I got a message the other day from one of my clients. I had submitted a marketing plan which met existing budget, staff, and timeline limitations. Admittedly, it wasn’t the most exciting and groundbreaking campaign, but it maximized every existing opportunity.
The response I got was “I hired you ‘cuz you think outside the box. Give me something that delivers that…and go read this book.” The book in question is “Punk Marketing” and it’s a great read. The missing link to the client suggestion is that most of the “unique” and “innovative” ideas they mention cost thousands, if not millions, of dollars to implement. But apparently, I should have the same brainstorm for pennies on the budget (and consulting!) dollar.
My response was “within the parameters you established, this is the best plan to meet your goals.” And I’ll stand by that statement. There are no easy solutions, no quick-hits, and no magic bullets in the marketing world. And anyone who tells you otherwise is quite full of themselves. You can nitpick, wordsmith, and debate infinitely, but rarely if ever does it lead to success. In the music industry, he who hesitates is old news.
The best advice I’ve been given is by John Mazzone. John’s a cool guy who runs a company called JamSpot. The JamSpot founders had a great idea, which was well executed, and is now highly successful. His advice, “just do it.” OK, I know it’s Nike’s idea too, but John’s reasoning is different: There’re a millions wrong reasons to stop you from doing things and they’ll block you from the right ones. “Just Do It” gets you closer to the right reasons much faster. It’s not permission to be reckless, but it’s also justifying the “gut instinct” inside successful folks.
