Embrace the unfamiliar

There's so much we can learn about marketing from everyday life! Here's a basic marketing lesson we can learn from Sukkot, the festival which Jews around the world are currently celebrating:

Embrace the unfamiliar: Jewish law dictates that we build outdoor booths and eat, sleep, and generally spend as much time as possible in them. Anything we would normally do in our houses, we now do in a temporary dwelling. We are commanded to pick up and leave our homes for an entire week. One of the many meanings behind this practice is to force us to look at the world from a new perspective. Nothing can achieve this as well as changing our place of dwelling.

There's a great song by John Mayer called The Great Indoors which describes our fear of the unfamiliar. He sarcastically recommends just sticking with what we're used to: Scared of the world outside you should go explore / Pull all the shades and wander the great indoors.

But it's the simplicity of his conclusion that is so compellingly relevant for us : So go unlock the door / And find what you are here for / Leave the great indoors.

Sometimes we spend so much time "inside", looking at things from our familiar, narrow perspective. We forget that there is a key. A key that opens the door and allows us to solve the simple problems that have been plaguing us for years. Just by stepping outside and looking at things from a different point of view.

Organizations would do well to learn from this simple life lesson. Sometimes we need to leave our old ideas behind, get up, and look at things from an entirely new perspective. Usually it's enough to inspire us to think creatively and innovate. And it's refreshing.

Biblical Marketing

How good is the Bible at marketing? What can this holy book teach us about the art of selling? Well, judging from the book sales it has certainly done a pretty good job of marketing itself. But what about its ability to sell other products?

Here's a product I came across last night at a local supermarket. Ezekiel 4:9 Organic Sprouted 100% Whole Grain Flour-less Almond Cereal, made by Food For Life Baking Company. Got all that?

Now I haven't actually tried the product. But I'm still curious: is this a good marketing effort from Food For Life?

I think so.

Here was the reaction of the person I was with upon seeing this: "Just because of the name I wouldn't buy this." Is this how you would react? I disagreed. I personally think the name is interesting, enticing, out of the ordinary and a pretty good selling point. It also plays to the subconscious of a Bible following individual. Irrational as it may be, there is a feeling that one is doing what the Lord wants by eating this cereal.

And for the many people out there looking to live in line with the Bible in a more literal manner, this may be another avenue for their self-expression. But if we're gonna be literal, let's just read the rest of the verse. You know what it says? It tells you how long Ezekiel had to eat this stuff for. No not one...not 10...but 390 days! Chew on that!

What do you think? Good marketing or bad?

(By the way, the New York Times Magazine rated this product 4 out of 4 in their cereal taste test.)