Comments on: Preparing Relationships for an Unknown Future

By: Ryan Turner

Ryan Turner — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 09:39:15 +0000

I can’t help but be struck by a simple question: when wasn’t everything interconnected?
One answer to the challenge I think you’re posing might first involve pulling back to notice a funky human trait: the tendency to aggregate what we’ve dissect ourselves– instead of using what’s usually already in place.
In short, we have to pick apart the world around us, pre-existing relationships, etc.; in favor of self-developed measures, terms, connections, etc. that impose order/reflect ourselves/allow us a sense of a control over things that most likely are tough to master.
Knowing that, on a professional level at least, we could start to realize that it’s less about the tools we can build and more about the range and depth of knowledge and experience upon which we can draw to make connections for increasingly better-informed clients, who will lack context and direction as to where to go and what to do with what they know (and think they know).
Clients arming themselves with more information, for example, should be liberating but won’t. I think they’ll miss the wholecloth concerning “what it all means”. We can be the ones who tell that story not only through facts but other means as well.
Rather than spinning new measures out of the air, we could start with explaining solid no-BS contexts that are relevant and unique, outlning what’s important and what isn’t.
There will be no shortage of relationships and connections to bring to realization in such a reimagined role. The more professional worth is based upon and reinforced through identifying things that have no relevancy to clients but that sound great to us, however, your posed challenge will continue to vex.
All this requires a leap of faith, more creativity, constant exposure and connections (!) to other influences, learnings, and disciplines. Maybe even a bit of professional atavism, since all these were actually done at the roots of our discipline…

By: Andrea Learned

Andrea Learned — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 17:23:53 +0000

Yes – Ryan, your definition is what I took from Mr. Losch’s presentation. One community he’s developed is based mainly on the whole “slow food” lifestyle. I think “movements” like buy local first or some definition of environmental/social responsibility are examples of the emerging but already somewhat universal mindsets that marketers can tap today. People within those realms are operating under a much more holistic perspective – everything is interconnected, so let’s all do our part. Their passion starts with one main belief, but acknowledges and expands in line with the interconnectedness of systems (for example – horticulture).
What IS known about the future is that everything/everyone will only be more interconnected, so how do we acknowledge and allow for that as marketers? How can we prepare our relationships?

By: Ryan Turner

Ryan Turner — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 22:45:45 +0000

I took it to mean tapping “basic” (maybe not “baser” but what the hey) human instincts, senses, emotions, physical responses; and narrative frames of reference that have universal resonance regardless of how they’re conveyed, cultural contexts, etc.

By: Lewis Green

Lewis Green — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 13:56:47 +0000

Ah the hallowed walls, as expressed here: “a unique and passion-based ‘universal mindset’” Brands must be passion-based and able to project that passion. But what the heck is a universal mindset, and whatever it is I pray it doesn’t exist. Sounds like Big Brother is in town or the marketer who says his/her target market is everyone.