Life Is Marketing

We often forget that everything we do is Marketing.

Even if we don’t like the term “marketing.” Even if it doesn’t have the word “marketing” on your business card or in your job description… you’re in marketing.

It sometimes takes the wise words of someone who is super-successful and doesn’t consider themselves a “Marketer” to make that type of realization. I had a pretty cool week. The Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) held their National Convention in Toronto (and I was honored to be the Co-Chair of the event). In helping to put together the stellar line-up of speakers, we scored Howie Mandel (comedian, actor and host of Deal Or No Deal and this season’s America’s Got Talent). Beyond his on-screen public persona, he’s also an author (Here’s The Deal: Don’t Touch Me), producer and manages many different angles of the entertainment and content business. He’s funny… and he’s razor sharp when it comes to business. In thinking aloud as to why he was invited to be the closing keynote speaker for the second day of this Marketing conference, he suggested that everything we do, all of the time is marketing.

"Life is Marketing," said Mandel… and he’s right.

From trying to get an idea across in a meeting to closing a deal to going out on a Friday night to meet someone, we all spend our days trying to market ourselves, our ideas and the work we do. Don’t believe me (or Howie Mandel)? Think about the last time you had to fight for a promotion or a raise? What were you really doing? You were marketing yourself. Think about the last time you tried to get an idea across in a meeting. What were you really doing? You were marketing the idea to your peers.

So, should everyone be on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, TV, in books, etc…?

According to Howie… yes! (while I might argue that one should have a strategy in place before simply diving in). Howie’s take is this: in a world where there are so many choices – from a multitude of channels and books to millions of people creating and sharing content online – that brands need to not only be where the people are, but to be doing things in enough places that they get noticed.

It’s a little bit of a mass media concept, but it makes a lot of sense.

Depending on the type of brand you have and how you need it to connect to your consumers, Mandel is spot on: the more findable you are and the more valuable the content that you are creating is, the more likelihood you will have of building a strong and vibrant brand. The brands that stick to one thing (and that includes TV and/or the Internet) are the ones, according to Howie, that are not paying attention to "what’s going ‘out there’" and being open to new and, potentially, life-changing opportunities.

And that’s no joke.

"Life is Marketing"… it feels nice to say that.