Why Aren't We Listening?

"If there's no war outside our heads, WHY are we losing?" As I was searching for some juice to add to a campaign this morning, the above line from rock group, Rise Against, caught my attention and perked my creativity a bit. I thought to myself, "What does war mean to me, and how does this particular word impact my conscious and subconscious decision making?" I then started playing with the theme of waging war on my own campaign and decided that I was flirting too much with being cliche and unoriginal. So, I realized that I had begun this post with a catchy line, but no substance to back it up! Then, I realized something: Marketers and agencies are doing the same thing everyday and we are getting paid big bucks for pushing a lackluster product.

Marketers and agencies are so busy competing for our attention that they have overlooked the values we seek in a company, product and ourselves. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule, so I have no intention of generalizing all marketers and agencies. However, I want you to think about the top ads you have seen recently and how you reacted to them. Did you feel connected? Did you feel you belonged? Did you see yourself? I won't speak for you, but please think about these questions and then ask: Do I care about this concept I am seeing advertised to me?

As the V.P. of a marketing firm, I have lived a few years trying to persuade you to buy said product and tell you how un-cool you are if you choose something else. I have even belittled you to the point that I completely lost you while making lots of money for being a creative marketer. Who am I to do this? What happened to me? I completely "SOLD OUT" and in doing so, LOST YOU. So, if you are a marketer reading this post, please understand that I think we have a purpose to serve, and it shouldn't be about us.

There are many theories, philosophies and cases for why marketing absolutely blows today overall, but the case I present here is that we are too concerned about ourselves and not our clients, especially not our consumers. How can a marketer connect with a consumer being and living so selfishly? Obviously, things aren't going too well.

For those agencies and marketers that are connecting, I congratulate you! I even encourage you to land a huge contract and use all of your ammunition to reconnect by thinking of others before yourself. Use your marketing to reconnect and help us rebuild this beautiful country.

Blessings,
Chris Teague
V.P. Marketing
WIN Firm