Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:05] Speaker B: Welcome to the Loop Marketing Podcast. I'm your host, Elise Stieferman and I'm thrilled to have you join us for today's episode, Midwest Matters. Tapping into regional buying behaviors. Today we're diving into the why of why the Midwest is such a crucial region for marketers and how brands can actually align their values to achieve meaningful success. And I'm joined by a fantastic group of guests today who are bringing diverse perspectives and deep expertise to the table. So for some introductions, we have Scott Beck here, who is the managing partner at Wolfs and a trusted partner to Coagi, especially on some of our large construction equipment clients. We have Lisa Merlotti, who is our account director at Coegi and has a wealth of experience leading strategic initiatives for brands with Midwestern roots. And then we also have Jenny Golik here. She's Kwegi's senior account manager, whose passion for connecting with Midwest consumers is reflected in her thoughtful, community focused marketing strategies. So together we're going to explore what sets Midwestern consumer behavior apart, discuss some challenges and opportunities in marketing to this region, and then share some actionable insights on what you can take back to your own marketing efforts.
So let's go ahead and kick things off. Scott, I'd love to hear from you. I mean, you have a ton of experience working with Midwestern brands and are a Midwesterner yourself. So what are some unique characteristics that you have found to have seen in Midwestern market?
[00:01:37] Speaker A: Well, like you said, I, I am Midwestern as it gets. Born, raised in Iowa, grew up here, went to school here, all of that. So I'm as Midwestern as you can get. But I, you know, I boil it down to things like there is a pioneering spirit that is, that is broad based in Midwestern consumers. And that pioneering spirit, I think, you know, kind of frames a lot of their uniqueness and a lot of their differences in their different approaches. You know, they see potential, you know, in a lot of things and doing things new in different ways because they're forced to, you know, they've got seasonality to deal with. They've got their real, you know, hands on need to do it on their own so that they're always looking for new and different ways of doing things. And you know, that essentially at that core, that's the desire to innovate. You know, they're always looking for ways to innovate and to change up what they're doing to improve it. They're producers at heart, right? They produce, you know, I mean, from their agrarian background, if that's what it is from a Midwest side of it, or if it's, you know, just from, you know, the trades or the occupation that they're in.
[00:02:50] Speaker C: Right.
[00:02:50] Speaker A: They're constantly trying to reinvent themselves. And I think that's driven by their location. You know, it's born, it's born and bred in the Midwesterners.
[00:02:58] Speaker C: Right?
[00:02:58] Speaker A: They're, they're, they're problem solvers. So that's, that's a big part of it. And I think that's what makes them unique. They're all about, you know, getting to a solution as quickly as possible because they, in some cases, they got four, you know, independent seasons that dictate different ways of looking at things.
[00:03:17] Speaker B: I completely agree. You know, the irony is that I feel like if you go to cities like New York, I mean, there's the hustle and bustle all the time and they kind of make fun of the Midwestern slow. And yeah, we may walk a little bit slower because we're not in the middle of Times Square, but our brains are always going. We're always joking about finding those solutions.
[00:03:36] Speaker A: Like you said, it's always on. I mean, they're always on. They're just constantly thinking about, you know, their environment, a problem that's, that's either going to come at them or that they've got to solve. And they gotta, they gotta, they're thinking about that because they can't really waste steps. They're not, they don't have the capital, if you will, the time capital to waste a step.
[00:04:03] Speaker C: Right.
[00:04:03] Speaker A: Because that turns into, you know, that turns into waste for them very much. And so that's like, how do they, how do they get to, you know, a solution quickly and sometimes that they're thinking about it while they're, you know, doing three other things.
[00:04:18] Speaker B: So I feel like that, you know, not only bleeds into day to day behavior, but also goes into consumer shopping behavior, how they engage with other brands, et cetera. And like Lisa, I'd love to hear from you, particularly to hear about, you know, any consumer behaviors that you've seen in the Midwest that are distinct from other regions. Like what you might be able to see on the coasts.
[00:04:42] Speaker D: Yeah, absolutely. I think what Scott was saying is, you know, it's born out of necessity, right? Like we, our location base drives necessity and on how we operate not only in our, our personal life, but that, that translates through everything we do. So we're not, you know, Midwesterners. I'm, I'm Midwestern myself, born and raised, Missourian and I. There's. There's not a defining line between how I operate my life and how I work in business. And I think that is really tried and true to Midwesterners.
