You get the question all the time. What do you do for a living? It is inescapable. Although I never define myself by what I do, still our jobs are a big part of life story. You can’t avoid it.
“I am a proud member of the marketing community.”
I say it proudly even when in response someone says, oh, you do advertising?
And I repeat, no, I am in marketing.
I tell them that I use my creative juices to fuel the growth of the business. There are lots of tactics I use like advertising, but most of what I do focuses on how I frame a question. I notice things. I listen carefully. I see a product or service from a fresh perspective. I tell stories. I pick the exact, precise word or phrase. I select one photograph out of a thousand. I focus on something others overlook.
Proud Member of the Marketing Community
I love to meet marketing professionals who also wear a big M on their superhero costume. They don’t run away from their work or act ashamed. They stand up and proudly want to discuss promises, position, packaging, price, place and any other P you have on your mind. They love strategy and business models that challenge the status quo. Dare I say it, they want to be disruptive!
They don’t shy away from their work or act ashamed. They stand up and proudly want to discuss promises, position, packaging, price, place and any other P you have on your mind. They love strategy and business models that challenge the status quo. Dare I say it, they want to be disruptive!
Some of my favorite marketing friends are people who come at marketing from different angles. Tom Fishburne is the Marketoonist, who draws amazing cartoons to tell stories about marketing. Mark W. Schaefer from {GROW} is a brilliant thought leader who is always digging deeper into issues of substance, but he peppers it with a charming sense of humor. Wine marketing guru Paul Mabray from W2O Group (Vintank) who keeps connecting me to authors and thought leaders like Bob Pearson and Robert Scoble.
Marketers tend to have a real passion for the work whether they specialize in design (like my friend Jeff Lawson) or video (like my other friend Peyote from DigitalPMedia). They are curious people like my Nomacorc colleague Yolanda (Curious Yoli) who is also saying, I wonder if we should try this new platform. Smart marketing folks like Tom Barbitta, who worked at Nabisco and was once a competitor to me in my snack food days. Tom recently spent time SVP Marketing & Sales at Cheerwine asking all types of challenging questions about how to market their brand differently.
When I get an email from a friend or former colleagues who reads one of my blog posts and responds with passionate agreement or disagreement, it motivates me to write and to find more topics to share within the community. Comments and feedback just fuel the passion – it’s so great to know someone is reading and listening.
Speaking Up
This week, I’ll get a chance to speak to 150 marketing professionals at the Triangle Marketing Club to talk about Ten Simple Lessons to Market Your Brand. I am honored to be asked to speak and excited to be able to share my ideas, insights and inspirations on marketing.
A young and upcoming marketer named Cady wrote a post about me for the club called Seven Things You Can Learn About Marketing From Jeffrey Slater. I’m truly humbled by her what she wrote.
She sent me a handwritten note that made me so happy through her kind words and comments. Her note not only gave me hope for the next generation of marketers but filled me with deep pride for the work I do and my mission to try to be a helpful marketer. I am so grateful for the chance to offer whatever mentoring I can to my community.
I am proud to be a marketer.
How about you?
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Photo Credit: Jeffrey Slater
Want to connect? Reach me here.
