If you’ve ever been to Costa Rica, you undoubtedly learned there’s a lot to do and see. It’s a country comprised of beautiful beaches, active volcanos, tropical rain forests, warm weather, and equally warm culture and people. Beyond all the great things to experience, most people don’t know that Costa Rica is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the entire world.
Positioned between tectonic plates on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, Costa Rica averages a whopping 12 earthquakes EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Though 12 earthquakes a day is a staggering number, most are light and not felt and are rarely damaging – thankfully. Being a Glintster that now lives in Costa Rica full-time, I have felt my share in the past three years. This year, experiencing the latest tremor made me think of our industry (of all things) and ponder the math.
In 314 days this calendar year, there have been 3,368 earthquakes in Costa Rica, yet I have only felt 2 of them (.059%). Not a great return if you’re the earthquake, but at least I felt and remembered them, so it’s partly done its job.
Much like this natural phenomenon in Costa Rica, your customers are exposed to over 5,000 forms of ads every day – and this number is growing. That’s a lot of opportunity for some “seismic” activity.
But it begs the question: Is the ground being shaken by you or your competitor? Is your messaging even being remembered?
Regardless of how you’re trying to attract your customer’s attention, and whether it’s in a digital or traditional realm, it has to start with your brand being on-point – period. From there, it truly comes down to having the proper plan in place. Though this may seem like a no-brainer, not carefully crafting the appropriate plan is often the number one reason marketing efforts fail.
You can have a crafty message or a super cool creative, but if no one sees it, what’s the point?
At a minimum, a successful plan should address the following criteria:
- What resources are really needed?
- What’s the overarching strategy?
- What channels will we be using and, more importantly, WHEN?
- If content is king, how do we ensure our content creates the “marketing tremors” we need?
- How will we measure our success?
- How will we track our ROI?
Granted, these are just a start, and we could drill down deep into each bullet, but the point is simple.
A successful plan up front is crucial for your ads and messaging to be felt out of the other 5,000 trying to shake your customer’s attention.
To ensure you have the best plan possible, getting an outside perspective from a trusted source can only help as you prepare for your upcoming marketing strategies.
Gaining outside perspectives allows you to look at things in a completely different way and, if received constructively, can open creative windows that you didn’t even know existed. This reminds me of living in Costa Rica, and likewise, Glint has been providing this outside perspective to our customers for over 20 years. We like to feel it’s just one of the reasons our customers love what we do.
If you’re planning on a new strategy or would like to connect, we would love the opportunity to have a productive conversation with you and your team.
For more information on Glint, our services, and how we can help shake the ground under your customer’s feet, give us a call at 817-616-0320 or visit our website at www.glintadv.com. Pura Vida!
Though author and Glinster Todd Miller now lives in Costa Rica, he has worked for Glint Advertising since 2014 and continues to do so to this day. When he announced to President/CEO Craig Lloyd in 2018 that he and his wife were moving to Costa Rica, Todd was met with well-wishes and a plan that allowed him to continue to be a part of the incredible team that comprises Glint Advertising. Though the pandemic has reshaped how people now work, Glint was ahead of the curve by seeing the value of remote team members and its intrinsic value on the agency and customers.
Having lived in Costa Rica for over three years, Todd has a new perspective on a different culture and now provides another way of thinking about everything. The experience has been priceless to him, and it has provided a deeper pool of creativity that benefits how he feels about business – for himself and Glint clients.
To bring a bit of Costa Rica back to everyone in the United States, coupled with applications in advertising and marketing, Todd wanted to begin a limited blog series that will bridge international perspectives and hopefully provide some interesting reading.
“Thank you to Glint for being a forward thinker, and I look forward to hearing about other cultural experiences as Glint continues to move forward without boundaries,” says Todd.
Pura Vida is the most used phrase in Costa Rica, with its literal translation being Pure Life. The phrase also means hello, goodbye, cool, great, among others.
