Tour de force… I love the power in that phrase. Tour de force has been stuck in my brain for a couple of days now, and is hard for me to tell why. Tour de force… Tour de force. I wanted to use this simple yet powerful phrase to start this blog post, until I started reflecting on why sometimes we all end up writing with the same catchy phrases and resolute to conform with the standard and the hip or trendy words of the moment.
After a deep dive into channel marketing, understanding new market penetration, distribution, and intermediaries, using bread as an example, is simple to understand how the freshness might affect or force to recalibrate any expansion strategy.
Only when you are in the communications business, and witness how technology and its hyperconnectivity is facilitating the distribution of our main product: The Message, and start comparing it to bread… you will understand how appealing to local markets might also affect the freshness of the message, and why is imperative to trust local affiliates to speak directly to the communities they represent.
Only when you understand the importance of geolocating your message, creating relationships with the community, and not allowing national monopolies to influence what is said at a local level, you will start to understand the tight regulations of the FCC, and follow closely what’s happening with Sinclair Broadcasting at a local level.
The little “YouTuber” inside all of us, has us dreaming of making it into the global or national scene and become an overnight sensation, but those who really understand the trends and the appreciation for the local, understand why is important that we all end up communicating and finding common ground in our own idiosyncrasies and not being afraid of creating content to speak to our neighbors.
The hyperconnectivity of the message has come to regulate our thinking and create new average standards. It has us wanting to include catchy phrases like “tour de force” in the beginning of a blog post, just because it’s in the ether. I probably picked it up while reading Broadway show reviews and wanted to use it to define what I felt last week while attending the wonderful Digital Branding Analytics Miami 2019 Conference #DBAmiami.
To no surprise, I applaud the effort Google is doing to fund local news outlets to protect the power of community, and taking care of the local message, just as if it was local bread being sold at a local fresh market (not frozen and distributed from across the continent)
As marketers, we need to be ready to defy trends, be bold and find our own voice. Success might lie in our self realization, and being proud of who we are. Don’t let your message become frozen food. Defy all norms or be ready to be replaced by bots faster than normal. Find your own space, and bring something to the equation. Robots might be writing articles using AI tools like Articoolo, but maybe the same programmer who created that software would have benefited with a Latino robot to name their company and avoid chuckles from their Spanish-speaking potential customers.
So I decided to rebel a little bit and not use Tour de Force to start my article in the hopes of sticking to my own convictions and be true to my reflections… I was just too late.
Appeal to your personality, and you may find your tribe.
Tralala Media 