The Emperor’s New Clicks

My all-time favorite fairytale is Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. Like any fairytale, it uses a simple narrative to touch on human behavior. This tale examines how greed combined with a fear to be less than other people is a deadly combination. It reminds me a lot of marketing.

For those who don’t know the tale, here’s the very short version:

In marketing, we’re always looking for the newest and shiniest tools. Marketing became a pretty complex discipline, especially digital marketing. It’s no longer enough to simply understand a creative or a straightforward media plan. Suddenly data becomes important, and journeys, retention, remarketing, branding, but also performance, clicks, basket sizes, bounce rates… You name it. Is the fabric invisible to us because we don’t understand it, or is there no fabric in the first place?

Not rarely do we bump into set-ups that have cost hundreds of thousands of euros that don’t really serve an advertiser's needs. It’s a tricky situation. A catch-22 really. The more expensive the solution, the harder it will be to admit it wasn’t the right choice in the first place. But clinging to this solution is a hindrance for progress. And what if the little boy isn’t in fact a truth teller but another salesman?

I think this is bad for our industry as a whole. Since there’s a lot of money involved, I’m afraid there’s no easy fix, but maybe there are some things we can do. Of course it would be easy to say: don’t be like the Emperor. But unlike the fairytale, I don’t believe the Emperor is the most tragic character when translated to a marketing context. After all, taking risks, buying something you don’t really understand because all people around you confirm its necessity, deserves at least some praise. However, I think it doesn’t hurt to ask questions. To tell people “This is out of my comfort zone, explain to me in a way I understand.”

The most tragic characters are the yea-sayers. Those who confirm something they don’t understand themselves, but don’t want to admit it. These people are useless. If you’re not sure, tell that. Help the emperor make his choice, even if it’s by admitting you’re in doubt or you don’t understand. It might be an important trigger.

And the little boy… that’s your customer. After all, they pass final judgment and if they don’t benefit from it, maybe the choice is off anyway.