008: Sh*t is hard out here
[After - Session 2] A little more on persuading people + Why I scan newsletters + cool news about The BrandLab
This week’s class was the second piece of the Context puzzle that sets up the major themes of the Future of Advertising. Soon we’ll be diving into all the sizzle. But first, my gut said we need to ground ourselves. What is Marketing, exactly? And why is persuading people via Advertising still so hard?
Next week we’re going to conclude Context-setting with a trip through the Supply Chain of Advertising. Literally, “how” the industry functions. We’ve got a Producer scheduled to help illuminate things, and I will absolutely have opinions about the practice of briefing (Strategy, Creative and Production).
I’m enamored with all the shiny new opportunities. But as we noted Monday evening, “new” ≠ easy adoption. Especially amidst a tenuous economic climate.
For what it’s worth, venture capitalist Fred Wilson looks at 2023 and thinks, “sometime in the next twelve to eighteen months, possibly sooner, we should all feel a lot better. New technologies are emerging that provide a lot of opportunities to start and build new companies. The pool of talent that is sitting on the sidelines and available to work in these new companies is quite substantial. We are already seeing the seeds of all this being planted now.”
On that note, I ended this week’s session with a quote. (Goal is to end each session with some salient wisdom.) And who better to connect the dots between What is Marketing?, Why is Persuading People So Hard?, and the Future of Advertising than everyone’s favorite OG, Gary Vanyerchuk? Let me be clear: I generally agree with Gary Vee. I met him back in 2011 when we hired him to keynote the MIMA Summit. I think he’s authentic. So on the subject of a decline in original podcast episodes (as a marker for the challenge of adoption and persuasion), Gary explains why, “Sh*t is hard out here.” And what you can do about it.
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NEWSLETTERS ARE COOL
We eclipsed 100 subscribers some time last week!
Thanks to everyone whose eyeballs have made it this far. I really appreciate your time and enthusiasm. I subscribe to… 24? 25? different newsletters (here’s a rough list). I absolutely DO NOT read them all, but I try. Because they give me perspective I did not have, which I think translates into advantage for the work I’m doing. Your results may vary. Here are a few items that popped up over the past 24 hours across a couple different sources. Maybe you’ll find them useful…
Dentsu has published its 2023 Creative Trends Report. Little Black Book has summarized things here. Sign up and download the full report here.
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, co-founders of Instagram, are back with a new social platform: Artifact, a kind of TikTok for text. Of course I joined the waitlist.
And while it’s Internet Old (i.e. a few days ago), I am now diving into Cory Doctorow’s opinion on the “The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok” via Wired.
THE BRANDLAB IS CHANGING THE WORLD FOR THE BETTER
Last but absolutely not least: I am a huge fan of The BrandLab, who empowers “young talent from Indigenous, Black, Brown, AAPI and Hispanic/Latinx backgrounds to launch sustainable careers in thriving workplaces of creativity, inclusivity and belonging.” Amen. And they just launched their 2023 LabFellows Fellowship Program—it’s a 6-8 month immersive, paid fellowship opportunity. If you know any current college seniors aspiring to a marketing/advertising/design career, please share this link. AND… if you know any brands that want in on amazing up and coming talent based in Minneapolis, Milwaukee or Kansas City (frankly, anywhere), have them look into becoming a BrandLab partner. I’ve been an internship guide and helped support fellowships at Land O’Lakes, and I can vouch for BrandLab’s process and quality of program talent.
See you Sunday for the next “Before” class post.