When I was young, I had a really pessimistic view of marketing. I thought advertising was about emotional blackmail and manipulation, branding was conceptual mumbo-jumbo, design was pointless visual fluff, and public relations was just a way to hide your faults and deceive your customers.
Taken together, all this “marketing” crap was fundamentally about making people do something they didn’t want to do, just so some rich white guy could get a couple extra digits in his bank account.
Maybe Marketing Isn’t All Bad…
As I got out into the real world, I slowly came to realize that marketing wasn’t quite as evil as I had originally thought.
My first job was in the Public Relations department of a community college, and I was really excited at the opportunity to help get the word out about the school. They were doing great things with scarce resources, and I want to help the community understand that and get excited about it. For that, we needed marketing.
That’s when I started to realize that there might be more to marketing than I’d originally thought.
Maybe Marketing Is Good?
In every field of endeavor (sports, politics, religion, etc.), the selfish minority tends get the attention, tarnishing the efforts of the generally well-intentioned and hard-working majority.
Almost every experience I’ve had with real people involved in real marketing has challenged my formerly pessimistic view of the industry. I’ve watched marketing help people build thriving small businesses to support their family and employ others. I’ve seen it used to promote initiatives that build communities and improve lives. I’ve experienced the excitement of a worthy effort finally getting the attention it deserves.
Over the years, I’ve come to understand marketing is fundamentally about connecting.
Sarah starts a business to meet a need, and John has that need. Marketing brings them together so they can both benefit.
That’s it. That’s what it’s about.
Maybe Marketing is Awesome!
In fact, marketing is the only thing that brings the supply and demand together. Without it, the market never knows the product or service exists, and the business simply fails. Without marketing, there would be no business. There’d be no economy. There would be no “American Dream.”
That puts us, as a marketing agency, and a remarkable position. We sit between our clients and their future customers, and figure out how to bring the two together. It’s like setting your friends up on date, and then watching them fall in love. It’s exciting and rewarding to be part of that process.
Over the years, we’ve enabled scores of businesses, non-profits, and individuals connect with their customers in ways they probably wouldn’t have without us.
We’ve helped people start the business they’ve always wanted. We’ve helped people come back from the brink of bankruptcy. We’ve helped people grow their business to provide for their own families (and the families of their employees). We’ve helped non-profit organizations get the attention and support they need. We’ve helped change industries for the better. We’ve helped movements get started.
In short: we’ve helped.
I’m Not Kidding About Loving Marketing
Some people hate their jobs, and can’t wait to retire so they can do something fulfilling. I don’t have to. I do something fulfilling every single day.
That’s why I love marketing. That’s why I love coming to work at Forty. And that’s why today, like yesterday and tomorrow, is going to be an awesome day.
