The Marketing Business is an informal association of three companies which together have over 60 years experience in the entertainment technology business and which individually are recognized as experts in their field: PE Consulting, Harmer PR and The Wells Partnership. PE Consulting was formed in 2002 by Peter Ed, previously marketing director for ETC Europe and business development manager for Strand Lighting. Peter’s experience will be of great benefit to companies wishing to expand their business by moving into exporting or into new market segments by combining tried and tested marketing techniques with in-depth knowledge of the entertainment technology industry. Harmer Public Relations, which provides the public relations and copy writing side of the operation, has enjoyed continuous links with the entertainment technology business ever since its formation by Lesley Harmer in 1980. Current agency clients include AVW Controls, ETC and Theatre Projects Consultants. The last of the trio is The Wells Partnership, whose graphic design skills have been used by many companies in the business, including Rosco, Wybron and MAVCO.
Marketing is all about communication but, as Peter Ed points out, what and how you communicate isn’t simply a case of the sales director working a few additional hours each week. "While language is an obvious obstacle for exporters - even between the UK and US markets - communicating to different market segments is not necessarily straightforward. In order to be competitive you must be fine-tuned to your market. There’s no point in having a great product if your literature isn’t on the same wave length as your target audience."
While a young company would benefit from the full range of services offered by The Marketing Business, there are many companies who may wish to cherry pick, something that The Marketing Business encourages, according to Lesley Harmer. "All three companies are good at what they do, but people don’t necessarily need all of our products all of the time. Each of us will continue to trade independently, so people should think of us as an à la carte menu!" said Lesley Harmer.
(Ruth Rossington)