And I think you see that to your point, Elise, translate. In our consumer behaviors. Right.
So seasonality, Scott, you had mentioned, of course, that's, that is a key factor in how we. We purchase goods. You know, whether it be clothing or, you know, activities that we do, indoor, outdoor, even the foods that we consume, you know, being seasonal, we have seasonal foods, and that's how we. We purchase. We know which foods are in season, which are not.
So that, of course, is probably one of the more obvious ones, but very much a part of how we consume another one is, you know, our distinction between urban and rural. We are. We have a varying spread between urban and rural areas. And you could go from population 300 to population 3 million. And really, you know, 100, sometimes even 50 miles. Like that is a really true radius to Midwesterners that I think is unique.
And so dealing, you know, when you talk about marketing and how you market to people that are very, you know, can be very unique, living environments under a really short radius is unique to that.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: Jump on that, Lisa, to a, you know, just to illustrate a really valid point, like, like, I grew up in a town of 10,000 people, which, you know, by some standards is a pretty good sized market. But growing up in that size town, we went to Sioux Falls, the big city, you know, which was population 100,000, which was 100 miles away, you know, and we would do that two times, you know, probably two to maybe if we were lucky, three times a year.
[00:07:08] Speaker C: Right.
[00:07:08] Speaker A: And that's where a lot of your, you know, we, we would, you know, that's when preschool shopping or, you know, you know, all. All that stuff would start, you know, to happen. But it was like, you know, you could shop local, and we did a lot of that.
[00:07:24] Speaker C: Right.
[00:07:24] Speaker A: But we also reserved some of it for, you know, these big trips too.
[00:07:28] Speaker C: Right.
[00:07:28] Speaker A: Where it was like, that was a big. A big way to get out. And so, you know, the influence that we had was really from, you know, the local media market, not the big DMA of Minneapolis or the big DMAs of, you know, Chicago.
[00:07:44] Speaker C: Right.
[00:07:44] Speaker A: It was like Sioux Falls was our influence.
[00:07:47] Speaker C: Right.
[00:07:47] Speaker A: But. But, you know, that's. That's how we were reached. And that's, that's. That was the, the mindset that we had going into it.
[00:07:55] Speaker B: Absolutely. And I feel like oftentimes brand marketers, especially those who may not be Very familiar with the Midwestern markets. They forget all of that diversity and that nuance. It tends to be kind of just a confirmation bias of they're all kind of the same out there. They all prefer these kind of tried and true brands. We're all wearing Levi's. Right. Like, I feel like that's the Persona that's been created by.
Who aren't familiar with the. These nuanced regions. And. And Jenny, this is something I feel like you've really been able to tap into. I mean, you've worked closely on regionalized banks, for instance, and are a Midwesterner yourself as well. I'd love to hear from you on any trends you've seen from Midwestern buyers or preferences over the last year, and especially love to hear your perspective on how to lean into the community to. To elevate your brand.
[00:08:48] Speaker E: Yeah, I mean, and I think what everybody has touched on so far about, you know, the resourcefulness of Midwesterners is really, really on point. Knowing exactly where to go get something and then often finding that thing locally and being really influenced by your local markets. I think Midwesterners, you know, being a transplant from the coast actually to the Midwest, coming here for college and staying in the area, there are a lot of perceptions of the Midwest and this, like, homogenized big group of, you know, kind Midwesterners that are all the same person that's really, really different, and everybody has a lot of uniqueness about them, a lot of very niche interests.
I think what consumers really like to see and what resonates really, really well with especially a Midwestern consumer is to speak, you know, directly to them and to their specific interests. So I think a big trend in buyer preferences, consumer preferences, you know, is that Midwesterners love to shop local and shop in their backyard and support their neighbors and their friends and honestly build relationships with the places that they are shopping with the people that they're buying from. But they also love for those people to know them and know them really deeply. You know, where the messaging is really catered towards, you know, you as an individual buyer, whether that's seeing a collaboration between two different brands that you support and feeling like this is the perfect and unique mixing of, like, your personality coming together with these brands, partnering with one another. So I think there's a lot of opportunity in that area, both for local brands when they're dealing with Midwesterners in their own backyard, but also maybe for larger outside brands beyond the Midwest, to think about how to speak directly to this Midwestern person and really Pinpoint their really niche interests.
