Our Story

Our Philosphy

It's all Greek to me

ARISTOTLE

During the fourth century BC, a rather thoughtful fellow named Aristotle came up with what I consider to be the foundation of marketing (and incidentally, the core principles of Melissa Barber Marketing).

He called it the Art of Rhetoric, or the art of persuasion.

It contains three key elements:

Ethos – the character or credibility of the presenter
Pathos – the emotions of the audience
Logos – the logical patterns of reasoning presented

2,000 years later, many consider it the most important work on persuasion ever written. Now that’s thought-provoking stuff.

In my mind, it comes down to ethics, passion and logic.

Ethos = Ethics. Be authentic. Be honest. Be true to yourself, your company and your values. This is your brand, your reputation, in its purest form. Are you credible?

Pathos = Passion. Be emotional! Show me. Don’t tell me the product benefits, tell me what I’ll get from it. Use colors and images that invoke feelings. I need to be emotionally attached.

Logos = Logic. Be logical. Be data-driven. Don’t jump on every bandwagon just because everyone else is doing it. Be rational, both in your company decisions and your appeal to your audience.

As a marketer, my goal is to persuade someone to act. No matter what the action itself may be – to buy, or support, or attend, or spread the word, or simply consider an idea – combining all three of Aristotle’s tenets together gets results.

Ethics, passion, logic.

And any words that still ring true two millennia later seem like a pretty solid foundation on which to build our company philosophy.

Melissa has been an integral partner for more than 15 years. Her creativity, enthusiasm and professionalism are exceptional. Her recommendations have steered us into areas we never would have considered, with fantastic results. It's such a relief to have her handle all things marketing, so we can focus on our restaurants. We highly value her partnership.

Jim and Jodi Landau - montage-cf.com

Having Melissa Barber Marketing handle our campaigns has been a huge weight off our shoulders. As a small business, you are always pulled in so many directions and marketing efforts sometimes get the short end of the stick. Marketing is so important and now I have the peace of mind that it is getting done. Their work is creative, relevant, and very professional. We’ve tried other firms in the past but feel MBM is unique with their ability to listen and understand our business and marketing needs. Highly recommend!

Ryan Frerichs - meyerpharmacy.com

Melissa's attention to detail, customer service, and creativity make her top notch in her field. In just a few months we've gone from okay to great with our social media and web presence. Her work has resulted in strong online engagement with customers and an increase in sales. We're thankful to work with Melissa!

Charles and Sarah Foster - fostersmattress.com

Our story

Once upon a time

Okay, so it may not be fairy-tale-perfect – but Melissa Barber Marketing is a pretty fun place. 😉

It all started in 2007.  After several years at UNI with University Marketing and Public Relations, I was struggling with that impossible life/work balance. I loved the work and my clients, but felt like I wasn’t spending enough time with my kids. There simply wasn’t enough time in the day to do it all. Coincidentally, a business in Waverly was looking for a consultant to launch a new brand for them. Would I be interested in a long-term project?

A few soul-searching days later, Melissa Barber Marketing was born.

Fast-forward to today. MBM has become a full-service marketing agency with a wildly diverse portfolio of clients and projects. The best part? My amazing colleagues from over the years are now my amazing virtual network of free-lancers, allowing us to provide professional design services at competitive pricing. It’s a win-win!