About that hilarious name tag …
Regular readers know I think differently from lots of other folks. This is both because I’m always seeking ways to stand out of a crowd, and because I probably have a loose screw.
Given this background, my actions at a recent birthday party for my friend Allan shouldn’t have surprised anyone.
At the door was a row of markers, a stack of blank name tags, and instructions to write your name and how you knew the birthday boy. While others were noting “son,” “co-worker,” or “neighbor,” I simply put “Allan who?”…and thought nothing more of it.
Yet the way people responded, you’d have thought I was a creative genius. Throughout the event I heard comments like “VERY clever!” “hysterically funny!” and the like.
This seemed a little over the top to me, but the reactions were numerous, loud and insistent.
I recall this tale not to demonstrate my brilliance, but to suggest the benefits of thinking differently from the rest of the herd. Obviously, marching to your own drummer is enough to catch attention.
This is a lesson worth remembering as you’re developing your organization’s future marketing efforts.
After all, anyone can steal another company’s creative product and try to pass it off as their own. And if you think that your customers won’t quickly catch on, you’re mistaken.
Advertising pioneer David Ogilvy astutely observed, “The customer is not a moron. She’s your wife.”
So unless you’re trying to fool all your customers by plagiarizing someone else’s creativity, you’re always better off with original ideas.
Furthermore, consider this: the “Got Milk?” campaign was both memorable and successful. Others saying “Got Pizza?” have been quickly forgotten.
It’s hardly coincidental!
Which all boils down to this: When your team is being creative, put everything on the table. Remember your intention is to increase sales, and looking a little ridiculous may really pay off.
Concerned a co-worker will reject your ideas? Cartoonist Scott Adams suggests, “If you want someone to like your idea, tell him he said it first last week and you just remembered it.”
Finally, understand that being different gets people talking about you, raises your brand’s visibility and can significantly improve your bottom line. So if it generates the best creative product, who really cares who gets the credit?
With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.
Think differently at www.marketbuilding.com.