A marketer went to visit one of the people who use his brand. The host welcomed the marketer. The marketer talked about how much he knows about him even though they never met. The host started serving the tea, and poured the marketer's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The marketer watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. "It's full! No more will go in!" the marketer blurted. The host replied, "You are like this teacup, so full that nothing more can be added." "How can you learn anything about me unless you first empty your cup."
Ok, this is an altered version of one of the famous Zen stories. But the context is still relevant. The more we think we know something we end up not knowing it at all. And all marketers believe they know everything about their customers.
Why are we so blinded when we have more data than ever before?
This brings me to another story. The founder of OkCupid (an online dating app) Christian Rudder wrote a book "Dataclysm." What caught my attention was an experiment that they have done. For 24h, OkCupid blocked all the photos while everything else worked as usual. You could still match with other persons, but you couldn't see their pictures. There was a massive spike in matches and messages compared to a regular period. After 24h the lights turned on, and everyone could see their new matches. The huge spike went in the opposite direction. It made me wonder why? The book doesn't provide a definite answer. Here is my view. For a brief moment, people were not blinded by what they could see. They went on a journey of discovery with an empty mind and an open heart. Nothing stood in the way of making a connection and creating intimacy. As soon as they could see their new matches, most of the people were quick to judge. The hacking of social media pages didn't help either. They got to know almost everything about the person to make their decision - it won't work. Or at least they thought they knew everything. It seems that those looking for their loved ones in an online space suffer from the same thing as marketers.
With the tsunami of data, Googles, and Facebooks of this world, did we get better at knowing each other, people? I have my doubts, but if that were the case, our ads would be better, our insights would be better. Perhaps we are more blinded with all the data than we can imagine. I don't have any research data to back up this hypothesis. The quality of human insights was much better in pre-tsunami data time. According to my view of the world, it all has to do with empathy or lack of it.
Marketing is a very intimate thing
Now, what all this have to do with actors and acting? If I connect acting and marketing, many would have an adverse reaction. But, there is one thing that we can learn from actors and apply it to marketing.
Let me start with one of the best definitions of empathy that I have heard. It came from the actor Viggo Mortensen talking about his craft with colleagues.
"For me acting is a very intimate thing; you cannot make a perfect movie anymore you can truly be another person. But the idea is to take on that person's point of view so you can come as closest you can to feel what it is like to look at the world that way."
And for me, marketing is a very intimate thing. You cannot make a perfect ad anymore you can be another person (consumer). Yet, when was the last time marketers got obsessed with playing the role of their lifetime - the consumer? We have to admire actors as they go above and beyond to know the people before they act them. Knowing the people goes beyond the screens or where they clicked, what they have ordered online, what they liked etc. Looking things from the screen will end up in one thing only - lack of empathy.
Airbnb for marketers
There is a simple thing anyone can do. When life goes back to normal, book an Airbnb and spend some time with the people you are trying to reach. As an actor preparing for his role, have unscripted conversations, discover things, and find meanings. Forget about all the data that you have or all the things that you think you know. There is nothing to prove or disprove but to listen, converse, and learn. Come as close as you can to feel what it is like to look at the world that way. Once you do, go and create something magical for them.