I really shouldn’t tell you this…
Every fiber in my being tells me it’s wrong…
It shouldn’t be like this…
I shouldn’t behave like this as a professional marketer, psychologist, and family man…
And I know many of you will drop me down several levels of respect when I reveal it…
Because there are some things we shouldn’t do as marketers (human beings!) no matter what the rewards…
But I’ve got ONE deep, dark secret which I’ve been holding way too long and it’s killing me…
So I weighed the options, considered the consequences, and have decided I’m ready to reveal the truth.
And the truth is (I totally can’t believe I’m going to say this)…
I LIKE “SOUTH PARK”
There.
It’s out.
The shameful truth… I’m so embarrassed.
It started about 15 years ago when I had an eleven year old patient who started talking about the show, and I needed to tune into what he was saying. (At the time, I had to watch LOTS of adolescent shows and listen to adolescent music to stay “hip” and able to connect with the kids)
And, what can I say, it got me…
I would feel a sense of inner disgust (even if you love it, you’ve gotta admit, it’s totally gross and “wrong”), but was simultaneously glued to the screen, laughing my a__ off… all by myself whenever my wife left the room.
I knew I was hooked when I kept watching even after I had retired from my psychology practice. “Just one more show” I’d say to myself. “I can quit anytime I want to!”
So there you have it.
Someone you might have thought was a perfectly respectable, a pillar of the community…
Somebody famous for rocking the house in a suit and tie with a highly intellectual marketing speech…
A respectable doctor, secretly and maniacally laughing at an adolescent TV show any chance he could get.
Why am I telling you this?
Because if I were in your target market and you didn’t know my deepest, darkest secret, you’d be missing out on a whole set of metaphors and stories to use to connect with me.
And you know what?
MOST marketers do NOT know their market’s deepest, darkest secrets. Most marketers barely know their market’s demographics (and are stumped when I ask them the difference between the demographics of their prospects and the demographics of their buying audience)
Getting at the market’s deepest, darkest secrets is at the core of effective emotional marketing.
To do it, you’ve gotta know how to interview people in a group to get them sharing, and make it socially acceptable to share things which they think are evil.
OH… and you’ve got to be comfortable with your OWN deepest, darkest secrets as well, or else you’ll prevent your audience from sharing theirs with you!
Want my personal help to dig into your market and pull out the profit-bearing insights only a trained eye can ever really see? On January 1st, 2016 I’m going to be opening my coaching practice for the first time in three years…and perhaps the last time ever. If you’ve got ANY interest in working with me directly, read the letter, get on the priority notifications list, and then watch your email on New Year’s morning.
Onwards!
Dr. G 🙂
PS – “OMG, they killed Kenny!”