One of the classic traps marketers fall into is making assumptions, strategies or decisions based on personal experience. "I wouldn't do that...so the audience for this product wouldn't do that..." We recently had a client who actually said "I don't use the internet that much - so I'm pretty sure my audience doesn't, either." (His audience was teens and 20 something males.)
We're humans. A multitude of cultures, personalities and interests. We're also born with this weird sense of thinking everyone else thinks just like we do. And that's not true.
At our agency, we're on a constant quest to learn and experience new things. To do something outside of our element. We even schedule occasional company "field trips" where our staffers get to partake in an activity that they haven't done before, or wouldn't likely do on their own.
AdLab has a great reminder of a classic technique to get outside of your element: Magazines. Magazines are a super way to experience a different audience on the quick. Visit a good newstand or bookstore, and browse the sections you don't normally browse. You'd be surprised at what you can learn about...humans.
1 comment:
I'm still amazed that a client would say this! You're right.learning and getting into the realm of discomfort is usually a good thing. Thanks for the insightful post.
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