Lindsey’s Daily Deal: Dirty Hands, Thinking Outside the Bun, Assuming and Bad Bishops

By Lindsey Campbell, Captains of Industry

Hey Captains’ Readers,

Here’s your Tuesday Deal:

1. Get your marketing hands dirty

For a long time, marketers could “stay in the tower” and send strategic messages outward to specific target markets. Well, the party’s over. Now that times are a changin’, and marketing is no longer a one-way street, it’s time to adopt the practice of “Why.” What is “Why” exactly? According to Stephanie Miller of MarketingProfs, it’s about asking customers what they want and what they like rather than telling them what they want and what they like.

There’s no longer a large profit in “spinning” or “positioning” a brand. Resistance is futile. Customers know that they call the shots. Rather than relying on a good old-fashioned print ad like they did in the good old days, now consumers search Google for customer testimonials. And rather than just blindly buying into a brand persona that marketers have cleverly thought up, customers now rely on the actual experience they have with a brand. While emails, television, radio, and print advertising can still get your product seen, the real marketing muscle is in establishing the “Why.” For instance: Why do people love this brand? Why do they visit your website? Why do some products get tweeted about more than others? Why? Why? Why? These are the types of questions that marketers need to start asking themselves to better understand how to bring customers IN, rather than continuing to push messages OUT. So roll up those sleeves and start digging. Gather as much information as you can. The more you know, the easier it will be to become an authentic steward of the brand–which according to the Age of Why, is what customers are ultimately searching for these days anyway.

2. You can have it your way, just think outside the bun

To promote Portfolio Night 8, Memac Ogilvy Dubai created a video that uses 30 of the most famous ad slogans ever to create one 60-second “Ode to Advertising.” Who thought someone could make AT&T sound sexy?

3. Don’t make an ass out of “u” and “me”

Anyone who says that being young is a cakewalk hasn’t heard the results of the most recent study by Gallup. Apparently, people in their mid-to-late 50’s are “generally happier and experience less stress and worry” than young adults in their 20’s. I’ve been telling my parents for years how easy they have it. Rather than kids, I have loans. Instead of retirement, I’m trying to climb the corporate ladder. Being a 20-something isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. But now that I’ve got some hard data to throw in their face, they have no excuse but to feel bad for me (summon the small violins please).

4. Bad Bishop. Bad, Bad Bishop.

If you’re a sucker for a good chess game and don’t mind a little nudity, you’re in luck. Artmunk Games recently released a preview of “Lovechess Salvage.” The game itself is played the same as it always has been, the only thing that’s changed are the chess pieces. They are actually naked men and women. That’s right. Au naturel. In their birthday suits. Nude. Threadbare. Unclad. You get the idea. The men stand at one side and the ladies on the other. I wonder what happens when there’s an absolute pin? Or connected pawns? Saucy.

Until tomorrow,

Captain Lindsey