What is 1911 Main Street all about?

1911 Main Street is a starting point to a discussion about marketing in the past, present and future. But, it is also more than that. It’s about sharing ideas in the world of Web 2.0 and beyond. Just as marketing is undergoing a massive transformation, so too will this blog. The direction that I envision the blog going today will inevitably be much different somewhere down the road. (Pun not intended.)

I started the blog with a post about David Ogilvy.

The 1911 in “1911 Main Street” is a tip of the hat to Mr. Ogilvy. As I pointed out in the post, many consider him to be the “Father of Advertising”. With this in mind, I am also using “1911” to represent traditional advertising (e.g., print, radio, television, etc.) (Just in case you didn’t read the post, I want to clarify that Mr. Ogilvy was born on June 23, 1911.)

Although traditional advertising methods will continue to be used for the foreseeable future, Web 2.0 and all the cool things associated with it have changed the way companies interact with consumers.

The voice of Main Street (i.e., average businesses and households considered as a group) is now influencing the way people see your brand thanks to their interactions with their counterparts via podcasts, blog posts, social media sites, review sites, texting, and just about any other way people communicate with each other these days.

In order to compete today, brands need to understand the importance of using an integrated marketing strategy. They should examine all the possible ways of reaching their potential customers. This includes the traditional means, as well as the new media marketing channels that have been created thanks to the rise of Web 2.0.

This is an exciting time in marketing. I hope to start a conversation about the ever-changing marketing landscape with anyone reads this blog. (Your time is valuable, and I thank everyone who takes the time to read my posts.)

That said, all intelligent input is fully encouraged and appreciated (no spam, please).

But, before we begin, I should tell you a little bit about myself.

My background

As my profile mentions, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1996 with a major in Sociology with a Concentration in Analysis and Research (CAR).

While attending college I had two internships, the first with the University of Wisconsin Survey Center and the second with the Credit Union Nation Association (CUNA), in Madison, Wisconsin. The second internship led to a fulltime position after graduation.

For over 10 years I worked for Credit Union National Association. For most of that time, I was a Senior Research Analyst and Project Manager. In this role, I managed multiple market research projects simultaneously, while ensuring accurate, timely, cost-effective, and efficient delivery of survey reports to customers. (Click here for a list of publications that I contributed to while working at CUNA.)

Then in 2006, I moved to Louisiana and in February of 2007, I was hired by Franklin Industries, LLC, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to help with the community outreach efforts for Louisiana’s Road Home program. (The Road Home program is the single largest housing recovery program in U.S. history.)

The community outreach team was tasked with developing rapid and accurate networking systems to assist residents of Louisiana affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in getting access to federal recovery dollars via Louisiana’s Road Home program. Although I only served a minor role, I am very proud of the work that I did during my two years at Franklin Industries. Not only did I get a chance to get experience in a community outreach/public relations role, I feel that I was a part of a great team that helped make a difference in people’s lives, and I met some very cool people along the way.

In the process of looking for a job after leaving Franklin Industries, I read a job posting from a major advertising agency with an office in Atlanta, Georgia, that let me down the path that I am currently on.

At that time, digital marketing was really taking off, Twitter was in the news (remember the race to 1 million followers between Ashton Kutcher and CNN?), and my former college roommate was constantly talking about this Facebook thing.

That was it, I was hooked.

From that point on, I spent most of my free time keeping up with the current trends in digital marketing and Web 2.0, in general.

In January of 2010, I moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and started attending events that were held by the American Marketing Association (AMA) and the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association (AiMA).  Since moving back to the Midwest, I have also attended events that were held by the Minnesota and Chicago Chapters of the AMA, as well as Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) and Chicago Interactive Marketing Association (CIMA) events.

With my education, work experience and participation in the aforementioned marketing associations, combined with my desire to learn as much as I can about the digital marketing world, I hope to create a blog that is of value to everyone who reads it.

So, that’s my story.

I look forward to seeing how this blog will evolve over the years. But, most importantly, I look forward to getting your input on my posts.

Thanks again for taking the time to visit my blog.

 

Disclosures and relationships:

Chad Thiele is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Education

University of Wisconsin-Madison – Bachelor of Science

Major: Sociology with a Concentration in Analysis and Research

Certifications

Inbound Marketing University – Inbound Marketing Certified Professional