the sins of marketing
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I’m sitting in my hotel room in Charlotte knocking out a little work and thinking about “big” issues…it’s funny how the business of selling small-farm, artisinal wine has much in common with corporate “brand” marketing. It’s funny…and it’s sad.
I’m in Charlotte because my beloved Susan got herself “kicked upstairs” in her job, and we’re just young and in love enough to go through the “commuting relationship” that makes our life together possible. In her new responsibilities, Susan is wrestling with the same questions about “sophisticated” marketing that we (Moore Brothers) and Prada, for that matter, have to confront.
How, in a world where nearly every “message” we receive is a MESSAGE, do we tell “our story?”
According to Doctor Clotaire Rapaille (one scary ************), we can identify the underlying “reptilian,” unconscious motivations for “consumer” behavior, and shape our “message,” and product offerings to meet those motivations in our customers. I don’t doubt he’s right. But by specifically discounting the value of our rational, thoughtful processes, Dr. Rapaille becomes another cog in the machine of marketing that helps to produce Ragú and sitcoms. I’m sure the good Doctor is actually NOT a “bad” guy, but one can’t help but think of Mary Wollstoncraft Shelly’s tragic tale of Victor Frankenstein when listening to Rapaille discuss his work.
And here, I always thought that what we had here at Moore Brothers was a simple “value proposition” – real, authentic, hand-crafted wine, perfectly cared for, and presented at a price that made it possible for many people to enjoy on a regular basis.
Sheesh… that’s deep stuff. Sad but true. Even the daily news is all about marketing these days.