Day: September 16, 2012

Get out of beta. We’re all revamping our software all the time

~ Jeremy ~ Leave a comment

 

“You must unlearn what you have been programmed to believe since birth. That software no longer serves you if you want to live in a world where all things are possible.” – Jacqueline E. Purcell

I don’t agree with the entirety of the above graphic + quote.

No matter how much you re-work your brain’s software, I don’t believe all things will ever be possible. The fear from brain wiring is a great inhibitor.

Reading this quote, though, I had an ah ha moment.

To do my work, I am constantly updating software. Why? because times and technology changes.

To stay current, I have to fork over expensive upgrade fees, because software developers are constantly coming up with new, better ways to attack the same jobs.

This is an amazing metaphor for belief. Belief wants to keep a message system that is outdated. It would be like me using a Pentium 486 to accomplish the tasks I need to today. Times change.

You need to update the basis of your thought just like you need to update the software and the hardware in your computer.

The new is better. Not the old. It’s not easy to accept.

But Jesus is in beta. And there are too many greater ways of thought, love, and expression than ever. Embrace the now. The past is what we built today on. Recognize it and move forward.

There’s an upgrade waiting for you.

 

The best advertising

~ Jeremy ~ Leave a comment

 

 

Dr. Pepper has nothing to do with evolution, and yet posting the above graphic has sparked the biggest flame war since, well, the Dan Cathy / Chick-fil-A incident.

People are defending their belief or their acceptance of evolution (here), all while Dr. Pepper sits back and enjoys one of the greatest marketing successes ever.

The “conversation” is an endless train wreck of mindlessness. On both sides.

What neither side understands is they are taking Dr. Pepper’s message out into the marketplace. Dr. Pepper doesn’t have to lift a finger.

Let me let you in on a little secret. Marketing is about impressions. At no time does McDonald’s think that blanketing the earth in advertisements is going to pull you through their doors. Nor does Coke, Apple, or any big name brand that you see everywhere.

The moment you see an ad, you probably will not act.

Advertising works when it’s everywhere, all the time. And it works better when it stirs up an emotion.

Chick-Fil-A profited heavily from the controversy. It’s marketing. And it’s the way the world works.

How the other half, I mean, the one percent think

Tina and I were part of a full-day seminar directed toward the Luxury industry this week. We were photographing, but we had the privilege of hearing how bigwigs in the industry are telling other bigwigs what the financial trends are.

This was the one-percent telling the one percent how to attract more of the one percent using marketing, social media, and pointing out trends in the marketplace.

And let me tell you, the air was full of pro-Obama sentiment.

Imagine that. The one percent wants Obama in office another four years.

But that’s beside the point.

The point is that big companies are making every effort to plant “ambassadors of messaging” among your friends. If you hear someone you love or admire talking up iPhone 5 on your Facebook page, how much more likely are you to think, “Screw this Droid phone. I want what Bob has.”

I will let you in on another secret. Whenever some mom or dad keeps posting to Facebook, “Please like my baby’s picture from this Gerber photo contest. There’s only two weeks left.” And every day for two weeks, your friend says, “Only one week and six days left!”

That mom or dad is an ambassador for that brand. They are helping increase Gerber’s market presence through regular Joe’s and Jane’s active want to promote their children.

Gerber is leaching off consumers. All they had to do was come up with a contest. And bam, they’re marketing dollars are going further than ever.

It’s the same with those little photo contests from smaller photography outfits. It’d be genius if it weren’t textbook.

One other great moment during the seminar this week was the discussion about the upcoming generations. These are going to be humans who don’t know the term “information overload.” They won’t blink at how much data comes their way, because that’s all they will ever know.

One speaker explained that the information available over the Internet will change the way everyone thinks. And no longer will parental influence be enough. There is going to be global information.

To me, that speaks to religion. With more information, religions are unsustainable.

When there are more voices who are ambassadors for open-minded, intelligent thought, faith and belief are implausible ideas. Data and facts move to the forefront.

The glorious, glorious internet.

 

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