Yesterday, all of us at DMN3 met for what we call a "Lunch & Learn." It's typically an informative-type of gathering, where an individual or department educates the entire team on a marketing-specific topic. So, for instance, Creative will talk to us about fonts and the color wheel for an hour while we eat sandwiches and eye the cookies. FUN. But yesterday it was MY turn and for kicks, I tacked on an assignment. The theme, of course, was "Profiles in Marketing Excellence." And the assignment was to read one Profile and to take note of three things they learned - I preassigned each Profile with an employee to make it interesting. We then met for lunch and talked about each Profile. It was a great Lunch & Learn, if I do say so myself, and it was inspiring to hear my colleagues talk about the project that I love so dear, instead of asking me if and when the thing will ever get done. But in the midst of my enjoyment, I made an observation: Is it just me, or is it a marketer's requirement to have an opinion about everything? Just kidding...
But among all the interesting stories and opinions - either shared from a Profile or by an employee's own career experience - one point stood out that really captured the theme of the book and the discussion at hand. Marketers L-O-V-E to share. Here I was thinking they're just opinions. Not true. The marketers in the book and the marketers I see everyday at the office have a selfless willingness to share real-life nuggets of personal wisdom and experience.
One such marketing philanthropist is DMN3's own Kent. He has worked at DMN3 and with Pam Lockard (Founder) for a while. The man is a character, no kidding. He is loud, even his walk is loud, and sometimes a bit volatile but totally great. Before DMN3, he worked at some of the largest agencies in the country and doing so since...well, I don't want to offend. Let's just say he is a veteran of the industry and one of the best at what he does. Meet Kent here.
At the Lunch & Learn, Kent began to share a story from his marketing career at Ogilvy. (Side note: You don't talk when Kent talks, not only is it impossible but it's like talking over your grandparents - it's disrespectful for goodness sake!) His story is about a lunch meeting with a colleague circa 1975 and to do it justice I must tell it like Kent tells it...
"IT WAS 1975 AND I WAS AT A LUNCH WITH MY CO-WORKER. WE WERE TALKIN' ABOUT THE AD BUSINESS, MARKETING BUSINESS OR WHATEVER THE NEW WAY TO CALL IT IS. AND WE WERE DISCUSSING SOMETHING CALLED VIDEO TEXT!!!!!! (he emphasizes this by yelling). THIS VIDEO TEXT (again, emphasis on VIDEO TEXT) WAS GONNA' CHANGE THINGS. IT WAS THE NEXT BIG THING. AND IT WAS. IT CAME TO BE SOMETHING WE NOW CALL THE INTERNET."
I then begin to think about the Profiles and their own stories. One common denominator that I found is that marketers will always face change and "next big things" in the marketing biz. It is something that top marketers embrace and not fear, or neglect. In 1975, that change was video text. Decades later, the change is Internet, social media, consumer takeover, mobile marketing and really stupid acronyms (LOL, seriously?). Yet, top marketers see this change as opportunity for reinvention and that's what makes this business really exciting - whether it is 1975 or 2020.
So, the bottom line is that Kent and our team of talented think tanks at DMN3 all share many of the same qualities by the 25 Profiles featured in the book. And at the top of the list is the willingness to share and not hoard experience and wisdom. After all, how could I possibly ever know that we wouldn't have Facebook if it wasn't for something called VIDEO TEXT.
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