I came from the world of advertising. I lived my days surrounded by ‘Suits’ who walked around all day quoting metrics and sales targets and ‘Creatives’ who drew on walls for inspiration and trucked in sand to cover their office floor so they could ‘feel the beach’ while they wrote copy for a travel channel. Two very different personalities, but both with the same goal – ‘pitch and sell the idea to the client’.
Now I am working in marketing, a similar but different arena, and because of my background, I am so much more aware of the advertising and marketing strategies that surround us.
Know what rings loud and clear to me? There are just not enough people having fun with marketing any longer! I know not every brand lends itself to having a chuckle while watching a TV commercial, but some pull it off with style.
My favourite campaign to date is Old Spice. The whole ‘I’m on a horse’ line kills me every time – and that commercial is three years old. I still remember it pretty much word for word, and I still laugh.
Old Spice has fun with marketing. When is the last time you treated your followers, your clients (maybe yourself) to a little old-fashioned fun? You can occasionally poke fun at yourself and survive. You can post a funny video on your “business Facebook page”. You can even laugh with your clients again. Maintain your professionalism always, but I say cut yourself some slack today and let some of your personality shine.
Don’t remember ‘I’m on a horse’ – check it out
