In One Sentence ...

... Describe "Marketing"!


That was the challenge put forth by the "Marketing Communication" Group on Linkedin.

I am a member of several LinkedIn Groups ... they are great for networking and for keeping up with people's thoughts in the industry. Truthfully, though, I don't have a lot of time to read very many of the conversations.

This one caught my eye because of its simplicity. Seemed like an easy request: Describe marketing in one sentence.

So of course i wrote that marketing is about building a brand experience that creates an emotional connection to fulfill a need. Something like that. I wrote a marketing book for gosh sakes, so the least I could do is write one sentence.

Figured it would be simple and everyone would basically say roughly the same thing. Boy was I wrong. Hundreds and hundreds of responses later, I don't think I read two sentences that were that much alike. And most of them were dead on.

So it got me thinking: marketing really is subjective. We each have our own interpretations and we each apply our skills and knowledge differently. I guess that's why there are so many different brand approaches and so many different creative campaigns.

Guess that's why I like it so much! If you are not a member of this particular LinkedIn group, I encourage you to do so. Lots of creative and smart marketers in there.

So what would be your sentence ... what's your experience? Jim.