Dylan Broyles
Writing 310
Final Draft
The thing that separates humans from all other animals is our ability to communicate in different ways. Verbal, nonverbal, email, text, phone, hieroglyphics, art, media, are all examples of communication. At the same time, with use of technology, the list of communication methods is always expanding. Humans communicate so well, we have the ability to change the world. Of course this can be in a positive or negative manner. Some jobs in the world require different methods of communication in order to get tasks and work done. Obviously a writer for a newspaper is going to communicate differently compared to a welder who works on motorcycles. This paper will talk about what it means to work for a media agency in New York. Specifically the position of Lead Marketing Director and their means of writing and communicating. For this media company in New York, employees tend to use verbal communication as their primary means to get work done. However there are times when written communication is needed.
Marketing is very complex and detail orientated type of job. Luckily for me, I have had the pleasure to talk to a man by the name of Lee Beale. Mr. Beale works for a media company in New York called Crossmedia. Mr. Beale has been explaining to me that there is a lot more to marketing than people think. I have become intrigued with his position at Crossmedia, while trying to understand all the different aspects that take place there. Some of their clients range from a few NBA teams, Jagermeister, People Magazine, Whole Foods, as well as many other multi billion dollar companies. In short, what Cross media does is “come up with campaign strategies, as well as different ways to measure and track consumer behavior in relation to our ads and campaign marketing,” explained Mr. Beale. With that being said, I was curious to see how much of his work is the physical act of writing things out versus using verbal communication. I believe that most of what Mr. Beale deals with is verbal communication for his career.
I asked Mr. Beale what the first thing is that he does when stepping through the doors at his work. He explained to me that “the first thing I do is walk around the building, talk to different members that I’m working with on a project with, then see what’s on the agenda for that day.” This is what raised my curiosity when trying to figure out Mr. Beale’s main form of communication in regards to his position at Crossmedia. From there, Mr. Beale went on to explain that he makes goes to his office so he can email or call clients. I even asked him what he prefered, email or speaking over the phone/Skype with a client? Mr beale explained that he felt personally speaking with someone over the phone was the best way to work. However he also mentioned that sometimes people aren't available so he resorts to email. I agree with Mr. Beale, that actually speaking with someone face to face or over the phone is a more effective way to communicate for a career like his. On the other hand, if a person isn't sure with their intentions are in the conversation, an email gives them more time to think about what they want to say and perhaps conduct some research.
When it comes to doing research, interviews, or networking in relation work or future opportunities, there is a common ingredient. That ingredient is the use of rhetoric. Being able to identify who your audience is, what the topic is about, possible biases or arguments can help persuade people to do things. Using advanced communication skills and persuasive language is a very valuable tool to have. In some situations the use of critical thinking can make or break a great opportunity that is sitting in front of a person’s face. Incorporating ethos, pathos, and logos when faced with challenging situations can be crucial in reaching goals.
When it comes to Crossmedia, specifically Mr. Beale’s position, it important to have an excellent sales pitch to sign clients. Crossmedia’s revenue comes from the clients who decide to sign Mr. Beale’s company to market, measure and conduct research. When the time comes for Crossmedia to try to sign new clients, Mr. Beale must present a sales pitch, a darn good one to be honest. There are many companies out there, competing with Crossmedia, to try and sign major corporations as clients to market for. This is when persuasive techniques with the use of rhetoric comes in handy, to land that deal with a major corporation, sports team, local restaurant, or any company willing to spend some serious cash.
I asked Mr. Beale what goes into making a sales pitch and the guy just went to town, telling me some very valuable information. Mr. Beale is the person who travels when a sales pitch is planned to be presented. As a team, people from different divisions within the company get together and brainstorm about the data they have already collected in regards to their client. The type of data consists of their clients target audience, the goals of their client’s business and campaign strategy, as well as what might be lacking in their client’s media/marketing image. Once everyone is together they place the data on a whiteboard. This helps when they attempt to come up with a way to present the data during their sales pitch. Mr. Beale then writes up a draft of the sales pitch and hands around copies to his team. After being revised by everyone he takes that into consideration when practicing for the pitch.
Mr Beale understands just like Laura Bolin Carroll does about the importance of first impressions. First impressions last a lifetime. These sometimes awkward moments have great potential to create everlasting perceptions on people,places, and things. In an article written by Laura Bolin Carroll about the impacts on impressions and rhetorical context she talked about in depth just that. Carroll explained that, “The more we know about how to analyze situations and draw informed conclusions, the better we can become about making savvy judgments about the people, situations and media we encounter.” Understanding that human are always judging and analyzing people or media can play vital roles in presenting something or one’s self. The way people think can help morph the way one might try to portray something in a certain way in order to reach goals. This is very true in the case of Mr. Beale’s position at his company.
When the day comes to present a pitch for their clients, Crossmedia sends one of their best employees, Mr. Beale. After practicing and doing research on his client, he is ready to present his sales pitch. “Persuasive language and knowledge on the company's needs,” is what Mr. Beale explained as being key to signing new clients.
At this point in time their has already been multiple types of communication and language used. It all started with emailing or calling a client. From there, Mr. Beale spoke face to face with his team to know what kind of data should be collected. That conversation is usually written up and sent to everyone via email. After people have spent time collecting data their findings are brought up during the brainstorming meeting. ONce again this whole conversation is written up and analyzed by Mr. Beale. HE then comes up with drafts of the sales pitch which will be revised multiple times. Mr. Beale then verbally practices his sales pitch which will ultimately be presented in front of his clients in person.
In the beginning I was certain of the types of communication Mr. Beale uses for his career. As I take in everything that I have been told I now have a new outlook. The position of Lead Marketing Director at Crossmedia involves the use of both written and verbal communication to reach a goal. The best way to get ideas across at Crossmedia I feel is with verbal communication. However in order to retain the information and analyze that info to make it even better is by written language. The majority of jobs no matter what it is, usually takes more than one way to communicate. This is also the case in life. If people focus on perfecting just one way to communicate, they are limiting themselves. When people are skilled communicators in every category, then the world is their oyster.
