Add this to a chance meeting I had earlier in the week with Lynda, my old uni friend. Given she lives in Leipzig and I've not seen her for two years, this is quite a coincidence. Turns out she's decided to give up on the marketing and train as an English-language teacher. I talked her into giving me a German refresher tonight in preparation for my Visit Scotland interview on Monday; I was pleasantly surprised at just how much of the language I remember. I'm glad, I worked really hard at it for many years.
She was telling me (in German I may add, be impressed) that she never really realised she was just going through the motions with her marketing work until she started this course. How often she'd go to evening dos and put on the face and be bored, whilst tonight she actually wanted to go out for a beer with her students.
It does beg the question: does anyone really enjoy working in marketing? Really, really, truly love it? It struck me yesterday at the Marketing Society conference too. Some very slick presentations, but not much soul. And yet I found myself missing my role and my old world and the status it conferred. Crazy.
My meetings are also a wonderful reminder that we are naturally drawn to evidence that supports our thought patterns. I was reminded of this tonight in a coaching blog I read.
It's true. But still, I'm left with the question.
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2 comments:
Marketing... hmm... that's a hard one.
I love it for the art & craft of persuasion - the idea you can convince someone that they want to buy something (anything!) is crazy, yet if you get the blend of marketing right, you can pretty much do it! I love the art of discussion and debate, and convincing someone that I'm right (whether I am or not) so I guess it's an extension of that for me. I'm fascinated in the behavioural side of things really - the affect & cognitive realm.
As you know however, I have now stipulated that I would never do it for something I don't believe in... that's when it becomes soulless for me; it just becomes a process or a mechanism by which you convince people of things they don't need or want, largely to better the financial position of the organisation, instead of improving the consumer's circumstance.
So can it be enjoyed? I reckon it can... you just have to pick the right thing to sell!
This ebook written by my boss explains why he enjoys marketing.
I find it interesting and challenging, but I do still find the whole thing pretty unnecessary in the end. But it's a job, innit?
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