What do you think of at the mention of Jamaica? The land of tropical beaches, palm trees that you could spend hours sitting under, not to mention the happy-go-lucky people that are so fond of the phrase ‘yeah mon’ you’d think it was actually used as often as portrayed in a certain alcohol commercial?

Now stop for a second.

Ever thought about its production of bauxite, its political figures that has shaped many of its musical artists that are so legendary we don’t even NEED to mention them. Now, think about its positioning in the eco-tourism industry and the country as a brand. To take it a bit further, how about Jamaica as the land of a great marketing business development consultant-

Still day dreaming about that coconut tree?

This lady who we spoke to takes marketing in her stride, having worked on a plethora of projects from Proctor & Gamble, writing an Emmy nominated children show to launching a new reggae band and that’s just for starters. Allow us at blurMarketing to introduce a quick blitz interview with Karin Wilson Edmonds, who was Jamaican us crazy for all the right reasons….

Hi Karin! So What attracted you to join blur Marketing? What are your opinions on our Crowdsourced model?

Hi! I was contacted by Blur Marketing to join. I think the crowd sourced model makes a lot of sense in the current connected world. We can pool our skills and work from wherever we are, great model!

You got it in one Karin, so what motivated you to get out of your bed and into the fury of the marketing world?

I love marketing. It’s so much about psychology and understanding how people think and what they respond to. You can market toothpaste to Tiger Woods using the same principles, if you get it.

At this point we don’t think it would be too hard anyway! But moving on, what qualities do you feel a marketer needs to have in order to be successful? Which qualities do you feel you have?

A good marketer needs to have an understanding of people, and so be a good listener and have great instincts. Also being creative and open to new things helps a lot too. I think I’m pretty good at all the above, since I must say so myself.

Of course you can! As a marketer you need to be able to market yourself so there is absolutely no room for shyness. So what has been your favourite campaign/project?

My favorite projects involved marketing creative products and services/the arts from new reggae bands (Rootz Underground) to new eco-tourism destinations (Cockpit Country, Jamaica).

Biggest highlight?

I have so many, firstly launching Jamaican products into new markets around the world; organizing a successful tour of a new reggae artist in California (Farenheit); launching a new eco-tourism attraction in Flagstaff, Cockpit Country.

Wow, that is seriously varied and how about with the emergence of web 2.0, marketing strategies have changed and are adapting to new technology. How has this change affected you?

These changes have revolutionized the way I do my job: from having to learn new skills to advising my clients about the tremendous new opportunities that web 2.0 brings. Marketing is all about being online now, especially in my niches.

Now we must ask, with the online marketing being the way to go its pretty easy and also tempting for one to just send a few spam emails here and there, you think there is any place for spam in the marketing industry?

* we were met with a resounding* NO! This is the biggest way to turn people off right away.

Glad to hear it our in boxes are already ready to burst,although should we need a bride at short notice we know where to go, so which style of marketing is more your bag, selling based or education based and why?

Education based marketing is the way to go. Nobody wants to be “sold to” anymore.

We agree, it is most definitely about making a product relevant to the consumer and not the other way around, when you work are alone or do you function better in a team?

I work best in both situations, but often I work with a team. I bring in team members depending on the needs of a project.

And the longest time you’ve worked with a client?

12 years

Consistent! You clearly know how to keep a business relationship going, any failures?

Nope- can’t think of any.

So say we have a juice brand called ‘blurylicious’ its enriched with vitamins A,C,E and its suitable for vegetarians and available in pineapple & coconut and Guava- how would you market this?

Too much to say, but I’d start with looking at changing the name….sounds to me like it would make you go “blurry”. The name “blurylicious” doesn’t have positive associations for me…sounds like blurry, as in blurry vision. However, I don’t rely on my opinion, first thing I’d do some market research among the target market to see what they think of the name. I’m not the target audience after all.

We like your approach, research is one of the most important things for a product and its success, to not do this is like driving a car without wheels.

Karin, as Jamaica is such an agricultural goldmine, how successful/challenging have you found your work on the promotion of eco-tourism?

I’m 100% excited about Jamaica’s potential in eco-tourism. This is the future of tourism and we need to be there too. It’s challenging as the authorities are a bit behind still marketing Jamaica as “sun, sea, sand” instead of leveraging our full potential, but slowly they are getting the picture.

So what’s next for you?

My plans are to continue to work on projects that I love and believe in, mainly focusing on eco-tourism and entertainment. I love promoting “brand Jamaica”.

Favourite:

· Blog Mine of course, www.yardedge.net

· Superhero WonderWoman

· Film Many, but if I have to choose one, District 9

· PC or MAC MAC

. Twitter or Facebook Both

. Linkedin or blurMarketing Haven’t seen Blur Marketing in action quite yet…

To round off, we had a cheeky look at your blog, Yardedge.net and we have to ask, are you afraid of lizards?

Love them.

Ahh a lady after own heart as we love them too ( and in fact anything that eats bugs…)

To connect with Karin, just click here.