Ahoy, MARKETEERS!

To those who seek to strip the emotion out of brands. Those who argue hard for meaningless distinctiveness.

Those who revel in reminding us consumers are indifferent to our brands. Because they’re somebody else’s customers who occasionally buy you.

And that none of them give a damn about advertising, so they do all they can to avoid it.

And that marketers are embarrassed by what they do, which is to get people to buy and use more of something.

Which is what they call themselves, by the way.

Marketers.

People who market.

That’s their function.

And what they want, in their data-driven brains, is to kill the notion of connection and stare witheringly at its grave.

To all of them I say this.

I know you have a point.

But I smell treasure.

Buried treasure.

And it’s there, waiting to be dug up.

By those who see it as their sworn duty to steal competitors’ customers.

Those with their flashing assets and beguiling associations.

The misfits and the rebels.

The Byrons, not the Sharps.

It’s like Sam Conniff said.

Be more pirate.

Be a marketeer!

Now, can I interest you in a map?