Monday, September 1, 2008

Welcome to Marketability -- Marketing in Real Life

I am starting this blog with the idea of sharing information with everyday marketers about real life marketing. The idea came to me when I heard a CEO say for the hundredth time, “My friend’s company is doing XYZ and growing by 300% a quarter! We should do that too!” Well, it’s a two-edged deal to hear glamorous stories about another company’s success, or look at Apple and their marketing machine and think that you too should have those same results. It’s two-edged because the success is so appealing and the path looks so easy, but that same success is almost impossible to replicate into another company. Sure there are best practices and lesson to learn, but duplication is a mirage chased after by the ignorant.

My entire marketing career has been about distinguishing and differentiating, not duplicating. I hope that in these entries you’ll find value in the form of originality and clarity, not a carrot dangling out in front of you leading you to an imaginary treasure. Marketing must be rooted in reality and that reality is controlled by consumers not marketers. We exist to serve.

So marketers – go forward with real-life marketing. Do good work, challenge yourselves, and make sure you learn something new every week. Here’s to you and the journey you’re now taking.

-- David Kinard, PCM

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