[00:10:46] Speaker D: It's going to piggyback off of what Jenny was saying about, you know, the importance of partnership. I think that's where really that community value resonates and that it translates in. Into business. Because you will see in the Midwest a ton of emphasis on brand collaborations, as Jenny was mentioning. You know, for instance, that you can see that in local. A lot of local breweries partnering with local restaurants. We see that very often here in St. Louis, Missouri, but also, you know, throughout the Midwest region that that is a key partnership. You know, we have seen it in local.
A fashion retailer partnering with a major league.
Major league stadium for their apparel. So really tying what's really important to the community. When a brand can do that, that really resonates and is a meaningful connection. Because now someone I trust is partnering with you, so you're. You in turn, are building a stronger trust and connection through someone that they already trust and connect with.
[00:12:00] Speaker A: I would agree with that, too. I think both Jenny and Lisa bring up a couple of key points, right? Trust is huge. I mean, you hear it all the time, right? In Midwesterners. It's like, well, I go out there and everybody seems so nice and they wave or they say hi to you passing. And it's like, it's kind of a foreign concept to many people that are maybe, you know, resident, you know, on the extreme coast or something like that.
[00:12:24] Speaker C: Right?
[00:12:24] Speaker A: But. But it is. It is this connection to the community that needs to be. You know, it goes back to that pioneering spirit you need to rely on. On. On your neighbor to get things done. You need to have a partner in the process because you got a short amount of time to get it done, right? And, you know, sometimes you can't get it all done yourself, so you got to reach out and you got to have that by the same token, right? To, to me, you know, the trust part of that also comes about with, you know, I, I think about, you know, a lot of. A lot of connections and a lot of transactions and a lot of partnerships in. In the Midwest are done with a handshake and a nod, you know, and it's. And it's that trust, right, that I think marketers need to really elevate in their. In their approach to marketing in the Midwest, because, you know, the Midwestern consumer bases a lot of their existence on trust, on somebody being there as a partner for them, somebody to help them, you know, through the day. And, and. And so I think looking for ways to earn. Build that trust and then whatever you do, don't lose it.
[00:13:36] Speaker C: Right.
[00:13:36] Speaker A: And you'll have a, you'll have a customer for life.
[00:13:39] Speaker C: Right.
[00:13:39] Speaker A: But it's really starting with trust. More so than any other component, I.
[00:13:44] Speaker B: Think that penetrates every part of the marketing business. It's everything from knowing exactly where I can go to find the product, to how somebody talks to me on social media, to reliability and pricing. I'm not going to go and have a 30% discrepancy if I go to this target versus that target. Right. So all these different components of, you know, how you engage with the consumer is critical and I think to tie it all up, I mean, trust, like you all have said, is the underlying pin of being able to build that connection and build a lifetime consumer, not just somebody who's going to buy once and then move on.
And I think I've seen, I feel like in every marketing article I've read in the last year the word authenticity said five times over. And nowhere is I, I, I think the Midwest is where that is especially true. I mean, it's true, I think universally people want to, to have that authentic connection, but Midwesterners really, really crave it. And that's why I think we've seen a lot more brands leaning into that kind of community based approach rather than creating those flash in the plan, flash in the pan tactics that are just a bunch of oohing and awing, but actually not do any doing anything for the consumer. And you know something that, that creates a bit of a challenge is the assumption that these niche communities are very, very small and then that oftentimes gets translated into smaller budgets. So you know, what are some other challenges that marketers may be facing when they're targeting Midwestern audiences when thinking about, you know, budget constraints as an example. But there's also cultural nuances that are a bit of a challenge. Lisa, I don't know if you wanted to kick us off on that.
[00:15:33] Speaker D: I think the biggest challenge, and we've been touching on it, is all of the nuance that is within Midwestern. Right. We have there, there are stereotypes, you know, for a reason, some of it is true. But, but we're in the modern age where our rural areas are way connected now.
So there's, I think a lot more nuance than there's probably ever been in, in the Midwest with just the diverse array of people that you're, you're trying to touch, the seasonalities, the, the DMAs.
