Dylan! It clogged!!!

“Tomorrow is a mystery, yesterday is history, but today is a gift… that is why it is called the present” – the most legendary ninja turtle.

My friends, how does anyone not work more than 40 hours? Having a full-time job is like being a landlord. For the most part, you get paid to do your job by taking care of where they live. But, similar to a landlord, you get late night calls about something that broke in the night, that their data is clogged, or even them calling upon you to see if you have any briefs. The worst part is this part is always free… and I am the worst at it.

I will get ideas late at night for a campaign, constantly check my phone to see results of media, or do research to see if what I have can grow. Why do I do this? I like to think it’s because I am the Sam Gerber of marketing, not a speedster but a goat of digital media and storytelling. However, this is far from the truth. I do it because of the fear of failing.

You see, I think people think marketing is a black and white industry. I make ad, you buy, and then we all go home to my mansion and play Cover Your Assets with the actual assets that I have acquired from my endless wealth and perfect success. However, this is not even close. The job as a marketer is to follow trends and patterns so when you tell the story of a product to someone at the right time to fix their issue, they will buy. This rarely works smoothly. We are often assumed as “mind readers” as I navigate the many trends in the media world to see what exactly will get your attention for my client.

A one-man team doing the job of ten people can get amazing results but may not guarantee immediate results, as maybe the person’s problem when they see my perfectly crafted campaign “don’t need it that day,” or they loved what I put, or the offer wasn’t “good enough.” The blame, as you can guess, will be put on the marketing team even though that is the only factor I can’t control. In fact, it is one of the only industries where we learn the most from what didn’t work than if it did.

Failure and marketing are awkward cousins at the family party who just get each other, even though they are not fans of each other. They are blood brothers and go hand in hand to success. A prime example is one of the biggest lessons learned in marketing history: Coca-Cola.

In 1985, Coke’s competition, Pepsi, did a blind taste test campaign where people tried both products and it turned out most people in this found Pepsi to be far sweeter than Coke. This put Coke into a frenzy to snap back. They needed something big, they needed a newer and better recipe. Especially with market shares slipping and an accidental new recipe made while creating a pop giant, Diet Coke, they set out to launch the drink to end the war against Pepsi. PEOPLE HATED IT! And demanded that the original returned. So when all the numbers and data told them this would work, what went wrong?

They never took into account how Coke made people feel. The data may have said Pepsi was sweeter, but it never took into account that they wanted it over Pepsi. Coke ran with a fact that almost derailed the powerhouse, and luckily after 79 days they reverted to the recipe.

So what’s the point? It’s not the fact that my job has so many factors and can often fail even when all the details are saying it won’t. It’s the fact that learning from it not working is okay. It doesn’t mean I suck at my job and I should not be afraid of it. Especially when we have Someone who can give me peace. I don’t need to bring it all home and do it myself when He asks me to lay it at His feet. I’m stubborn and feel the need to prove myself. It’s not my work skills bringing it home, it’s fear and pride. Even though I am good at what I do and still learning how to get better at it, I am still worrying about it. Still learning how that works, but I found that interesting this week and I’m grateful for the opportunity to grow from it so I can move forward with faith.

In other news, I saw a play where a bunch of kids danced out of a giant woman’s dress, had an amazing Thanksgiving with family, and balance was restored as Ohio State handled and served some Wolverine this past weekend. Thankful for you all, and I hope to see you this Christmas if I can survive mining for diamonds and selling them this holiday season. Have a good week, y’all, and go Bucks!