Is Your Company Closing the Gap? II
Curt Rosengren posted an interesting reply to this blog entry that bascially pointed out that there may be two aspirational gaps – “those aspirations that can be fulfilled in a concrete way and those that sell dreams and deliver a shell.” Curt went on to ask, “does anybody else see a difference between these kinds of lifestyle aspirations, or is it just my own bias against the concept of people trying to shop their way to fulfillment?”
In other words, are there any differences between aspirational gaps that are “meaningful” versus “superficial”?
From a strictly marketing perspective I do not see any differences between the two. Both gaps, meaningful and superficial, tap into one’s emotions and that is a sweet spot for any marketer. Aspirations are all about emotions and any time a company/brand can make an emotional connection with a customer is powerful… no matter if it is meaningful or superficial.
Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, MI helps folks actualize their aspirations to be a foodie.
Barneys New York helps folks actualize their aspirations of living a more glamorous and fabulous life (even if they have to max out their credit cards to do so).
Heck, even ESPN helps folks actualize their aspirations to be a sports know-it-all.
While I do not see any differences between a meaningful aspirational gap versus a superficial aspirational gap… how a marketer would go about trying to tap into those emotions from a creative and program perspective would be drastically different. But, that’s another blog for another time.
I’m posting this for two reasons. One is to sow confusion by being a second John Moore appearing on this page. (I’m in London!)Second, more seriously, is to pick up up on Curt’s argument. I think there IS a difference for marketing people between selling superficially and selling (in Curt’s language) concretely. This difference is the spirit and enthusiasm with which you and your people can go about your business.If you sell stuff to people not really believing it will be good for them, and only cos you’ve spotted a gap, then I think you’re likely to feel less satisfied and less enthusiastic then if you really believe in the value – not merely the profit margin – of what you’re doing.Now Gallup do oodles of work to show that levels of employee engagement in the States are very low; and that engagement correlates with profit. So doing superficial marketing may look clever, but if it eats away, albeit subtly, at the enthusiasm of your people, then maybe it’s not so smart after all. Quite apart from any moral considerations.
And I thought there was only oneSuddenly there’s another John Moore marketing blog. I realise I’m a bit of an addict for this, but this latest is not mine. It’s produced by another John Moore, this one in the states. He’s just started it and it…