I think all of that really makes the, you, the Midwest, you know, pretty, pretty challenging to work With. And if you don't have that core understanding of all of these nuances, there is a high likelihood that marketers can get it wrong.
And because we, you know, it's not black, it's not cut and dry, it's not black and white. There's so many factors that pertain, you know, and like, one situation could apply to this region and it not apply to the next.
[00:16:49] Speaker A: I mean, how I would respond. What, what I, you know, key off of is just don't forget about them. It's easy to look down a list and go, well, I gotta, I get the top 25 DMAs in the country, the major metropolitan areas. I got it covered, right? And you gotta remember, you gotta remember there is a huge population of people out there that are unique.
They're, they've got big, giant souls. They're grounded in, in, you know, in intuition. They're grounded in common sense. They, they wield a lot of power, right? But they're not reached through the big DMAs, you know, they're. They're reached through more local markets and more local market, you know, local media markets. You know, like the influence, like where I am here, you know, my, I'm, I'm heavily influenced by, you know, a market that's only five or six times the size of my, you know, current residence area. So it's, it's, it's. Don't forget about those folks because even though they're spread out, they wield a lot of power, right? Both locally and, you know, like local, like rurally, but local, you know, in their local markets as well. Because, you know, a lot of those folks are intimidated by going to those major metropolitan areas. It's, it's, you know, they live, you know, and we haven't touched on this yet.
We can touch on this later, but it's like beauty to them is the Midwest. It's not seeing a major metropolitan area and, you know, in the ocean, right? It's like, you know, the amber waves of grain are beautiful to these people, and they love living in that environment. So, you know, it's, it's, it's just. Don't forget about them. They're, they're. It can be, it can be easy. You know, just like they say, fly over Midwest, you know, don't fly over them as a marketer, because a lot of people do. And they miss it. They miss a lot of opportunity.
[00:18:41] Speaker B: I completely agree. I mean, it truly is a flyover region for a lot of brands and a lot of hours left on the table as A result.
And there's influence. I mean, Midwesterners also have family on the coast. Right. Like there's. It can have a much bigger ripple effect than just simply not running a social media ad in Missouri. Right. There's a lot more that can be missed from that.
[00:19:08] Speaker E: To Scott's point about, you know, not forgetting, you know, the Midwestern area and this fierce, fierce brand loyalty that Midwesterners might have to their local communities and a really small community driving like a brand preference for a really large metropolitan area, I think that can feel really intimidating to marketers and it might contribute to some of this flyover feeling like it's not worth going after the Midwest. They've got their brand preferences locked in, but it can also be very exciting for new brands and products to penetrate the Midwest. And we've seen things happen with, you know, whataburger came to Kansas City and people were thrilled. So there's definitely room for, there's room to grow. There's room for everybody here in the Midwest. I think it's. The story is for an outside brand looking at gaining, you know, brand favorability, gaining an audience in the Midwest is really how to connect with them and how to build that community feel rather than be that big coastal brand that tries to implement some kind of one size fits all strategy.
[00:20:19] Speaker B: You know, the three of us or the four of us have talked about this, this topic before and something that came up during that conversation was the idea of finding our commonalities rather than the things that make us all different. Right. It can feel very intimidating to, to want to lean into that diversity and to want to get it the cultural nuance correct. And instead of just looking at all of the ways to slice and dice to, to. To speak to those consumers in a nuanced way. I think finding that that commonality is, is critical and again connects it back to the community. And Scott, I know that you have helped a lot of brands thinking through like their brand strategy and their creative and finding ways to resonate with the consumer. I'd love for you to talk a little bit about how you find that ultimate truth and an idea that's going to. To really make an impact with the consumer instead of just making it another message that's easily forgettable.
[00:21:18] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, it goes, it goes back to what we were talking about earlier. It's like it's, it's because Midwesterners are influenced by both coasts. They're influenced by north and South.
[00:21:30] Speaker C: Right.
