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Get Sweaty
(WORLD) Check out this interview with Kathleen Gasperini is the co-founder and senior vice president of Label Networks.
Thanks to Christian over at the think:lab blog for the heads-up on it and here's a teaser:
Question: Are companies deluding themselves if they think they can create trends for 'young people' from the top down?
Answer: Yes, it's rather laughable. Or sad. Millions of dollars are wasted only to result in brand backlash which takes millions more to re-create. Many large brands or agencies can't see beyond the 30-second TV pitch. "But how do I reach them?" they ask. There are so many ways. You can walk right past a big idea if you have your cultural blinders on.
These top-down companies are running with blinders on into a future that has a huge cliff. Grassroots and bottom-up is the most authentic way to go, and you can do this much faster than in the past given the speed of communication and viral marketing. But you can't try to be cool and grassroots if it's not true and real. Grassroots takes being out in the marketplace-being there, in their lives, and relevant.
Young people don't care about sweating and being hot, say, at an outdoor festival. Older people do. Success can truly smell! And young people can smell anything that smacks of insincerity a mile away. To them, some companies just stink. They are so removed from their reality. The reason so many companies try to do top-down trending is because they don't know how to do bottom-up marketing or are afraid of change. Or of getting sweaty.
Filed by DK on June 29 2006
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