BOTBP: Melinda Neely, President, High Dive “What’s The Difference Between Strategic Marketing and Plain Old Advertising?”

Today on Business Off The Beaten Path, I had the pleasure of interviewing Melinda Neely, President of High Dive. High Dive is a strategic marketing agency based in Boise, Idaho.  In addition to their expertise in strategic marketing and branding, they are a bunch of real “go getters” with real spirit at High Dive. They are also doing business in a socially responsible way. To listen to the full interview, please click here.

Strategic Marketing: Research, Strategy and Creative

Melinda and I had a really fascinating discussion about Strategic Marketing and High Dive’s three areas of core competency: Research, Strategy and Creative. Melinda explained how High Dive is an agency filled with creative people yet they have a foundation in research and strategy.

New Ethnography Study beginning fall 2008

In addition they are launching a fascinating and sure to be informative ethonographic study this fall which  will focus on Baby Boomers and  what they are doing to take better ownership of their health.

Most Important Communication Skills in Melinda’s Opinion

First Impressions

We also discussed the most important communication skills that a business leader needs to have in order to make a great first impression. Melinda agreed with my guest from last week, Brian Quint,  that the ability to listen is the top key communication skill every business person needs. She suggested that being who you genuinely are combined with good listening skills were key skills to creating a great first impression.

Melinda went on to say that listening skills were followed by the ability to write effectively and being able to write effectively in a variety of mediums: letters, emails, blog and monthly newsletters.

Resources:

Here are some of the resources discussed during the interview:

1.High Dive Blog: The Foggy Goggle: www.blog.highdive.net
In their blog, their focus is on clearing your “Foggy Goggles” so you can see both yourself and your company’s vision more clearly.
2. Great books:
“Eat Pray Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert
“Healthy Living From The Inside Out”
3. High Dive Newsletter: see www.highdive.net for more information on that and to get on Melinda’s mailing list.

Melinda can be reached at Melinda@highdive.net

If you would like to listen to the entire interview, please click here.