative that help our clients’ marketing efforts.

Grandpa out …