Market influencers

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio/vlog version of this story, click here.]

I've made it clear here before that I'm not a big fan of marketing. Or, to be more exact, marketing agencies.

A few of Wrong Way's favourite things, in a Colombian context.

Having once worked in such an agency, I've seen all the blood, guts and tripe that go into producing the seductive sausage that's finally served to the public. Marketing agencies are slaughterhouses for decency and truth. And in my radio broadcasting days, I saw how the marketing department influenced on-air content, not just for commercial fluff but even hard news and current affairs. The impartial journalist, how do.

Inert influence

Now, granted, there are few, if any, industries that don't indulge in acts of embellishment. Or that aren't in some way economical with the truth.

Take the case of the real estate agent who puts a quaint retiree-ready rural house in the west of Ireland on the market, stating that it's close to a regular bus route to the nearest town. Technically correct. The only snag is that the bus route in question is solely for the school run. Pretty useless for an elderly individual or couple.

Tourism is another major culprit: Elevate the dubious positives to celestial levels; make no mention of, or at the very least downplay, the downsides.

Thus, in such a charlatan-controlled world, best practice is to be sceptical of pretty much all recommendations until you can be proved otherwise. After all, what one person finds acceptable is unacceptable to another.

That I am such a sceptic is one reason — of many — why I could never make it as a social media influencer. I do find it hard to lie. Honestly.

OK, maybe I'm being a bit bitter and disingenuous here. Not all successful influencers have built their empires on lies. Some are more genuine than others. And they've managed to find the keys to success. I most likely could learn much from them.

'I think I have a better understanding of what's nutritious than the jackrabbit and mule. I certainly wouldn't tuck into lead pipes. Not sober, anyway.'

I'm not too certain whom I could influence, all the same. My interests are not to everyone's tastes. Or, now that I'm actually thinking about it, my interests are quite basic, arguably too run-of-the-mill for those seeking amazing, top-rated experiences.

In terms of travelling, for example, when I rock up to a new place, I tend not to seek out its culinary delights, should it have some. Nor do I eagerly endeavour to discover all its recognised tourist attractions, especially if there is one must-see sight that is, as I see it, little more than a money-making racket. I prefer to spend my money on pursuits that I know I'll enjoy. In some cases, that means simply doing what I normally do, but just in a different environment.

In Colombia, this is sipping on an agreeably priced, unsweetened panadería tinto (black coffee), going for unaccompanied wanders, and, come nightfall, finding a sit-in tienda selling beers that are also agreeably priced. Simple pleasures.

Wrong Way recommendations

My standards are not exacting. Once something meets my fairly minimalist needs, I'm likely to give it at least a pass mark. I think I've always been thus, but this trait may have become more pronounced during my years in Colombia.

So, a recommendation from me about most things is best treated with caution. 'It's grand.' That's my default setting. And that's the Irish definition of grand, which means 'fine' or 'OK'.

One could go as far as to say that I'm similar to the jackrabbit and the mule, in the way that Mark Twain described their likeness for sagebrush in his book, Roughing it:

'[T]heir testimony to its nutritiousness is worth nothing, for they will eat pine knots, or anthracite coal, or brass filings, or lead pipe, or old bottles, or anything that comes handy, and then go off looking as grateful as if they had had oysters for dinner.'

In my defence, I think I have a better understanding of what's nutritious than the jackrabbit and mule. I certainly wouldn't tuck into lead pipes. Not sober, anyway. I do have some standards, after all. I would, for one, rate oysters higher than pine knots. I think so anyway; I can't remember ever having eaten either one.

So I do value what I consider to be beautiful or worthy of praise. Whether you agree with me or not on such matters, that's your business. If you've made it this far, it shows a vote of confidence, of sorts, for my musings, if nothing else. And you can rest assured that I believe in what I market here. The same cannot be said of many of those professional marketers and influencers.
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Listen to The Corrigan Cast podcast here.

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'To the marketing agency, Robin!'

"Help, help! We need more help to put out this fire!" "Don't worry, I'm here." "Great!" 

You lend a hand, doing the best you can to quench the intense flames. Then, the person who pleaded for your assistance, getting word from somebody trapped inside the fire, informs you, your face frizzled, dripping with sweat all over, physically and mentally exhausted, that you're not putting out the fire properly. "What?! Do it yourself, so."

Marketing agencies: Modern-day slavery of sorts? (Image from web.)

'Can't someone else do it?'

That, more or less, sums up the world of the marketing agency. In the analogy, the person caught inside the fire is the client. The one asking for your help, the marketing executive at the agency, usually just as frustrated as you are.

For such an integral part of a company's day-to-day business — how it portrays itself to the public, to both its actual and potential customers — that the powers that be see fit to outsource marketing to third parties is a head-scratcher for me. A case of, so it seems, 'we don't know how to sell ourselves, so we'll get a group of relative strangers to do it for us, people not directly part of our organisation.'

'Never mind a revolving door, there might as well not be a door at all.'

If I'm going to be selling someone else's product or service, I at least need to feel that I am part of it in some way. My topsy-turvy experience in a marketing agency is of largely demotivated, weary staff, particularly those doing the donkey work such as copywriting, design and graphics.

The turnover rate at the team I had been part of where, after over a year, only 10 of the original 40-plus team remain, is a representation of that. Never mind a revolving door, there might as well not be a door at all. Of course, there are a number of factors at play, some of which aren't exclusive to marketing agencies.

For one, here in Colombia, there seems to be a general top-down belief across all sectors of the economy that being at work trumps actually doing work. Clock in the hours, bums on seats, ensure the office or whatever has the appearance of work about it. Wonderful. One important result of this: inefficiency. Another not-insignificant one is increased energy costs for the company when you have staff just counting down the hours.

Then there's the client. Word has it that not all are the same. Some are actually fairly organised, have a clear vision of what they want, plan accordingly and are thus relatively pleasant to work with. That is to say, not all come across as dysfunctional.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the company to which I've had to devote the lion's share of my time in this gig, Avianca. Just my luck that I, um, jumped on board with a crowd that appears particularly chaotic when it comes to its marketing.

'Agencies shouldn't yield so willingly to a client's unreasonable demands.'

After a few rather turbulent years (yes, I meant that), things might be looking a little smoother for the airline these days as it celebrated 100 years in operation in December. The arrival of Dutch 'saviour' Anko van der Werff in July 2019 was seen in some quarters as the start of a brighter future.

We'll certainly give him time to put a bit of order on things, to see that "northern European efficiency" click into gear. (That quote is taken from an interview I had with Mr van der Werff. It will be our next podcast episode. He definitely talks a good talk anyway.)

Yes-man agencies

Now, not all the blame can be laid at the door of Avianca's marketing guys for the way it operates. Management at the agency shouldn't be so yielding to their every confused, disorderly demand. Give an inch and all that. Yet, the client must be kept onside at all costs, that's the agency mantra. If not, there's always another waiting in the wings. They're all undercutting each other in a race to the bottom.

That's not to say a race to the bottom in terms of quality from the agencies, it's more one where wages are paltry and work demands excessive. For those at the coalface, this usually translates into burnout and stress with relatively little in return.

When it's your own baby so to put it, then you tend to be more inclined to go that extra mile. Doing somebody else's dirty work, right in the thick of it, removed from the very receiver of your done-in-good-faith deeds, doesn't fill one with much enthusiasm.

Put out your own fire, guys.
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Listen to The Colombia Cast podcast here.
Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan - The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".