| The Cult of Marketing |
| Invention Development Advice - Marketing | |||
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Abstract: As a society we have all been indoctrinated into a giant cult. It is the cult of marketing. We experience ourselves and each other as brands, commodities, assets, which are bought and sold at market. Not only does this cult crowd out authenticity of any kind, it is not sustainable in the long run. The current economic crisis is an example of the limitations of the virtual world that has been created.
Abstract: As a society we have all been indoctrinated into a giant cult. It is the cult of marketing. We experience ourselves and each other as brands, commodities, assets, which are bought and sold at market. Not only does this cult crowd out authenticity of any kind, it is not sustainable in the long run. The current economic crisis is an example of the limitations of the virtual world that has been created. What is a cynic? A man who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. - Oscar Wilde No one likes to be considered to be a cultist. From religious fundamentalists to sports fans, no one likes their identity to be circumscribed in this way. But the truth is that you, and I, and everyone else, has been indoctrinated into a cult and we are all now cultists. The main difference between their cult and yours, I would explain, is its size - their cult number in the hundreds, sometimes thousands, while yours numbers in the billions. In one way or another we must all play in this game. No matter what your particular gift or expertise, you have no choice but to play the marketing game if you are to survive. Such a game nullifies the value of our gifts, our passion, our intelligence, and our perseverance. Wherever the marketer is king, talking a good game, looking good, being likeable, being sexy become the winning traits. Conversely, knowledge, integrity, fortitude, kindness, generosity and graciousness become nothing more than frills, mere anachronisms. They are the traits associated with those on the fringe - the losers, artists, intellectuals, the has-beens. In fact, substance of any kind becomes a burden and an obstacle to progress. It becomes the ballast that holds you down and stifles your creativity while you concoct what you think your client expects. If you build homes, for instance, your success is not measured by the quality of homes you build but by your ability to manage your client's expectations. Similarly, dentists, doctors and accountants can no longer build a thriving practice on just excellence and hard work - he too must play the marketing game. Observe the marketing cult members at a cocktail party: the seasoned pros are all looking exuberant, healthy and successful, staying on message. Any authentic person placed in this environment will appear awkward and nervous, happy to have someone to talk with - even if it means listening to an endless monologue of bombastic self-aggrandizement. If that person commits the cardinal sin of introducing a topic they are passionate about they are met with glazed eyes and uneasiness. Success in this jungle is measured by how much fun we are; being perceived as intense, is the kiss of death. To be a salesperson in the cult of marketing is not an option, it is a necessity, a way of life. Buyers these days are not experts, and they respond far more willingly to a good sales pitch than any actual signs of ability or knowledge. The scene is set for the con men to take charge, and salesmanship comes to dominate over and above all else. Placed in this context, the success of investment banks is easy to understand. In conveying an air of success and competence, their performance becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The well-tailored suit, the perfectly coifed hair and the confident even demeanor all convey success, competence and authority. This then forms the backdrop for what they're selling - the opportunity to be rich, successful and popular as they appear to be. By the time they actually make their pitch, the potential buyer is already sold. Who is the prospective buyer? Anybody in the room! We have two choices in responding to the Game, and one s significantly less palatable than the other: We can accept the necessity of salesmanship and set ourselves the task of promoting ourselves and our products just like everyone else. The trouble is that most people are not born with a propensity to lie, and we're not that skilled when it comes to over-selling or over-hyping our own credentials. Thus we end up trapped in a hostile system, trying to compete but being ultimately unable to progress because we lack the killer instinct. Those who are not socially skilled have to ally themselves with a rainmaker. To add insult to injury, in the event that they are successful in finding such a hustler, they become the drone, the weaker party in the relationship. It is no surprise then to see that professional firms - management consulting, architects, lawyers - are controlled by the partners who are adept at bringing in the clients. Over time their confidence erodes and sooner or later they fall victim to despair, or some form of sedation. Of course, this entire focus upon making the sale, with next to no thought upon delivering the product, is not sustainable in the long run. The current banking crisis is a prime example the cult of marketing run amuck. The banks sold homeowners on the idea of buying a house with next to no security. They next sold the debt to fund managers and investors. They in turn re-packaged it in combination with other assets and sold it to other investors. Over time the volume of these investments, together with the increasingly creative ways in which they were combined, flooded the market with investments of indeterminable value. The high degree of integration between all the world's financial markets took what began as a local problem, a number of failed mortgages in the US and allowed it to infect the entire global investment and banking system. The only good outcome for this crisis would be a collective realisation that we have all been duped. When that comes, we might finally be able to shake off the cult of marketing and revive the now declining virtues of inner beauty - kindness, humility, generosity. When this happens we might finally have something to live for outside the corporate bubble. More information: Learn more about business. Stop by John Berling Hardy's site where you can find out all about current events .
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