Surviving the Herd

There is no handicapped parking in the jungle.

I heard a comedian say this on the XM Radio today and it really struck me. Not just because it was funny - it was - but also because it is true. There's no pass for being different, no leeway for the wildebeest that can't keep up. Run, or die. If you are wounded, surround yourself with the herd for protection. Don't strike off on your own, especially if you are not the fastest or the strongest.

And while I do see the truth in this, I also see the lie. What makes us powerful as marketers is our ability to push beyond the safe and drive our companies into iffy territory. Marketing really must drive the marketing strategy and push those new and scary ideas ahead of ourselves.
CEOs like risk. At least the ones I've known do. But they like a calculated risk with some high level of expectation that success is on the other side of that wooden slat bridge. Yes, we might fall into the deep gorge below, but if we make it across then the rewards will be great.

But if marketing is the wounded member of the herd, then it is highly likely that there will be no protection from the rest of the herd. The herd, of course, is filled with jackals just waiting to tear you to shreds. They eat their own young, and they will have  you for breakfast, too.

I wish I could say that brilliance or creativity or perseverance is the answer, but that is not true. After 25 + years in the trenches, I can honestly say there will always be people - completely unqualified people - who believe in their heart of hearts that they know better than you about which marketing strategy you should follow.
For heaven's sake, ignore them.

Chevy Volt ... Say What?

"It's more car than electric." OK, so I've heard this every day on NPR for the last couple weeks and every time I think...huh? What does that mean? I get it that the Volt is an electric car. I also get it that GM is trying to position the car differently from, say, the Prius. But the tagline? Seriously? The marketer in me knows how this convoluted tagline came about - trying too hard. I envision a group grope think session in which serious heavy hitters with big titles were invited to give their two cents about what would make a good marketing slogan. Because people who don't know anything about marketing always call those "slogans."

I am sure GM must have test-marketed the concept with consumers, so maybe I am really missing something. But for the life of me, I can't figure out what they are trying to say. Perhaps I'm too old and it's too soon to tell what demo they are targeting. The cynical marketer in me says some VP with more gravitas than sense came up with this gem and no one could tell him (or her) "no." But mayhaps I am just too unsophisticated or too elderly to catch on. So I am opening the floor....your thoughts?