Marketing is a porus medium

A lot of people like to think of marketing and communications as some type of juggernaut that moves forward and leaves only the crushed competition in its wake. Actually nothing could be further from the truth. There are a lot more similarities between the Titanic and most marketing programs than most of us would like to acknowledge.

For those who are familiar with the ocean there is something known as wash back wherein the ocean water flows around the boat but then flows back, or more precisely is sucked back by the engine. This causes great damage to the rudder and engine over time.

This is something that most marketing people do not think of when mounting a marketing campaign. A marketing campaign does not end on the second Tuesday of the month. Instead, it is an ongoing ever living cycle where marketing and communications done today can have implications down the road.

I recall a former client of mine who wanted to do a campaign which said something that contradicted what was said in the previous campaign. As usual it was a case of a non-marketing person thinking that doing the marketing was as simple as ABC-123. They could not, or would not see that by pursuing this course of action would result in the high potential for reputational damage to the organization's brand. They were only looking ahead and didn't see the big wave coming up from behind.

The reason this one stays with me is that I was told to stop living in the past. That is the call of those who do not understand that in the past is where we learned all of our lessons and where we can find lessons for the future. To quote Cervantes, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Sadly far too many corporate types do not take a look over their shoulders to see what has happened and instead plunge forward blindly and, as a result, make avoidable mistakes or even worse repeat old mistakes. The graveyard of marketing blunders is full of organizations who have done this.

The lesson to be learned dear reader is not to live in the past but be sure to pay heed to it. Make sure that the past also serves as a guide post to where you are going in the future. As hikers all know remembering where you came from is the best way to hit the top of the hill!