An entire generation of marketing leaders are stuck in a crazy professional vortex right now. They find themselves in positions of power, having climbed up the professional ladder by perfectly executing tightly run campaigns, developing mass market brand positions, and sticking to a tried and true media buying methodology. They have been extraordinary successful in their careers. So much so that they now find themselves in charge of marketing entirely — they’re the CMOs and VPs of Marketing.
Today’s marketing executives got to where they are by executing marketing when it was in its “classical music” stage. Classical music is a genre that does not take to making mistakes lightly. In fact, there is no room for error in classical music. The musical script — or score — is hardwired. The only variance in classical music from one ensemble to another is the quality of the individual players’ musicianship and the minor nuances the conductor makes in his or her interpretation of the score. These variances can be staggeringly apparent, however. Listening to the Minnesota Orchestra play Beethoven’s 5th Symphony is a much different experience than listening to my son’s beginner youth symphony play the same piece.
Oh yeah, we were talking about marketing…
Well, you see, modern marketing is no longer a rigidly scored practice like classical music. Marketing has entered its “jazz” phase. Jazz differs almost entirely from classical music. Jazz celebrates improvisation. Jazz takes to a score, or “chart” as it’s known in jazz music, more like a general roadmap that’s meant to be interpreted and reinvented each time a piece is played. Where classical music tends to strive towards an ultimate “perfection,” jazz music bobs and weaves its way through time, changing instrumentation, interpretations, and auditory end-games.
Modern marketing is jazz. The spin cycle of change in media, consumer behaviors, and technology’s influence is so fast that a rigid score or marketing plan simply cannot keep up. A modern marketing plan reads more like a jazz chart, providing the individual marketing team members with a series of goals and desired outcomes, leaving tremendous flexibility and mid-course measures keep on course. It’s no wonder that many marketing executives are challenged in today’s market. The genre of marketing music changed. Transitioning from the world of classical to the world of jazz marketing is a monumental mental shift that also requires an entirely new skillset.
There’s good news in all of this: most marketing professionals are eager to learn these new charts. Most younger marketing professionals grew up in a jazz world and are ready and rearing to get to work. They simply need a band leader who will give them the objectives and goals, then let them take to the stage and play great music.
Like jazz, digital marketing thrives on innovation and improvisation rooted in a groove. Our grooves are your results. Money, baby. Leads. Sales. Customers. Loyal, wonderful, happy customers. Come jam with us. It’s time for jazz».
Originally published in Minnesota Business Magazine, Sept 2009.
