I had a bad dream last night. Well, maybe it was more like a nightmare. In my dream, there was no such thing as marketing, advertising, or brands for that matter. Even word-of-mouth advertising was a totally foreign concept. Some people might think that a world without advertising would be a dream come true – but let me tell you – this was the worst dream I’ve ever had.
In my dream, nobody talked, nobody cared, and nobody smiled. Everyone’s house looked the same. Everyone drove the same type of car and wore the same style of clothing.
Here's What Else Happened
I dreamt that I was taking an afternoon stroll around my hometown, looking for a place to eat. It looked like there were a lot of restaurants to choose from, however, every single one of them was called “Restaurant”. There was no indication of what kind of restaurants they were or what type food they served. Pizza? Burgers? Chinese food? Sandwiches? I would literally have to go into each “Restaurant” and look at the menus to find out. This could take years. Rather than risk it, I decided to skip the whole restaurant idea and find a grocery store instead.
When I walked into one the town grocery store (called “Grocery Store”), I headed toward the aisle that I always go to first, the cereal aisle. Much to my dismay, this aisle contained only three types of cereal – “Bran Cereal”, “Wheat Cereal”, and “Oatmeal” – what the @#%?! Each of the boxes were in black and white. No fancy fonts, not even pictures of the cereal on the front. No trivia games on the back. I was starting to wonder if I was playing a role in an episode of the Twilight Zone.
Ok, let me warn you - this is the worst part of the dream. Are you ready? Brace yourself. It gets pretty graphic. After I left the cereal aisle, I headed to the ice cream aisle. Ok, this is where it really gets really ugly, people... you may want to skip this part altogether. Are you sure you’re ready?? Here it goes: there were only two flavors of ice cream to choose from!!! That’s right. Only two! Chocolate and Vanilla. Take a moment. Talk amongst yourselves. I’m getting verklempt.
As I stood with the freezer door open, I looked down at my fuzzy red slippers, clicked my heels together, and wondered why I was wearing fuzzy red slippers. Then I began to yell in a panic: “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home, THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!!”
All of a sudden, I woke up in my bed - cold sweat, short of breath, heart racing. I got up, ran down the stairs into the kitchen, and opened my freezer to make sure all my favorite brands and flavors of ice cream were still sitting there - - - and they were, safe and sound, just as I left them! Then, I opened my cupboard and was relieved to see my favorite boxes of cereal. I proceeded to grab the biggest bowl I could find and had myself a celebratory midnight feast of cereal and ice cream.
I went back to bed with a mad belly ache, but it was worth it. Lying wide awake I wondered: What would the world really be like without marketing, advertising, or brands? Would there be a point in having catchy company names, slogans, logos, etc.? My mind began to hurt. Maybe I ate too much ice cream, or maybe imagining a world without marketing is like imagining a world without color!
Wake Up Call
If your marketing strategy has lost its flavor, maybe it’s time for a wakeup call. Think outside the box, get creative, and consider all the marketing opportunities that are sitting right in front of you. Whether you’re new to marketing or have been running a business for decades, we can help you come up with fresh marketing strategies that may lead to successful results. Contact LISTGIANT today for a free marketing consultation! Who knows, maybe we can help make all of your marketing dreams come true. 800-383-1381.