There’s something innately human about us to make things about, well…us.
As marketers, we’re all proud of the stuff we’re peddling. That’s wonderful.
Fancy new features on the software. Shiny new packaging on the product. Awesome new hires on the team with impressive titles.
When you boil disconnected, uninspiring, scroll right past marketing, most of the time, the brand didn’t do the hard (but relatively simple) work of wondering what it must be like to the recipient of said marketing messages.
What is this human experiencing in her life?
What emotional range would we like to connect to?
How in the world can we help this person navigate the complexities and challenges he’s facing?
She’s in pain, how do we solve that?
He’s got big dreams, how do we give him hope and inspire his imagination?
Sure, there’s a time and place for telling us all about how amazing your new gadgets are, and the features of the product rollout you spent so much time in the board room planning.
But out here in the living room, cubicle, car rider line, basement, waiting room, stoplight, and the million other places we find ourselves, we’re not trying to be rude, but we literally don’t care about your company.
We care about ourselves, our families, our worries, our pain, our anxiety, our joy, our hope, and the ways we’re trying to move about in the world with all the chaos and uncertainty we’re facing today.
Help me with that stuff, brave brand, and I’ll deeply cherish you. And I’ll likely tell many others about how you cared for and served me.
Make it about them, not you. As simply hard as that is.
