VC Daniel Cohen writes:

“In my opinion, there are 2 types of marketing professionals. The majority (Call them “professionals”) focus on the technical side of marketing (setting the website, the PR tour, names, trade-shows, etc.). These people are necessary in every marketing department. However, it’s the 2nd type (the “wizards”) that make a real difference, that come up the wild & crazy ideas.”

He goes on to give three cases from Salesforce.com, Google & iPod.

Great examples, Daniel, but I have to differ on one bit.
It’s not the crazy ideas that make the 2nd type of marketers. Crazy ideas are easy to come by – you put 3 creative people in a room for 30 minutes and you’re bound to come up with a couple.

What makes those ideas remarkable is the ability to figure out what the brand/product is actually about, and then come up with ideas that embody this spirit. It’s about turning stategy into a compelling story, and about finding an oppotunity to tell that story in an engaging way, in the cases you give – through an event, a distribution idea or packaging.

If they just “painted it purple”, it wouldn’t work that well. It’s the underlying meaning that makes a difference.

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