[00:21:31] Speaker A: So, so they're, you know, like pre wired to be evaluating A lot of things, right? It's like they evaluate what they, what, what solutions are out there, what, what opportunities are out there that exist. And I think, I think you sometimes can, as a marketer, you, you sometimes fall prey to, you know, what's trendy or fadish right now and what's hot, right? And I think one of the things that I found work, you know, it's, first of all, it's hard to get to, but it's really, it's magical when you get there is this idea of push for the philosophical truth that Midwesterners can align to and coastal people can align to and, you know, northerners and Southerners can align to. There is a philosophical place where people will agree, right? And I think that, you know, we often have found that if we push hard to find where we are all common, right, we generally start to really connect, right? And then you start to form that basis of trust because it's, it's founded in truth. It's founded in, you know, it's not founded in what's trendy or hot or immediate right now. And I can think of, I think of tons of brands, right? It's like, you know, and I'm. I'm going to use one here. It's like if you think about Timberland boots, you know, go back, it's been a while now, but I mean, go back. Timberland boots started out as, you know, the authentic, you know, and, and they've expanded into, you know, an urban phenomenon, right? So I think when you start with the truth of this is a really high quality, high caliber, you know, tree brand, right? You can move it, you can move it into other markets. It's almost easier to go that way than it is to kind of go the other way and try and go, let's make this fat or this fashion, you know, have a truth. So I think that there's, at the center of it is, is a, is a truth that, you know, I would encourage marketers to go after. I think the same is true in content. You know, I think if you look at the popularity content right now, whether it's in streaming or what, you know, where you're seeing, you know, content that resonates and gains popularity. I think it's content that, you know, kind of depicts or, or reflects kind of the truth of the time, you know, and I think that, you know, that, that, that it, it's really important factor to consider.
[00:24:08] Speaker B: Completely agree. I'm going to say that like, after every time somebody talks on this podcast, because you're telling so many important things that I feel like go unnoticed by so many brands and so many marketers.
Something else I want to think about is, I mean, we've talked about a few barriers that held back companies from maximizing their potential with Midwest consumers. But I also want to talk to the, the Midwest marketer. I mean, all of us on this phone call are that, but a lot of our listeners are, are marketers. So maybe. Jenny, I'd love to start with you. The Midwest to me and, and I'm sure to everyone on this call, is an exciting region. There's a lot of opportunity to make the Midwest a, a marketing innovation hub. And you know, that may not come to mind for a lot of marketers, you know, thinking about innovation and things like Silicon Valley, I mean, that isn't obvious, but there are tech hubs and a ton of massive thinking happening in this region.
You know, how can marketers really lean into their Midwesterness and create something powerful in terms of driving innovation in marketing?
[00:25:20] Speaker E: Yeah, I think, I think a big thing to hit on here is there is so much pride in being from and living in the Midwest. So Midwest marketers can tap into that feeling that they themselves have about being here in the Midwest and that community feeling that, that easy likability feeling. I think the innovation that happens, not to knock it, but on a lot of the coast feels, feels sort of homogenized in a way where you think of Silicon Valley as this very flashy, albeit similar place where a lot of these tech hubs are.
Feel the same as one another. There's this hustle and bustle, there's innovation, high stakes and, and all of that stuff. And I think in the Midwest there is, we fall back on that resourcefulness. So there's innovation in different ways, innovation based out of necessity, you know, but then there's also that, that pride and that easy likability that leads people to create something that's. It's so easy to buy into that idea. And I think to Scott's point about, you know, finding that philosophical truth, that thing that we all align on, I think Midwest marketers, you know, can really innovate in that, in that space and, and stay true to those sorts of things.
[00:26:42] Speaker D: One thing I, I want to touch on with, you know, Midwest and the innovation is going back to Scott, you said this brilliantly, is that we, Midwest is at the center of the compass. And so we do have influence from all, you know, all, all points and more central to the coast. So I think the beauty and the Innovation that, that we have is, is the perspective, right? We, we know how to balance like a trendy hot new toy with, with a core truth. You know, is this actually going to resonate? And so, you know, out of necessity, out of our lineages and history, we, we are problem solvers. We know how to pause, think and think strategically.
And in today's world, I kind of feel like that's innovative because a lot of, a lot of, there's a lot of influence on, on the new shiny toy, right? And but the new shiny toy is fleeting and it's not going to resonate with everyone.
And so I feel like today, in today's world, finding that truth, being strategic, being scrappy with what you have, collaborating with your partners and really building something that is going to be lasting and true is the innovation that Midwestern and Midwestern marketers bring to the table.
