Brand Autopsy

The Responsibility of Marketers

Contrary to rumors, I am not Alex Wipperfürth’s press agent. Sure, I’ve written about and posted links to his white papers (here as well as here). But I am not his press agent. Alex just seems to say a lot of smart things I wished I had said.

Case in point … Alex’s comments on marketers needing to accept responsibility for the consequences of our collective actions. I posted some related thoughts on this topic in my ‘What the (marketing) World Needs Now’ blog entry. But Alex digs deeper (way deeper) during an interview with Sessions.edu (an online school of design and new media).

In this online interview, Alex says …

“Specifically we see a trio of substantial consequences that marketing has had on society:

Marketing trivializes authentic culture. We reduce black culture to fashion trends. Che Guevara sells soda pop in Canada and Mountain Dew stands for defiance. Adbusters calls it "culture vulturing."

Marketing is responsible for youth's loss of innocence. Early sexualization. Warped values. Damaged self-esteem. These are just a few effects that critics charge consumerism with. Whether we are talking A&F selling underwear to pre-teens labeled with words such as "wink wink" or "eye candy" or NYC spas offering back-to-school waxing specials, things have gotten a bit out of hand, don't you think?

Marketing has prioritized consumption over citizenship. After the tragic 9/11 attacks, President Bush told a nation of anxious Americans to continue on with our daily lives, to continue shopping. This remark was received without scrutiny. Implicitly, we understood that the greatest responsibility as Americans is not to vote, but to buy.

That also explains how companies like General Mills get away with incredibly inappropriate school programs: 'Learn about geysers by biting into this fruit snack.'

Where am I leading with this? We as marketers have a responsibility to act with heightened awareness and to enter into a dialogue with our critics and disillusioned consumers. This is not an appeal for marketing regulation of any kind. The last thing I am trying to do is to gag creativity, to start playing it safe.

But I do suggest a heightened awareness on the consequences of our actions in marketing. To add a simple criterion to how we evaluate creative submissions: IS IT APPROPRIATE?”

[From: "How to Hijack Your Brand" - an interview with Alex Wipperfürth.]

Alex Wipperfürth is Cool

I’m not sure Alex will approve of me labeling him as being cool. Reason being … his latest white paper outlines the fallacy of being cool.

Cool limits growth.
By definition, cool will only appeal to a minority, never the mass-volume mainstream.

Cool is temporary.
Very few brands attain lasting, sustainable coolness. If they’re successful, the brands achieve mainstream popularity … which makes them uncool.

Cool is indefinable.
It’s often ambiguous and always subjective – it lies in the eye of the (cool-hunting) beholder.

Cool is unquantifiable.
Cool is inherently difficult to measure. It’s an attitude that can’t be captured with conventional market research. In asking your most loyal supports whether (and why) they think your brand is cool, you risk losing them by trying to make them feel self-aware about a sub-conscious feeling.

But in this white paper, Alex also outlines the epitome of being cool.

Cool brands dare to be imperfect.
While cool brands are unique, they are by no means perfect. In fact, their limitations and eccentric flaws are part of what makes them cool. Imperfection breeds cool.

Cool brands are visionary.
Cool brands see something others don’t. They are extremely observant and intuitive. The have their finger on the pulse of society, and they’re not afraid to challenge the norms.

Cool brands have nothing to prove.
Cool brands are led by people who are trying to bring something they love and appreciate – an experience, a product, an environment – to others. They stand up for their beliefs, even if that means they won’t appeal to the masses.

[NOTE: The above snippets were lifted verbatim from Alex’s Chasing Cool: A Dangerous Attitude white paper.]

Don’t sleep on this white paper. I get humble quick when I read such eloquent astuteness. Alex, nice writing and nice thinking. You are cool.

Further Learning:

Brand Autopsy’s first blog on Alex Wipperfürth’s slew of worthy white papers

Malcolm Gladwell’s article on The Coolhunt (This article from March 17, 1997 formed the crux of his best-selling book on social epidemics, "The Tipping Point.”)

Marketing without Marketing: A Brand Hijack Manifesto (from Alex's Plan B marketing strategy boutique website)

White Paper Weekend Reading

Alex Wipperfürth, of Plan B, a San Francisco-based marketing strategy boutique, is finishing a book titled Brand Hijack, which turns a marketing eye towards religious cults to better explain how household brands foster cultish relationship with their most evangelical customers.

However, Douglas Atkins has beaten Wipperfürth to the bookshelves with his with his recently published book, The Culting of Brands: When Customer Become True Believers.

I’m over 100 pages into The Culting of Brands and can honestly tell you to not buy Atkins’ cult brand book. Instead, wait for Wipperfürth’s Brand Hijack book.

Why wait for Wipperfürth’s Brand Hijack book?

Well, the other day I read a Wipperfürth penned white paper, How Cults Seduce and What Marketing Can Learn From Them, and found it to be highly poignant, well organized, and chock-full of keen marketing insights. In sixteen pages, Wipperfürth (damn it's fun to write ‘Wipperfürth’ – try it, I’m sure you’ll agree) accomplishes far more in his white paper than Atkins does in the 100+ pages I’ve read in The Culting of Brands.

Intrigued with Wipperfürth’s (there I go again with ‘Wipperfürth’) marketing mind, I found my way to Plan B’s website and lo and behold … I found more white papers worthy of reading.

The Tricky Business of Launching Brands

Re-Inventing the Creative Development Process

Speed in a Can – A Red Bull case study

Tormented by the Witch – A Blair Witch case study

The Marketing of No Marketing. (While not a white paper, it is a very good article on the rebirth of the Pabst Blue Ribbon beer brand and Wipperfürth’s [hee-hee] Plan B agency played a role in the resurgence of PBR.)

We at Brand Autopsy expect full reports from each of you on your weekend white paper reading.