Ypulse Interview: Bill Carter, Partner, Fuse Marketing
Posted by meredith on 03-24-2009
Today’s Ypulse interview is with youth marketing expert Bill Carter who has been working since 1998 to develop Fuse Marketing into one of the leading youth culture and action sports marketing services firms. From our interview below it’s not hard to see why Bill was named “one of the most influential young executives in sports.” To hear more hard marketing truths from Bill check him out at the Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup Event in June. Register today and take advantage of our Early Adopter Rates!
Ypulse: What is the most radical change you’ve seen in youth sports marketing?
Bill Carter: Use of technology, including Facebook and Twitter, are being used for communication by leagues and teams and a mechanism to develop youth communities that have a common interest in playing a particular sport or forming a league. Technology has also had a major impact on the availability of information to youth athletes; young athletes are much better informed today about health, nutrition, and training than they have ever been.
YP: How do you see the dynamic between brands and youth continuing to evolve in terms of interactivity?
BC: I don’t necessarily see the relationship between brands and youth as an evolution. The brands that understand that the best youth marketing depends on two-way communication between, but not at consumer will continue to have success. Brands that do not understand this premise and continue to speak at and not create dialogue with young consumers will continue to suffer. One of the great things that user generated content has shown us is that consumers have something to say about brands – in the form of feedback, opinion polls, and video and picture submissions just to name a few – and they will continue to speak back to brands whether those brands like it or not.
YP: What are common mistakes brands make when attempting to communicate with the youth market?
BC: They talk too loudly and don’t listen enough. They attempt to engineer not only how their product is viewed but how it is consumed and used in every respect. The best youth-consumed brands understand how to develop a strategy that is credible with youth, but then put a product out there and let the youth customer determine its use.
YP: Can you describe an initiative from a brand that really gets it? What makes this work?
BC: For the sake of credibility, I won’t choose any of our clients! I think the brand that really gets it is Burton Snowboards. That may seem obvious, because Burton is the leading snowboard brand in the world, but it’s not that simple. Why I think they get it is that they never, and I mean never, lose sight of their core customer. And even when they hit a bump in the road, like they did when lots of parents complained after Burton used Playboy playmates as the graphics on a line of snowboards this year, they are never swayed from the interests of their core customers. Who by the way, are not the parents or those complaining about those graphics.
YP: What will attendees take away from your presentation at the Mashup event?
BC: Our presentation will be the findings of the largest proprietary research project we have ever done in our almost 15 years history. We have partnered with the University of Massachusetts and plan to deliver information about what teens consider ineffective marketing done by youth focused brands. Attendees will be able to see and hear what teens are sending about wasteful marketing spends in categories such as cell phone, consumer electronics, food and/or snack-food, health and beauty and others. In these difficult economic times, part of a marketer’s job is saving money, and that’s what we hope to be able to provide insights on.
More about Bill
In 2002, Bill received Fast Company’s Fast 50 Award for his impact on popular culture. In 2001, he was received Sports Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 Award as one of the most influential and important young executives in sports. Bill has been widely quoted in media ranging from Paper and Skateboarder magazines to The New York Times and Advertising Age. Bill provides counsel on many of Fuse’s client initiatives and currently advises Yahoo!, Harley-Davidson, Mountain Dew (Pepsi) and NBC Sports, among others. Bill holds a BA from Gettysburg College and an MS from Michigan State University.
For more coverage of youth marketing, go to the Ypulse Youth Marketing Channel sponsored by Youth Marketing Connection.
Categorized under: 2009 Mashup, Youth Marketing