We have to take the world around us and make it edible for our brain to digest. Taking in all of the complexity, and somehow deducing it into a form that is relevant, memorable, and actionable is the ultimate task for all people, especially marketers. In order to relate to someone else, we have to draw simple terms into a more complex scenario in order to create bridges in consciousness. For example:

Treat others as you would like to be treated, and simple golden rules like these have been derived from complex life situations. Yea! Great rule of thumb, but how come it doesn’t stand alone? If I riddle off a saying to someone they may think it is cool, but they rarely stick, and even then it rarely changes an action. But saying a golden rule in a story thousands of different ways allows people to capture the essence of the rule.

This begets the cycle of taking in cues from the complex world around us, defining it, summarizing it, and then retranslating it in order to pass on the knowledge. Each person looks at the world around them differently. As marketers, we need to describe the apple in the terms of whoever it is we want to buy the apple.

Marketers are the translators of a product or service’s reality. Marketers need to be birealistic. (bilingual would be a subset) What this means is that we need not only to be able to define what we are selling in one sentence, but we also have to translate what it means to each person.

As an aside: If you do not translate honestly, they will catch on eventually.

Marketing, and companies themselves, have this problem. The problem is their fear to alienate anyone.  Me? I have no problem alienating people at all. As a matter of fact, I’ve been told by many people that I’m an intense person to meet. Soon after first contact, I chill out. My closest friends think it is an unconscious test of sorts. If someone thinks I’m weird, or I sense their discomfort, I tune them out, or even pique on them. It’s my way of finding new friends I know are laid back and can handle whatever is thrown at them. I don’t see why businesses should be any different.

If a company is afraid to lose people, it is trying too hard to be nice, and to cater to everyone. This means, your appeal is decreased amongst your core target audience. One of my marketing professors used to reiterate, “It is better to be loved by few and hated by many, than liked by all.” I don’t know if he originally coined that, but it’s true.

Think of it this way, have you ever tried to pursue multiple dates at once, and have been afraid to lose them? No. Well, there is a reason for that. Most of us don’t want to be in a polygamous relationship. One partner is more than enough.  You have to build the relationship, devote large amounts of time, and learn to trust one another. Same goes for your customers. If you know who you want, pursue them the hardest, and forget the rest.

While it isn’t necessary to tell your partner absolutely everything, they would prefer the most real side you can show, your emotions, your thoughts, the whole kitten kaboodle. It isn’t necessary to disclose these more private aspects to everyone, obviously! But if someone is trying to find out who you are, what is the point of faking it?

The biggest thing that holds people back from being transparent is their insecurities of alienating or being alienated.  Instead of letting fear dictate what is disclosed, use that energy to instead seek out more like-minded people. Everyone has their niche, you just need to find it.

At McCulloch, I’ve been working on moving their workspace, office apps and everything, to a remote server.  This move is primarily due to the fact that applications are dependent upon the desktops on which they run, but browser apps are universal.  The added perk of a remote server is that the information is then accessible anywhere, but this isn’t saying much since people can still connect to desktops remotely.  Remote desktop connections, to me, are like using a pipe to connect two buildings instead of using the infrastructure of the city to get anywhere.

The real advantages of moving your office from a single desktop to a remote server are:

• Reducing the risks associated with hardware failure
• Reducing the risk of software failure
• Reducing dependence on the desktop interface
• Increasing compatibility across platforms
• Hypertext and sharing capabilities
• Online collaboration
• Transition and acceptance of data in universal standards

The cons:

• There isn’t a guarantee for your data preservation, but, is there ever?
• It’s still a growing area so longevity of specific site is uncertain
• Again, it’s a growing area so the businesses are fledgling
• Our networks still have a ways to go before they are no longer the bottleneck in speed
• Transitions are never easy

When the dust settles where would you rather be?  You can be adventurous, supporting new technologies that are most certainly the future, or coddling at the nipple of Microsoft and Apple.  By the looks of Vista, even Microsoft has put their money on the death of desktops.

While other major groups around the world are trying to milk every last cent they can from their dwindling overall sales of records, Radiohead has gone ahead and said, “Our fans come first, and the money will follow.” Now, I can listen to the music and decide how much it is worth to me before purchasing, and not liking, the other half of the CD I haven’t heard on the radio, legally and free. Personally, I’m going to spend $30 on the download and also by the box set for $40 that will be available in January of 2008, just to show my support.

This is all a much bigger deal than what is at the surface and the answer to making money isn’t as straight forward as charge $15 and profit 15¢. Radiohead trusts in their fans to support them. They are putting so much confidence in their product that they know people will give them money, even though they don’t have to.

The Larger Picture

Seriously, if you are unaware of the current situation, please research it further to protect yourself from legal action.

Millions of music listeners are “sharing” their music online. Nielson SoundScan has found that CD and download sales combined are shrinking, and media agencies claim it is a result of this digital piracy. This digital piracy has been estimated to “cost” the industry billions of dollars. The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) are waging a full scale war on piracy to help protect artists consumers, the equivalent of, a union for a dwindling service industry. Downloaders are being sued for hundreds of thousands, media companies are being sued back for sabotaging servers and setting up fake websites as pirating mousetraps, and very angry consumers are caught in the middle with piracy as their only voice of protest with artists who are joining in the fight on the side of the consumers. Radiohead has joined the crusade with their upcoming release.

