Minimum Viable Personality (2011)
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Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)
#2This short talk by Steve Jobs communicates the same idea in a far more eloquent manner, IMO.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNYbcqyyj68
Edit: (long) transcript with minor edits by me:
To me….marketing is about values. This is a very complicated world. It’s a very noisy world. And we’re not going to get a chance to get people to remember much about us. No company is! And so, we have to be really clear on what we want them to know about us.
The way to [build a great brand] is not to talk about speeds and fees. It’s not to talk about bits and mega-hertz. It’s not to talk about why we are better than Windows.
The dairy industry tried for 20 years to convince you that milk was good for you. It’s a lie, but they tried anyway. And the sales were falling. And then they tried “Got milk” and the sales went up. “Got milk” wasn’t even talking about the product. In fact, it focuses on the absence of the product.
But the best example of all, and one of the greatest jobs of marketing that the universe has ever seen, is Nike. Remember, Nike sells a commodity. They sell shoes!!!
And yet, when you think of Nike you feel something different than a shoe company. In their ads, as you know, they don’t ever talk about the product. They don’t ever tell you about their air soles and why they are better than Reebok’s air soles.
What does Nike do in their advertising? They honor great athletes. And they honor great athletics. That’s who they are, that’s what they are about!
Apple spends a fortune on advertising — you’d never know it….you’d never know it! So…when I got here, Apple just fired their agency and there was a competition with 23 agencies that…you know…four years from now we would pick one. And we blew that up and we hired Chiat\Day, the ad agency that I was fortunate enough to work with years ago and created some award winning work including the commercial voted the best ad ever made, 1984 (by Advertising Professionals).
And…we started working about eight weeks ago, and the question we asked was, “Our customers want to know who is Apple and what is it that we stand for…where do we fit in this world?”
And what we’re about isn’t making boxes for people to get their jobs done — although we do that well. We do that better than almost anybody, in some cases. But Apple is about something more than that! Apple at the core…its core value — is that, we believe that people with passion can change the world for the better. That’s what we believe!
And we have had the opportunity to work with people like that. We’ve had the opportunity to work with people like you; with software developers, with customers, who have done it. In some big, and some small ways.
And we believe that, in this world, people can change it for the better. And that those people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones that actually do!
And so, what we’re going to do in our first brand marketing campaign in several years, is to get back to that core value!
A lot of things have changed. The market is in a total different place than where it was a decade ago. And Apple is totally different — and Apple’s place in it is totally different. And believe me, the products, and the distribution strategy, and the manufacturing are totally different…and we understand that.
But values and core values — those things shouldn’t change. The things that Apple believed in at its core, are the same things Apple really stands for today.
Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)
#3Would really love to hear people’s perspectives and experiences with this.
Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)
#4Aww, I hoped for a talk about presenting the minimal needed personality as an introverted coworker to his team.
Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)
#5What are we doing to ourselves?
If you were in the market for a new pair of shoes, what would be the sensible thing to do to get the best pair? Would you look at the glitzy ads, or would you try to choose something that is durable and comfortable for its price? Would you compare celebrity endorsements or spec sheets?
There's no one in their right mind who would say the right way to buy a computer is to look at advertisements. The right thing to do is compare specs and functionality.
This is good advice for how to make money. But bear in mind that, if you try to build a personality for your company, you are choosing something for your customers that you would never choose for yourself.
Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)
#6What are we doing to ourselves? If you were in the market for a new pair of shoes, what would be the sensible thing to do to get the best pair? Would you look at the glitzy ads, or would you try to choose something that is durable and comfortable for its price? Would you compare celebrity endorsements or spec sheets? There's no one in their right mind who would say the right way to buy a computer is to look at advert…
While I agree wholeheartedly, I have found it’s not enough to have a great product, especially when you’re new and small.
I loathe marketing, but I have no clue how to get around it.
Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)
#7What are we doing to ourselves? If you were in the market for a new pair of shoes, what would be the sensible thing to do to get the best pair? Would you look at the glitzy ads, or would you try to choose something that is durable and comfortable for its price? Would you compare celebrity endorsements or spec sheets? There's no one in their right mind who would say the right way to buy a computer is to look at advert…
Marketing absolutely works - and the great news is you can advertise or market your product differently to different groups of people. You may loathe them, but sales and marketing folks are in demand for a reason.
Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)
#8What are we doing to ourselves? If you were in the market for a new pair of shoes, what would be the sensible thing to do to get the best pair? Would you look at the glitzy ads, or would you try to choose something that is durable and comfortable for its price? Would you compare celebrity endorsements or spec sheets? There's no one in their right mind who would say the right way to buy a computer is to look at advert…
Marketing absolutely works - and the great news is you can advertise or market your product differently to different groups of people. You may loathe them, but sales and marketing folks are in demand for a reason.
I don't dispute that it works. I claim that the fact that it works is a bad thing. It is actively bad for the buyer and, even for the seller, is probably zero-sum.
Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)
#9What are we doing to ourselves? If you were in the market for a new pair of shoes, what would be the sensible thing to do to get the best pair? Would you look at the glitzy ads, or would you try to choose something that is durable and comfortable for its price? Would you compare celebrity endorsements or spec sheets? There's no one in their right mind who would say the right way to buy a computer is to look at advert…
Part of a product's functionality, especially clothing, is its ability to project attributes that you want to be associated with. Additionally, 'interesting' products give you something to talk about which also provides additional value as compared to a less 'interesting' product.
Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)
#10What are we doing to ourselves? If you were in the market for a new pair of shoes, what would be the sensible thing to do to get the best pair? Would you look at the glitzy ads, or would you try to choose something that is durable and comfortable for its price? Would you compare celebrity endorsements or spec sheets? There's no one in their right mind who would say the right way to buy a computer is to look at advert…
Social media seems to have created an environment where, more than ever, individuals apply the ideology of marketing to their entire lifestyle and thought process. You are your personal brand, and you must work to manipulate how others see you. The ad economy strives to turn everyone into an advertiser.
Unfortunately, this philosophy of instrumentality is effective. How would we as a society put marketing back inside Pandora's box?