Christopher S. Penn – Marketing AI Keynote Speaker

Marketing says unity is possible

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Christopher S Penn
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We spend a lot of time focused on differences because we’re programmed to. That’s a crude survival mechanism. As Mitch, Hugh, and CC pointed out on the most recent episode of Media Hacks, the one silver lining in the current Iranian… situation?… is that our prejudices about what Iran and its people are like are rapidly shattering. Once you look past the subjects of the riots, you realize that the streets in Tehran don’t look all that different.

Here’s an even broader look, the marketing in Tehran, courtesy of a bunch of Flickr photos.

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Are we so different? Our marketing says we’re remarkably similar. Any American in Tehran could easily figure out, not speaking a word of Persian, exactly what’s going on in most of those ads. I’d bet you 10,000 rials that if I went to any suburban Iranian family’s home, I could tell you exactly what each junk mail ad was advertising without reading a lick of Farsi.

This could be any street in America, Tehran, Jerusalem, or Tokyo:

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In the end, we are so much more alike than we are different.

Our marketing departments agree.

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Comments

7 responses to “Marketing says unity is possible”

  1. jlbraaten Avatar
    jlbraaten

    I love that effect of social media. There aren't any sound stages or carefully crafted sets. It's the world in which we all live. Folks are somehow more human.

    Reply
  2. Vlad Vacariu Avatar
    Vlad Vacariu

    In certain large cities I would agree with you. Marketing is just a way of getting people's attention and everywhere in the world people react similarly to similar distractions. That is why the marketing is similar in Tehran as it is in New York. In large cities there is also a larger western influence with creates the same kinds or advertisements (The pepsi and burger). The differences start appearing in small villages far from the large metropolises. In smaller populations people tend to rely more on their traditions and culture which can differ greatly from region to region. The world will eventually unite when the small isolated villages/towns start to grow in size and get on marketer's radar. Until then, fanatics from villages unite and try to overthrow the control of the cities which are influenced by western marketers. The city people are not as fanatical about their culture and traditions because they have been exposed to many other cultures.

    NOTE: This comment has not been specifically about Iran.

    Reply
  3. jlbraaten Avatar
    jlbraaten

    I love that effect of social media. There aren’t any sound stages or carefully crafted sets. It’s the world in which we all live. Folks are somehow more human.

    Reply
  4. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    In certain large cities I would agree with you. Marketing is just a way of getting people’s attention and everywhere in the world people react similarly to similar distractions. That is why the marketing is similar in Tehran as it is in New York. In large cities there is also a larger western influence with creates the same kinds or advertisements (The pepsi and burger). The differences start appearing in small villages far from the large metropolises. In smaller populations people tend to rely more on their traditions and culture which can differ greatly from region to region. The world will eventually unite when the small isolated villages/towns start to grow in size and get on marketer’s radar. Until then, fanatics from villages unite and try to overthrow the control of the cities which are influenced by western marketers. The city people are not as fanatical about their culture and traditions because they have been exposed to many other cultures.

    NOTE: This comment has not been specifically about Iran.

    Reply
  5. Jay Moonah from Wild Apricot Avatar
    Jay Moonah from Wild Apricot

    It's true at a certain level that we're all the same, but it's also well established folly for marketers to assume that everything that works in one culture will work in another. It's true that we recognize many things of Tehran as being similar to what we see on a North American street, but we also have to think about what we don't see — obvious examples would be ads with scantily clan women, or ads for certain kinds of culturally unacceptable food or drink. Vlad's point about smaller places is also important. Cultural sensitivity is important, even without leaving your own national borders. Hell, Burlington Vermont doesn't have as many billboards or lighted signs as most cities its size in the US, because the community standards are different.

    It's great that people are starting to realize that we share many things, but we should always be sensitive to the differences as well.

    Reply
  6. Jay Moonah from Wild Apricot Avatar
    Jay Moonah from Wild Apricot

    It’s true at a certain level that we’re all the same, but it’s also well established folly for marketers to assume that everything that works in one culture will work in another. It’s true that we recognize many things of Tehran as being similar to what we see on a North American street, but we also have to think about what we don’t see — obvious examples would be ads with scantily clan women, or ads for certain kinds of culturally unacceptable food or drink. Vlad’s point about smaller places is also important. Cultural sensitivity is important, even without leaving your own national borders. Hell, Burlington Vermont doesn’t have as many billboards or lighted signs as most cities its size in the US, because the community standards are different.

    It’s great that people are starting to realize that we share many things, but we should always be sensitive to the differences as well.

    Reply
  7. Jay Moonah from Wild Apricot Avatar
    Jay Moonah from Wild Apricot

    It's true at a certain level that we're all the same, but it's also well established folly for marketers to assume that everything that works in one culture will work in another. It's true that we recognize many things of Tehran as being similar to what we see on a North American street, but we also have to think about what we don't see — obvious examples would be ads with scantily clan women, or ads for certain kinds of culturally unacceptable food or drink. Vlad's point about smaller places is also important. Cultural sensitivity is important, even without leaving your own national borders. Hell, Burlington Vermont doesn't have as many billboards or lighted signs as most cities its size in the US, because the community standards are different.

    It's great that people are starting to realize that we share many things, but we should always be sensitive to the differences as well.

    Reply

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