Comments on: Assume the position http://greeleysghost.brian-fuller.com/2008/04/22/assume-the-position/ Brian Fuller's blog on the state of media and communications Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:04:52 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 hourly 1 By: Lou Covey http://greeleysghost.brian-fuller.com/2008/04/22/assume-the-position/comment-page-1/#comment-461 Lou Covey Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:55:00 +0000 http://brian-fuller.com/blog/?p=308#comment-461 First, Loring... wow. And I thought I was avant garde.<br/><br/>That being said, What I find amazing in most marketeers is the belief that they can define themselves in the market, which is why most company marketing fails. The market ALWAYS defines you, so you have to be listening to what the market is saying and adjust accordingly.<br/><br/>The market is a conversation. You can ignore it (at your own peril) ore you can participate in it. You can never control it. First, Loring… wow. And I thought I was avant garde.

That being said, What I find amazing in most marketeers is the belief that they can define themselves in the market, which is why most company marketing fails. The market ALWAYS defines you, so you have to be listening to what the market is saying and adjust accordingly.

The market is a conversation. You can ignore it (at your own peril) ore you can participate in it. You can never control it.

]]> By: Loring Wirbel http://greeleysghost.brian-fuller.com/2008/04/22/assume-the-position/comment-page-1/#comment-460 Loring Wirbel Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:59:00 +0000 http://brian-fuller.com/blog/?p=308#comment-460 But Apple is one of the rare examples of a company that pays more attention to its iconic position among members of its cult-fanbase, than it does about product positioning and competitive ranking. Most companies have only the vaguest notions of what their business plans might really mean to the world at large, and what their customers think of them.<br/><br/>The title of this post indicates the type of closed-eyes "butts-up" position the vast majority of corporate marketeers are in. Reminds me of being kicked out of high school for wearing a T-shirt of my favorite underground comix hero of the time, Coochy Cootie. Coochy was carrying a strange device labeled "corn-cob remover," and hollering "Bend Over, America." Good advice for marketing VPs everywhere. But Apple is one of the rare examples of a company that pays more attention to its iconic position among members of its cult-fanbase, than it does about product positioning and competitive ranking. Most companies have only the vaguest notions of what their business plans might really mean to the world at large, and what their customers think of them.

The title of this post indicates the type of closed-eyes “butts-up” position the vast majority of corporate marketeers are in. Reminds me of being kicked out of high school for wearing a T-shirt of my favorite underground comix hero of the time, Coochy Cootie. Coochy was carrying a strange device labeled “corn-cob remover,” and hollering “Bend Over, America.” Good advice for marketing VPs everywhere.

]]>