I cooked a delicious pasta dish last night, bucatini with sundried tomatoes, tiny brussels sprouts and pine-nuts sauteed with garlic and oregano. At the last minute I added some mozzarella cheese and mixed it altogether.
It was the mozzarella that did me in. It was delicious, of course, as fresh mozzarella is, but it stuck to the bottom of the pan. I soaked it overnight in water diluted with Dawn dishwashing detergent. This morning, I decided to tackle cleaning the pan.
I've heard a lot lately about consumers having conversations with brands. How important those conversations are. How they build loyalty among users. I decided to test this thesis for myself. Ergo:
ME:Dawn, listen to me. You're supposed to be good with baked on food. What's the story here?
DAWN:
ME: OK, I know you cut through grease, I've seen those commercials where it looks like the grease actually flees from you, but what are we talking about now?
DAWN:
ME:This passive-aggressive bullshit has got to stop, Dawn. We're talking about baked on food and you are not helping.
DAWN:
ME: OK, listen, despite you, this pan is clean now. No thanks to you but because I used a bit of elbow grease.
DAWN:
ME: Look, Dawn, you missed a spot.
DAWN:
ME: Alright. Thanks, Dawn. For nuthin'.
I had a similar conversation with a bottle of Tums this week. Interspersed with some pleading, of course.
ReplyDeleteEver wonder what it would be like if a couple of consumers were hanging out, I don't know, in front of a marketing convention? Standing there, clipboards and pens in hand, pulling delegates aside, "Can I ask you a few questions?"
ReplyDeleteMaybe start a conversation with them even, a dialogue, about what their brand means to them and how deeply they care about it. And why in turn consumers should care about it.
Might be a funny scene, but I think consumers might find it very helpful to find out what marketers really want from them, and then try to connect on their level.
~Graham
I do all the floors in my house once a week. Man, do I feel exactly like those smiling happy women in the floor mop ads or what. Not. I'm a rather strong man, not a pixie sized 26 year female beauty, and I've got to say that no matter what the heck I pour into the water it takes some scrubbing to get the floors clean. Nobody can possibly believe in that sort of advertising, or are people completely stupid? Or Well thee explanation is simple. People totally ignore advertising for such products. They have to buy something so what's on the shelf will be in the cart no matter what.
ReplyDeleteCome on. This post isn't about Brand Conversations. It's about Geo's transferrance of a brilliant turn from a favorite old National Lampoon piece called "Playdead Magazine's Interview with Dan Blocker."
ReplyDeleteGod, it was funny.
Yes, Pete.
ReplyDeleteUnlike Dan Blocker, some things don't die.
Yes, Pete.
ReplyDeleteUnlike Dan Blocker, some things don't die.