You as a Product
Today in class, I lectured on the four stages of consumer behavior that are necessary to understand if you want to craft effective advertising. The four stages are:
- Pre-contemplation: This is where the consumer doesn’t even know your product exists. This challenge is faced by all new companies and products.
- Contemplation: Here, the consumer knows about your product, what its benefits are, and is thinking about buying.
- Action: The consumer buys your product. This is the major goal for all advertisers.
- Maintenance: The consumer keeps buying new iterations of your product (ie. software upgrades, new models, etc)
Now think about how this applies to you if you are, for example, searching for a job. The consumer is your potential employer, and YOU ARE THE PRODUCT. If you are new to the market, then the employer has no idea who you are and likely won’t give you much consideration. Therefore, you have to work really hard to get on the radar (ie. Stage 2). This would involve various techniques such as referrals, cold calls, letters, resumes, emails, etc. You also MUST have a professionally designed website if you want to be taken seriously, because employers WILL search for you online.
At this point, if you’ve done everything you are supposed to do, the potential employer will be fully aware of who you are and what you can do for him. All he has to do now is take Action and hire you. Now he has bought your product – YOU. And if your contract keeps getting renewed and your salary keeps increasing as time goes on, you can bask in the glory of Stage 4.
Thinking of yourself as a product can be an effective way to take stressful emotions out of the job hunting process.
The Passing is a Winner
The Passing won 1st Place in the Student Film Competition at the Seguin Film & Arts Festival. Keegan Michael represented the film and received the award for us. Congratulations to the entire cast and crew!
Louisville’s ‘Talking Stain’ Director to Screen Short Film at Derby City Film Festival
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, October 5, 2008
LOUISVILLE’S ‘TALKING STAIN’ DIRECTOR TO SCREEN SHORT FILM AT DERBY CITY FILM FESTIVAL
Louisville filmmaker Saqib Siddik, director of the Tide talking stain ad “You Never Listen”, will screen his short film, “The Passing”, at the Derby City Film Festival on Sunday, October 12, 2008 during a block of three short films starting at 5:30pm. The screening will take place at the Louisville Memorial Auditorium. Siddik wrote, directed, and composed the soundtrack for this coming-of-age film about a young boy who finds out his grandfather has a terminal illness and then discovers he has the power to keep Grandpa alive. This screening is the Kentucky state premiere of the film. Tickets are available for $6 at the festival box office. “The Passing” also has played at the Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival, International Student Film Festival Hollywood, and South Bay Film Festival.
INTERVIEWS/STORY:
Saqib Siddik is available for live or pre-taped interviews in studio or remote. He can provide you B-roll, audio clips, still photos, and any additional information. Please contact him, if you’re interested.
WEBSITES:
Festival Website – www.derbycityfilmfest.com
Director’s Website – www.saqibsiddik.com
ABOUT SAQIB SIDDIK:
Saqib Siddik has worked on films, TV commercials, industrials, and promotional videos from Houston to Hollywood. He wrote, directed, and composed the music for “The Passing,” the 2007 short film that has already screened in film festivals in Hollywood and Los Angeles, and next will be screened at the Derby City Film Festival in Louisville. Saqib has an M.F.A. in Film Production from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts (one of the nation’s top-5 film schools) and a B.A. in Kinesiology from Rice University. Saqib lives in Louisville. Learn more about him at www.saqibsiddik.com and his latest film at www.seethepassing.com.
CONTACT:
Saqib Siddik, director
The Siddik Company LLC
siddik@gmail.com
