Level 1: Digital Inbound Marketing

The first level of The Digital Engine introduces the concepts of Inbound vs. Outbound marketing. The history of marketing has provided us solid, foundational principles in Marketing, generally surrounding the 4Ps: Product, Placement, Promotion, and Pricing. Traditional outbound marketing pushed expensive messages into the public market and hoped that consumers would respond. However, the new digital inbound approach uses a pull technique. This approach uses owned and earned media, rather than paid media, to display messages for little to no cost with the desire to pull the consumer into the message so that the consumer asks for the product or service by name. For example, look at the pharmaceutical industry. Why do they advertise on television when you have to get a doctor’s prescription for the medicine? You can’t just go to the pharmacy and buy it. So why do they advertise? It’s so that you, the consumer, will go to a doctor and request that he or she give you a prescription for that particular medicine. This is a pull approach, not a push approach.

Hence, this level discusses the history of marketing and how it evolved into this new pull approach. It walks you down this journey to the current digital/social era in the first chapter of this level, introducing you to the Digital Engine theory. The second chapter in Level 1 takes a dive into the core branding functions for company’s that will begin to use this pull approach. These branding elements are critical to the Digital Engine and developing not only your look and feel (i.e. brand image and personality) but also your brand narrative, aka brand story, that will hook consumers into wanting to ask for your brand by name. Once they are hooked, they will find value and utility in the other branding pillars of your brand positioning, promises, and equity. You will discover that these five branding pillars will lead consumers to not just being loyal, but advocates for your brand, perpetuating the organic, inbound, and low-cost approach to reaching more and more consumers.

Assignments in this level will help you consider the many elements associated with communicating the desired perception of your brand. Secondary and Higher Ed students will determine the focus of their website topics, while Continuing Ed participants will consider their current brand strategies and any changes or additions that need to be considered to fulfill The Digital Engine branding standards. Assignments in Level 1 prepare you to purchase (if needed), build, and setup your website to become a legitimate inbound lead generator.