We are born into story. From the moment we dive headfirst into the world we are anointed with a name, then told that we are a son, daughter, sister, cousin, grandchild, here’s your bed, here’s your room, this your house. You are part of a family, home, building, street, camp, neighborhood, town, city, metropolis, state, region, country, homeland, continent, on a planet circling a sun that swirls through a sprawling Universe.
I once sat in an auditorium with a group of marketers to hear Jack Trout and Al Ries talk about their new book, “Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind.” They handed out a narrow orange (orange!) pamphlet that highlighted their ideas — I still have it somewhere.
You’ve probably seen this quote before, it shows up at nearly every Brand conference: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” How do you make people feel?
Tchaikovsky. Chekhov. Dostoevsky. Rudolph Nureyev. These have been the cultural faces of Russia for decades. But since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the soft culture of Russia has been recast by the hard face of Putin.
The greatest challenge and greatest opportunity facing marketers today is how to sustain brand relevance and consumer delight.
