Insomnia can be a real killer. Rather than tossing and turning in bed and incurring the wrath of my wife, it means late nights watching infomercials and re-runs on the TV. Counter to popular belief, it seldom means inspiration and creative breakthroughs.
But then there’s the rare occasion when planets align…
2am the other night I stumbled upon the incomparable Jeff Foxworthy and his brilliant comedy show “You Might Be a Redneck…”
For readers from outside North America, rednecks are an archetype for a certain group from the southern USA. As the stereotype goes according to the good folks at Urban Dictionary, they are incredibly conservative, stubbornly hold on to antiquated views, resist change and have a love of NASCAR and beer. In the hands of Jeff Foxworthy, this group provides comedic gold.
That got me wondering if there was such a thing as a Marketing Redneck. Marketers similarly resistant to change. Holding on to antiquated views and incredibly stubborn.
Taking a page from Jeff, I compiled the following list. To remain true to the experience, please finish every sentence with “….you may be a Marketing Redneck”
1. “If someone asks about your brand and you start describing your logo, font and tagline…”
2. “If you think that customers have no role in helping create new products and services for your company…”
3. “If you hear the word “digital” and immediately think “social media”….”
4. “If you think social media is another fantastic place for free advertising…”
5. “If you think your competitors are only those companies in your immediate category…”
6. “If you consider that your Marketing role should only deal with advertising and communications…”
7. “If you believe that its more efficient to use the same experience for your website on both desktop and mobile…”
8. “If you consider that the best way to improve your company is to focus solely on cost reductions and avoid innovation…
9. “If you think that when your advertising is tanking, your most important task is to call an agency review…”
10. “If you believe that only Marketing, Sales and Service are the only employees that impact perceptions of your brand….”
11. “If you’ve accepted that Sales and Marketing can never work effectively together because they’re just so different…”
12. “If you consider social responsibility initiatives to be some ancillary “nice to do” side project…”
13. “If you still think that consumers follow a linear progression from awareness to consideration to purchase…”
14. “If you use a funnel to describe the way customers act in your category…”
15. “If your marketing strategy could be best described “doing what the largest company is doing with less money”….”
16. “If you believe the best way to attract new customers is to reduce your prices versus improve your brand…”
17. “If you believe the best way to retain customers is tie them up in complicated contracts or convoluted loyalty programs…”
18. “If you can’t understand why average people don’t care enough about your salad dressing/motor oil/depilatory cream to follow you on Twitter…”
19. “If you swear by focus groups as the best way to validate any marketing decision…”
20. “If you consider the only indication of a strong brand is its performance on the stock market…”
I have a sneaky suspicion I’ve only scratched the surface here. We are living through some extraordinary times. Times of turmoil, conflict and real ambiguity. I’d suggest that the way we’ve always done things isn’t going to get us through.
Perhaps a place to start is to stop being a Redneck Marketer?
Weigh-in folks, I’m sure there are some ‘Redneck Marketing” examples you’re just dying to share.
It would be crass of me to not thank Jeff Foxworthy for this inspiration for this post. You Sir, are a comedic genius.