• 0

Marketoonist | Tom Fishburne

Marketoonist is the thought bubble of Tom Fishburne. Marketing cartoons, content marketing with a sense of humor, keynote speaking.

  • Campaigns
  • Speaking
  • About
  • Cartoons
  • Contact
  • Book
  • 0

the marketing rosetta stone

May 17, 2009 2 Comments

  • Paid licensing options include high resolution download.
  • Presentation $35.00 Add to Cart
  • Newsletter or Website $100.00 Add to Cart
  • Corporate Blog/Sponsored Post $50.00 Add to Cart
  • Looking for other licensing options? click here
  • View Cart
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

I love that George Bernard Shaw quote about the UK and US as “two countries separated by a common language”.

I think that the same can be said of functions within companies.  And marketers are the worst offenders.  I doubt any function produces more jargon and buzzwords each year than marketers (in case you’re wondering, here are the Top 100 Marketing Buzzwords for 2009).

I gave a talk last week about ways to get innovations through an organization, and I offered the advice that the audience stop talking like marketers.  Too often marketers commit “idea camoflage” and earn the reputation that they live in an ivory tower.

Poor communication simply hamstrings ideas in an organization.  Lack of understanding drives people to take the safest path.  Which is why so many stage gate meetings feel like Checkpoint Charlie.

It’s ultimately the marketer’s job to inspire everyone to respond to ideas and make them stronger and stronger at each step, not weaker and weaker.  Or discard the ideas entirely.  But, it’s essential to avoid the mediocre middle path.

After my talk, someone asked how marketers should communicate.  I said that just using plain English was a good start.  I think that it is a good litmus test to share your positioning statement with a factory line worker or a field sales rep and see if it makes sense to them.  If it’s too esoteric for them, it’s probably too esoteric for the R&D Director you need to inspire.

I’m also a big fan of drawings (for obvious reasons).  I honestly believe that everyone can communicate with drawings in a business setting, independent of artistic talent.  Dan Roam recently published a wonderful book called “The Back of the Napkin” that is all about how to do this.  I met Dan in San Francisco last week and he inspired me with the potential of visual thinking in business.

A few years ago, I heard a talk by Chris Bangle, the former head of design for BMW.  He was an impressive guy, but what struck me most was that most of his slideshow presentation was composed of scribbled stick figures that could have been drawn by a ten-year-old.  He said that he’d communicated like that his whole career, even in the board room, because it simplified communication and had the power to disarm a roomful of critics.

I’ll take a stick figure over a buzzword any day.

Filed Under: marketing silo

Get a new marketoon each week:

Previous Post Next Post

the target market

urban spam

Browse similar cartoons in: marketing silo

Browse By Category See All Marketoons

2 Comments

Join the Discussion
  1. gary kopervas says

    May 17, 2009 at 2:24 pm

    Love the cartoon and the post, Tom. I’m also a fan of the “back of the napkin” approach to simplicity in communication. If you like Dan Roam’s work, I’d also recommend the work of Jessica Hagy, and her blog thisisindexed.com It’s a similar quick sketch approach to communicating big ideas.

    Reply
  2. Kelly Ferrara says

    May 17, 2009 at 9:16 pm

    Tom,

    Great post! I’m going to share with my team tomorrow, as innovation is actually on our staff meeting agenda! Love the rosetta stone analogy.

    Cheers,
    @KellyFerrara

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Paid licensing options include high resolution download.
  • Presentation $35.00 Add to Cart
  • Newsletter or Website $100.00 Add to Cart
  • Corporate Blog/Sponsored Post $50.00 Add to Cart
  • Looking for other licensing options? click here
  • View Cart
Your Ad Ignored Here Book Image

15 years of Marketoonist compiled for your marketing pleasure.

Order Now

About Marketoonist

tom_image

Marketoonist is the thought bubble of Tom Fishburne a career marketer and cartoonist. Learn More...

Subscribe

Get a new marketoon delivered to your inbox each week.

 

Browse Blog Posts

Most Popular Cartoons Browse Categories

Marketoon Campaigns

contentmarketing

Content marketing with a sense of humor.

Learn More

Keynote Speaking

speakingworkshops

Insightful, funny, and visual keynote talks and workshops.

Book Tom to Speak

Search Blog Posts

Interested? Let’s Talk!

Marketoons

Browse Categories

Get New Cartoons Weekly

About Marketoonist

Tom Fishburne is the Founder and CEO of Marketoonist, a content marketing studio that helps businesses reach their audiences with cartoons.

© 2023 Marketoonist