The Vegetable Grocer

In my frontyard is a chain grocery store where I go to buy vegetables. I have two choices, my first choice is to buy an assorted mix of “enhanced” vegetables for $15, that I can purchase knowing I won’t like, or eat(CD). My other choice is to buy the individual vegetables, that I personally choose, for an increased price per unit, since I’m not buying in bulk (iTunes).

There is also a third choice (piracy). In my backyard is a farmers market. There isn’t much protection there. No flashy storefront, workers telling me where to go and what to buy. The guy who sells the (organic and “enhanced”) vegetables is a little shady and I don’t know if I can trust how good his vegetables will be. The price is hard to beat though. He gives his vegetables away for free, and if they are good, they are exactly what I want. Sometimes shady backyard seller guy steals them from the store, and other times they were legally obtained from local farmers. That shady guy could be me, a family member, and a friend.

The person in your backyard, and whoever grew that fruit, doesn’t make a dime. They are sharing the vegetables because they want them to be accessible to everyone, to spread the vegetables they enjoy. Meanwhile, the store front that only offers “enhanced” vegetables makes a majority of the money, very little profit trickles down to the farmer, and consumers have limited buying options.

War

In the last few years, the shady backyard market upgraded (Bit Torrent). More people went to the market. In turn, the market became less shady. Farmers started to show up at the market endorsing their own organic and “enhanced” vegetables. Inherently, more people also started to steal from that frontyard grocery store, and they brought them into the backyard. They also stole from the back of the store, where the freshest vegetables were contained. People could steal the vegetables before they could even be bought legally in the store.

The store owners became angry at how the free market was becoming successful. Meanwhile, the “enhanced” vegetable market was struggling. To combat the free market, the store owners started to make fake market shops in the back yard. When someone went to the shop, they thought they were going to get some vegetables like usual. Instead, she left with a $220,000 lawsuit charging for the vegetables she wanted and every vegetable she had ever eaten, even though they were digested and long gone. People also noticed that the tents (websites like piratebay) were more rundown than usual because vandals, hired by the frontyard grocery store, were trying to take it down at night. Speed-bumps were put around the open market by the grocery store and a satellite hovered over it 24 hours a day watching everyone. Meanwhile, the frontyard grocery store stayed the same.

There was a time when the frontyard grocery store could have downgraded, rewritten the business plan, and figured out new ways to attract customers and keep them. Instead, they became evil, single-minded and vengeful against the consumers. They weren’t concerned with finding new farmers, offering a more diverse vegetable line, and pushing the vegetables to consumers in new ways. As the market evolved, the frontyard store stayed the same. The frontyard grocery store didn’t want things to change, but the market had been changing all along, and they couldn’t do anything about it. As a result, many more people went to the backyard market, people who never even shopped at the frontyard grocery store. The store didn’t know what else to do besides flex power (hire lawyers, slap lawsuits on POTENTIAL consumers, and devise plans to make people fear not shopping with them). The business was lost.

Potential customers became the grocery store’s enemy, farmers felt pushed around, used, and processed, and the grocery store couldn’t see beyond their own dwindling profit margins.

In Steps Radiohead

Radiohead has joined the backyard consumers. They are a true Anti-Metallica, sitting in the open market, amongst other grassroots artists, with a psychedelic colored storefront, asking people gently for donation if you want to support them.

A humbling moment for the major record label artists. Here is one of the top groups in the world, top groups in my time, using the same grassroots strategy as other artists who are growing their fan base. Not griping that they need more money, everyone knows they obviously do not. They’ll be selling out shows for years to come. They are set for life. Why not spread our gift to everyone who can enjoy it?

Music has never been about major record labels. Its been about the artists reaching the mind and emotions of its listeners. The major record labels aren’t necessary for distribution to the masses anymore. The artists can market and distribute themselves now. The major record industry, we knew, is a fossil of the past, gasping on their last breathe of air. There is a better system now that connects me to artists for free. Consumers obviously don’t think major record labels are worth a dime anymore otherwise they would pay for it. Now, the record labels are choking on capitalism. They are a living fossil of the past.

Artists concerned about the money before the good of their fans, aren’t artists anymore. They are a business formerly known as an artist. Real artists have real fans that will support them with the money they need. Radiohead knows they have dedicated fans. All they need to do, is ask for money. The free market will decide what they are worth. Radiohead is the proud new sponsor of grassroots artists.

Radiohead is taking a revolutionary step in marketing. They aren’t talking trash about record labels, but they are definitely making them look silly and unnecessary. Today, anyone can have a website, produce their own music, have their music hosted on another website, and spread themselves virally on the net. Radiohead is positioning themselves, as a band that is still trying to grow their fan base. Even though they are already huge, they still want to appeal to even more people. They knew their music would be pirated, so they are providing their fans with even more value. They are exclaiming that people downloading aren’t just pirates. Downloaders are also fans. You don’t need to be in the shady market anymore. Radiohead gives us a nicely decorated storefront for all to see and hear their music.

In return, Radiohead, I’ll share your music. I’m going to tell all my friends about the new free CD. I’m your biggest fan because I know you’re on my side. And, by the way, I’m going to give you my money because you can relate to me. You’re treating me like a fan, not a criminal.

Thank you.