Here is an index as to the identity of today’s marketing master: when I asked what his tart marketing dream in the sky was, he sighed like Ahab chasing the white whale.
“I would like to obtain members of the distribution of The bear“- Hulu’s Chicago-Set Show”- “To record the announcements or make videos for us, stressing what we are a Chicago icon.”
“We had a lot of row, and that made us look really beautiful.”
Assumptions?
Meet the master
Eric Munn, director of marketing, Chicago Transit Authority
Job: Juggling with the marketing of the second largest public transport system in the United States with a budget for the size of a government agency. (It is much smaller than it seems.)
Pretend to glory: Presentation of these sweets Return to limited edition CTA pass
Funny fact: Juggling is not only a day in the life of disjointed marketing. Eric can also juggle apples … and take a bite at the same time
Lesson 1: Digital is important – but that’s not all.
Munn is in no way a luddite, but he warns against the concentration as much “on the current trend and the last (that you) forget the reliability and the success of an old -fashioned marketing which is as simple as shipments or display panels.”
Yeah, Even if your audience is mainly the Zers generation and the young millennials.
I was surprised that the target audience of CTA biaise this young person, but “it is the people who always learn their transport habits”. This makes sense – he markets older adolescents who use public transport by themselves for the first time and the 20 years who moved to Wrigleyville after obtaining the university diploma.
So I was doubly surprised to see how lively Munn is in old -fashioned advertising. Send them? Display panels? In This economy?
Photo graceful of Chicago Transit Authority.
But one of the most successful CTA campaigns is a new resident Mailer, reminding them that the CTA costs only $ 2.50 to ride. “I think it’s a great way for a chicago icon like the CTA to welcome you to the city.”
It may seem to be an old -fashioned marketing tactic, but Munn says he hears people who kept this postcard because it was the first mail they received as a newly created Chicagoan.
Old must not say past. Shipping, display panels, sponsorships, partnerships – These are all “very good ways to put your brand and your message in places, and could be much more affordable”.
Photo graceful of Chicago Transit Authority.
Lesson 2: become local (or at least regional).
Last year, the CTA implemented its first influencer campaign, starting with three influencers from Chicagoland. Munn describes two great advantages to this strategy: affordability and a higher probability of success.
Munn was quite precise on what he wanted. “Our campaign was focused on using the CTA because it allows you to save money, which means more money in your pocket to go doing all the things that Chicago has to offer.”
He therefore looked for influencers who make content like “five things to do in Chicago this weekend” or “the hidden jewels of Chicago”. Because there are not as many creators who make this type of content as, say, a travel influencer, these niche accounts often have extremely committed and precious subscribers. And compared to the main prices of travel influencers, local influencers are more affordable, even on a smaller marketing budget.
(And FWIW, all the evidence indicates that Munn is on something: The latest report on HubSpot’s marketing state Identified niche influence marketing as an upward trend in 2025.)
Lesson 3: The spark of relations stretches in all directions.
Munn says that some days, he feels like the character of Tom Hanks Shipwreckedwho “must have become really innovative with very few resources”. When you work for a government agency, “the resources are very tight. You do a lot of hard work. And sometimes you want to knock out your own teeth with an ice skate.
So, when he talks about the establishment of relationships, he launches (word game) a large net. Cavaliers, social media users, even marketing specialists from other public transport agencies (“A really cool group, because these are not my competitors, right? We all root each other.”).
“I have come to many – I call them accounts as transit defenders – people who regularly publish on the CTA or roughly public transport in general,” explains Munn.
He takes the time now to know them “so that when I have a campaign, I can contact them and say:” Hey, we think of doing this, and I wanted to have your thoughts.
If you are faced with lean budgets, a lower number of heads or other belt tightening measures, think of the significant relationships that you can establish outside the usual stakeholders. Like Hanks’ Shipwrecked Character, use what you have around you to create your own success.
Persistent questions
This week’s question
What is a dead angle in the world of marketing which, if he was tackled, would improve people’s lives? —IFF WIRTH, co-founder of the interactive playlab
This week’s response
A major blindness in the world of marketing forgets that most people are not as aware of your brand as you are.
Many brands use messaging that already supposes that people know who you are or what you offer. Make sure you are clear about what your product or service will do to help people. Spirit and catchy is fun, but conversion is to solve people’s problems.
Persistent question of next week
Munn asks: What career have you always wanted to enter but never?
