Stop Speaking
Out in Chicago, Greg Verdino, a buddy of mine & Chief Strategy Officer at crayon delivered a powerful presentation to people who paid good money to listen to him.
Fortunately, Greg put his presentation on his blog this AM and I went through it quickly before my lunch meeting. I’ve been thinking about the 46 slides in his deck and they are crafted beautifully and deliver a solid message: stop speaking.
The presentation starts with market statistics (how unique) but even they are powerful: in 2006, $285 billion was spent on advertising. That’s a lot of money, especially when introducing just over 32,000 products to the marketplace.
My favorite slides in his deck which reiterate what many of us have been saying for some time now: if you think YOU or your consumers are in control, you are wrong. No one is in control. And most importantly, stop talking… and listen (slide 32). Listening is one of the most important lessons in life… not just in marketing, but in life.
Message to brands [from me]: If you have nothing to add to the conversation, don’t say it. It can only hurt you. When you have something relevant to say, people will listen… but you can’t speak 24/7.