Ever
since my Intro to Marketing class, I’ve come to view marketing as a deceitful way
of manipulating the public to over-consume and convince people to buy things
that they don’t actually need…so when I was asked to interview someone who
deals with marketing for new ventures, I was less than enthusiastic. After a
bit of research however, I found that there are some super creative marketers
out there who promote businesses that aren’t just “in it for the money”. Fortunately,
I was able find an interviewee who takes a unique approach in promoting
meaningful new ventures that she truly cares about and believes in!
As if
the website
wasn’t enough evidence, a mere glance into Jenny Greer’s office revealed the
artistic unconventionality of SoundMind Creative. I took a seat on a comfy
couch nestled right under a wall decorated with business cards, flyers, CD
cases, you name it – adding the stylish ambiance of vibrant art on the walls.
As it turns out, each of these artful masterpieces was created by Jenny through
Soundmind Creative.
It
didn’t take long for me to realize that Jenny wears many hats; not only did she
start Soundmind Creative, but she serves as a brand consultant, graphic
designer, creative director, and illustrator. Obviously these roles have some overlap,
but at the same time, they allow her to approach her work in very different
ways depending on the project.
“I think
the common thread for us has been a lot of entrepreneurs because either it’s a
new project or a new company,” Jenny explained “My favorite thing to do is work
with new companies.” Although she went to school for graphic design with the
intentions of being a designer, she’d played a lot of music and started a band,
“We started off mostly wanting to serve the music industry, so a lot of my
referrals have come from very creative people. It’s kind of expanded, we also
do stuff for the city, stuff for universities, [etc.]”
So even
though she had planned to pursue graphic design, her interest in music played a
really big role in getting her to where she is now. “I came to Asheville and
there weren’t really any design companies here so I had to start my own,” Jenny
said as she explained to me her move from Atlanta (where she’d worked with a
lot of large brands like Coke, M&M Mars, etc.). “I always made sure I did
what I wanted to do.”
Inspired
by her entrepreneurial words of wisdom, I then recalled my original viewpoint
of marketing and realized that marketing doesn’t necessarily have to be this
unscrupulous, irritating way for companies to manipulate consumers, but that it
can actually be quite honorable, artistic work. This raised my question of how
she was able to promote SoundMind Creative in a way that attracted such a down-to-earth
clientele.
She responded, “All my business comes from referrals, I don’t know
if I’m just repelling people who are doing bad things. I’m always willing to
bend over backwards for someone I believe in. Like for example there’s a cider
company opening and they’re using all local apples; how cool is that?! That’s
awesome to me. I don’t really care about the money that much; I care about good
honest work”
Woah.
This last part got me – truly words I’d never expected to hear coming from a
marketer’s mouth! This was it; that gentle expose of Jenny’s entrepreneurial spirit: being motivated
by the work that you do because you care about it, not necessarily by the money
you earn doing it. Clearly, Jenny finds passion in helping new ventures succeed
– these are the kinds of people that help create communities (like Asheville)
who embrace and support entrepreneurs!
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