Last week I posted quickly in reference to the Tour De France Nike Chalkbot idea, about how after some brainstorm sessions I started to question how we’re coming to tactics first vs. strategy or ideas.
And of course two people have gone out and expressed in more depth what I find at fault about this practice.
First Seth Godin:
In my experience, people get obsessed about tactical detail before they embrace a strategy… and as a result, when a tactic fails, they begin to question the strategy that they never really embraced in the first place.
And then Paul Isakson about the shiny objects we choose:
Given all of that [read what he refers to here], it’s very likely that a majority of a lot of companies’ fish aren’t on Facebook, or any other social media platform for that matter. This is why, to the point of Matt’s post, if you start planning your marketing around tactics based on where the fish aren’t, it simply doesn’t matter.
This American Life had an episode not too long ago where they featured an advertising copywriter. Absolutely worth listening to, and it’s act one.
Act One. Mad Man.
TAL producer Sarah Koenig tells the story of her father, Julian Koenig, the legendary advertising copywriter whose work includes the slogan “Timex takes a licking and keeps on ticking” and Volkswagen’s “Think Small” ads. For years Sarah has heard her dad accuse a former partner of stealing some of his best ideas, but until recently she never paid much attention.Then she started asking her dad for details of this fight for his legacy, and what she learned surprised her. (20 minutes)