All in Marketing
On October 10, 2007, Radiohead released their seventh studio album, In Rainbows.
The album marked a milestone - not only for Radiohead fans (like me) eagerly awaiting the release of the band's first album since 2003's Hail To The Thief, but also for the manner in which it was released.
Change is the one thing, in addition to death and taxes, that you can count on.
Whether in our personal or professional lives, after a while, you can count on the fact that the way things are cannot be the way things stay. Especially if the goal is to evolve in any sort of positive, developmental fashion.
The Arctic Monkeys, an English rock band, recently released their sixth studio album, Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino. The album itself is a marked departure from their prior music, which was more straight-ahead rock. This one is more relaxed, more laid back, with each song an almost cinematic and (at times) introspective episode unto itself. It's the kind of album that reveals itself, little by little, upon successive plays.
"It's not for you."
If what I'm offering - a product, a service, a connection, an idea, a friendship - doesn't resonate with who I'm offering it to, the tendency is to try harder. To promote it more vigorously. To look for additional angles to 'make the sale'.
There's a great quote that says that selling (anything) is essentially a transfer of enthusiasm.
There's a lot of truth in that and it matters whether you're in sales or not. You could be selling an idea, a project or an initiative to your boss. You could be promoting a new marketing plan for your non-profit or trying to raise money for a cause.
Process helps. For so many aspects of our lives that we grapple with, someone, somewhere has defined a process, and it's one that works. Especially when it comes to routine, straightforward activities.
But for many other decision areas, from making the sale to conducting an analysis to hiring an employee, processes exist, and they help, but only to a certain extent.
I was listening to a podcast the other day in which the main subject of the show - a storied entrepreneur - made a very interesting comment.
If you have to create an “innovation center”, then you’ve already failed.
"We are living in an increasingly digital world that craves analog sensation."*
Digital is ubiquitous. From our work to our hobbies to our entertainment to our commerce, the digital-to-analog ratio in our lives has ramped up exponentially over the last two decades. To the point where the promise of digital has now become very much a reality.
Listen more than you talk.
I heard this last week at a conference about retailers and consumer brands. The point was that, in a world of push-over-pull, persistent over-communication and rampant messaging, we need to spend more time with our mouths closed and our ears open.
The point of protest is to create discomfort. The point of pushing our boundaries is to break things, and, yes, to break through. The point of being different is to provoke an alternate reaction.
These discomforts, breakthroughs, reactions have a purpose. They are to topple the old order, to change our minds, to drive change.
So, I got this email the other day from a company that offers bespoke clothing for men. By all accounts, it's a brand that offers quality, tailor-made products at reasonable economics. They sent me this promo because - as you'll see in the headline - I'm a VIP.
When we refer to "marketing bullshit" within our own organizations, it's usually because there are one of two problems at play (sometimes both).
The first, as I discussed in my last post, is that our sales and marketing communications are off. We aren't being honest, we aren't being forthright. We aren't speaking with integrity.
Today is the final day of my week long series featuring the works of Takashi Murakami.
I hope you've enjoyed this week long series.
Today is Day 3 of my week long series featuring the works of Takashi Murakami.
As I've mentioned, through September 24th, 2017, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago is holding an exhibition of the work of Takashi Murakami called "The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg".
Today is Day 2 of my week long series featuring the works of Takashi Murakami.
If you, like me, believe that there is an art to business, to our careers and to our lives, then I think you'll find this series (along with the quotes and excerpts I've included) especially interesting.
Through September 24th, 2017, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago is holding an exhibition of the work of Takashi Murakami called "The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg". The exhibition features 50 works spanning 3 decades of his career.
Seen at Ping Pong restaurant in Covent Garden in London.
In my last post, I discussed the importance of not asking your customer what they want, specifically if the goal is to disrupt the market. It was meant as a provocative post to get us thinking about when it makes sense to gauge customers for your next idea versus when it doesn't.
In response, i received some interesting feedback.
Welcome back to Part 2 of the Omerisms Podcast on Retail in India featuring my conversation with Raman Mangalorkar.
As I mentioned in Part 2 of the podcast, Raman and I get into the details of the state of the sector in India and speak to some of its interesting nuances.
Welcome back to Episode 2 of the Omerisms podcast, where I discuss, explore and debate interesting business, career and personal development topics with interesting business leaders across industries and across the world.