[00:28:15] Speaker A: I would just, I would jump on that point because I, first of all, I agree with you, right? And second of all, I think there, you know, in addition to this, this idea of seeking truth, I think Midwesterners tend, in general, you know, you gotta be, I gotta be careful. But you know, in general they seek value. And I don't mean value by price, okay?
It's not value means low price. It means value is delivered by substance, by truth, by. It works, I trust it, I have an emotional connection to it. So that value equation for Midwesterners is really unique and different right to that point. And I think that, you know, that plays into why like you, like, you know, sometimes the, the, the, the, the quick fixes or the, you know, seemingly brilliant product innovation, right, isn't really delivering a value, it's delivering something for somebody else. But Midwesterns can smell that. They can literally smell, right, if the value is not there oftentimes. And I, I can think of three right off the top of my head right now. I'm not going to talk, I'm not going to name them but you know, because, but, but, but it's like, it's like their money, Midwesterners money comes hard earned. It's not, you know, they're not, you know, they're going to spend and they'll spend premium dollars for premium products and premium solutions, right? But they're not going to spend it on, on something that smells like, you know, well, because you can deliver it to my P.O. box or you can deliver it to this, therefore it's worth five times as much, right? You know, all I got to do is plan to go get it, you know, and and, you know, and I can get a different brand for, you know, a way different, you know, value proposition. And I think that that's critical to a Midwestern mindset.
[00:30:25] Speaker E: Understanding that jumping back into the innovation discussion a little bit for marketers from our perspective or for advertisers specifically, I think there is something very innovative about knowing how to work with what you have, but also seeing innovation out there in the industry and knowing how to tailor it and use it for your specific markets to sometimes do more with less or you're feeling that budget crunch and that leads to a really strategic, innovative use of a tool that's been around forever or maybe a brand new way to use a new tool, but not how that tool is initially maybe marketed to you as, as an advertiser. So I think the coming back to this word like again and again and again, but the resourcefulness of both the consumer, but of the marketer in the Midwest on how to really flex the tools and the strategies that you have at your disposal lead to really unique things happening across the market.
[00:31:28] Speaker B: I think we have all made a lot of points on this in this conversation about the benefits of partnering with a Midwest based agency, at least for some projects, for, for your brand, if you're looking to penetrate the Midwestern market. Because there's obviously a lot of, a lot of nuance that is not able to be captured just from, you know, syndicated research tools. Right. You have to kind of live and breathe the culture in order to be able to provide that insight.
And I think that there are tons of benefits that could be outlined here. And I'm sure everyone on this call is going to want to, to weigh in here. But Scott, I'd like to start with you about what are some of the benefits that you see, especially as someone who has created his own business to, and worked across several agencies and brands in the Midwest. What are some benefits of partnering with a Midwestern based agency?
[00:32:21] Speaker A: Well, I, I, I think first of all, like you just said, Elise, it's like Midwestern agencies as a whole are, you know, understand because of their proximity, just like we talked about with the customer, because of the proximity. They understand the Midwestern market. They also understand the coastal markets, right? Yeah, they have to understand, they have to have a really deep, deep understanding of the consumer's mindset from both the coast, north, south and the Midwest. And so I think there's an advantage for Midwestern based agencies. I worked at the same one for nine years in Minneapolis and I, I saw it vividly.
[00:33:01] Speaker C: Right.
[00:33:02] Speaker A: How, how well we understood and built something from, you know, from a Midwestern perspective that then blew up on both coasts, right? And really became a phenomenon, right? And I think that, I think that that's a real advantage of Midwestern based agencies and hiring Midwestern based people. You hear a lot of people say, you know, you know, and I'll just use my personal experience. My son goes out to New York City to work at an advertising agency out there. Why? Because, you know, he thinks that's where, you know, I think that's where, quote, unquote, you know, he's got to give it a shot, right? Well, he instantaneously gets considered because he's from the Midwest, right? And they know he's going to show up at 6 in the morning and he's not leaving until 10 at night, right? Because he's going to get a lot done for them, right? You know, and he's coming back to the Midwest, right? He's going to bring that experience back to the Midwest, right? And he's going to be, you know, down the road a hot commodity because he'll have influences from both, you know, both spectrums and he can, he can elevate that. And I think that that's a massive opportunity and it's a massive miss of marketers who think beyond Midwestern agencies as their solutions. Because a lot of Midwestern agencies, right, have really sharp, right, have really informed consumer perspectives about customers that, you know, many of the coastal don't. They're, they're more influenced by just their area. And so I think, I think that's a big one. I think the proximity to understanding how to reach them, you know, how to reach the customer, you know, is, is critical.
