Pinko Marketing
Further down the commons path...I bring you the rhyme to my reasoning. The method to my madness. The new age of marketing (in the post Cluetrain era):
PINKO MARKETING
'Cause it is no accident that it was named the Cluetrain Manifesto.
Just as Marx said, all production has been concentrated in the hands of a vast association of the whole nation...so, too, will be the methods of marketing or "the commercial functions involved in transferring goods(/services/etc.) from producer to consumer"...because there is no "consumer" anymore. It is peer to peer. Producer to producer. There are no passive parties in this new world. [notice I don't go as far as red - it still is marketing, after all]
So here I am, "nailing" my manifesto to the proverbial gates.
The Pinko Marketing Manifesto (a very rough beginning):
- Pinko Marketing is about the end of the Marketing Manager, Director and anyone else who thinks they have control over the message, market or 'brand'
- The commons...the producers...will decide what makes it 'to market', what flourishes, what dies, what is ignored, what is celebrated...whatever.
- No marketing budget, big or small, will change your advantage in this new world.
- Amateurism means passion, curiosity, intrigue and growth. What the hell is a professional? You get paid for doing what I'm doing right now? Cool. How do I get that gig?
- The 'masses' will decide what is 'mass' and what is not...whatever the hell 'mass' means...wait a minute? We aren't being stuffed into a overarching classification? So, we can divorce ourselves from any notion that we are some monolithic mass of consuming beings? Cool.
- Ask your shareholders, Board of Directors and investors to kindly sit down and relax. If they've invested in a dog, they'll know soon enough.
- Monetize this.
- The 'Elite' and their 'Wannabe' hangers-on will also sit down and shutup. They may learn something very valuable in this next while.
- Having a corporate blog does NOT mean that you get it. In fact, it mostly means that you don't.
- The voices of the community, your employees and your competitors are more valuable than anything you could ever say. Listen. No...really...listen.
- Small is the new big. I know it sounds cliche, but beyond lipservice, let's embrace it.
- Shifting your attitude to Pinko Thinking today will not only put you ahead of the curve, it will mean your survival.
- I'm not copyrighting this. It belongs to the commons. Please use it.
- Put down the marketing plan and walk away slowly. It'll be alright. I know. You have a tough job ahead of you. It's called killing your inner control freak. I have the same issue.
- Everyone is a marketer. They were right! All these years that I fought that and they were right! Everyone does it. I feel so much better...
Nevermind...I've started a wiki...please add yours there! [pinkomarketing.com is purchased, I just have to wait for the redirect]
[tags: marketing, cluetrain, pinkomarketing]
11 Comments:
Tara, you have done it again.
A trully inspirational post.
Spread the word!
Tara,
I'm loving this, I studied postmodern marketing and one of the main things I consoled myself with was the notion that once “the market” (eww, more like we)’d fragmented to a point of individuality; freed ourselves from all labels, all social bonds, discovering complete independence, the next step was straight back into neo-tribes to share it with others!
In terms of product, news, media we have a new focus, that you describe beautifully, that it’s not about selecting what *may* succeed in the “market” we’re targeting (or have created – which way round, I can’t remember). Let’s get new ideas/tools/products out of boardroom pitches and out into the world for us all to choose from.
Your ideas have added some much needed clarity to my understanding of where things are going – and I hope to contribute soon - thanks!
A few of the folk and I at SxSW started to play the "monetize game".
As soon as a forum or discussion turned to monetization, we got up and walked out...
Here's what I said at the time.
I liked SxSWi quite a bit but the guys that want to commoditize their community for a quick buck - to become Google-aires make me ill.
A few of the folk and I at SxSW started to play the "monetize game".
As soon as a forum or discussion turned to monetization, we got up and walked out...
Here's what I said at the time.
I liked SxSWi quite a bit but the guys that want to commoditize their community for a quick buck - to become Google-aires make me ill.
I think that you have discovered that transaction costs have changed, and that transaction costs affect everything. Interestingly the economist who first recognized the significance of transaction costs to economics is still alive. His name is Ronald Coase. That's like, in physics, living in the era of Newton.
Tara, this is the most refreshing take on what marketing needs to do (not do?) going forward. I see the wrong thing happening every day at our/ most organisations. There is a significant demographic shift, compounded by the power of open internet, and you capture the essence of how to deal with that new environment beautifully.
Good start, and nice graphic.
However, I don't think money will cease to matter. We're not going to go from one extreme to another. More likely we'll strike a new balance of power which gives more heft to instigators who can manage to popularize their stuff, and less to institutions who can shove it down your throat.
But make no mistake: having your message on billboards makes a difference.
Re "having your message on billboards makes a difference"
The issue just might be "what message"?
Russell -- right about Coase and the pivotal importance of transaction costs. (To shed light on why big corps emerged and why they're shrinking/receding, check out his "The Nature of the Firm" which he wrote as an undergrad traveling thru the US).
Another trip is the fact that while he first published this in 1937 didn't receive the Nobel Prize for this stuff til 1991.
Tara: good show, great passion. You might want to frame this w/ different words than "pinko" though because most folks associate Communism with giant, top-down, centralized, intricately stratified, slow-moving power. And that's far from what you're advocating.
Great post!
"Amateurism means passion" very true, most amateurs do what they do because of passion.
Brandon Hopkins
Hi, Tara,
I really like your thinking here and your up/down arrows graphic is insightful. I had some disagreements, as you might expect.
If you have a moment, check it out at Up with Pinko Marketing and Down with Pinko Marketing.
I'll watch your blog to see more of your insights.
DJHowatt
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