Like I talked before, you know, local market versus large metropolitan DMAs versus, you know, how do you get down to the grassroots level and touch the customer in the bar when you're rubbing shoulders with them, you know, how do you make them feel that? Because that's where, that's where the discussions and decisions get formed and made, right? And so I think Midwesterners tend to, tend to understand that because that's where connection, you know, we talked earlier about connections, right? They form connections out of necessity. So I think, I think that's another reason. And you know, I, I, the, the last one is just, you know, like I illustrated earlier, you know, you can, you can, you can go with the pace of what's going on in the coast for so long, but you got to come back to a place where you can almost heal and look around and Go. There's something bigger, deeper, more meaningful, right. When you take a breath, when you think a little deeper about a problem and you get down into the nuts and the bolts of the problem as opposed to trying solving it up on the surface. And I think that that's, that's a nice way of saying. I think Midwestern agencies, Midwestern marketing people have a tendency to be deeper thinkers because they're, you know, at their heart, they come from a pioneering background.
[00:36:04] Speaker C: Right.
[00:36:04] Speaker A: They come from that, that need to, to make those connections and to bring those types of solutions to bear my.
[00:36:11] Speaker B: Assessment, I think that's a completely fair assessment. Lisa, Jenny, anything you'd want to tack on?
[00:36:17] Speaker D: Yeah, one thing I want to add is going back to being problem solvers. You know, when being met with, you know, small budgets or complexities in the marketing plan, we are problem solvers. So we don't shy away from that. We welcome it. We love to solve problems. We love to build relationships.
And to that point of community, you know, often, you know, we know how to collaborate. We know how to work with a, with multiple different agencies, you know, because oftentimes that, that happens. You know, there's, there's a lot of different players that have to come together to make a holistic strategy, and we love that. We love building relationships, we love collaboration, we love, you know, complexities. That, that gets us really thinking and honing in on, on the truth. And, you know, I think some, some larger companies would probably shy away from the complexities, but we, we embrace it. And, and we know that is going to get us to something really, really meaningful and impactful for our brands.
And yeah, I think, I think the Midwest, you know, our, our relationship building and being able to navigate those complexities is, is a key differentiator for us as an agency.
[00:37:46] Speaker A: I love that. That's well stated, Lisa. I, I, and I've experienced it many times. I, you know, had stables of 15 or 20 agencies working on a brand.
[00:37:57] Speaker C: Right.
[00:37:57] Speaker A: But, and it was like you could tell the ones that, you know, just were, like, averse to it. Everyone's like, I don't care about your situation. I care about what's best for the client. And the Midwestern ones that were the key collaborators in that process. That's a great point.
[00:38:14] Speaker E: I think the final thing I'll add to that to tie into what Lisa was saying about relationship building is I think there can be this sense on the coast, this desire to be the biggest player in the room and to have your clients be the biggest player in the room and to always just sort of be on the forefront of something. And I think that, you know, in the Midwest, there are agencies that are, you know, brands are shopping local for their agencies. So we're used to working with our local communities with that really small client that has a really niche need. And so there is that extra relationship building to really get down to the heart of what, you know, what that person needs. And not just to really tout a big client base or to work on a massive piece of business, but there's true relationship building, and those things last over time.
[00:39:07] Speaker B: Well, if there was ever evidence of the need to work with Midwestern marketers, I feel like this conversation shown a beautiful spotlight on all of you and your great insights and lots of things for us to think about. So. So I think that's a great place to stop. Thank you all for joining us today and thank you for our listeners for tuning in. And hopefully everyone has a lot of takeaways. Just lots of ways to apply this kind of authentic, deep connection with the consumer and not making the Midwest that flyover region. So again, thank you all for your time today and look forward to talking with you next time.
[00:39:47] Speaker D: Thank you, Elise.
[00:39:49] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:39:51] Speaker B: Thanks.
