How to Become a Marketing Superhero | Giuseppe Stigliano | TEDxRoma

Summary

The speaker addresses the paradox of a world where more people have access to smartphones than toilets, highlighting the pervasive influence of marketing. They argue that marketing is not just about selling but is essential for communication, identity, and making choices. However, the speaker criticizes the unsustainable and unequal growth driven by marketing and calls for a return to the ancient Greek concept of 'Harmony' (Harmonia) as a way to reconcile contradictions in modern society. The speaker envisions a future where marketers embrace ambiguity and create products that are profitable, ethical, and sustainable, positioning marketers as superheroes capable of inspiring positive change.

Takeaways

• 📱 The world has more mobile phones than toilets, highlighting the prevalence of technology and marketing's role in society.
• 🎉 Marketing is a universal activity, not just limited to professionals but also inherent in everyday personal branding and choices.
• 🌐 Technology has enabled marketers to reach a global audience, making it crucial to understand and engage with diverse cultures and preferences.
• 🦚 Nature itself exhibits marketing strategies, as seen in the behaviors of peacocks and bears, emphasizing the natural instinct for promotion.
• 🛍️ Marketing helps consumers navigate through a sea of similar products by creating memorable packaging and brand names.
• 🌱 The roots of marketing, as defined by Philip Kotler, suggest that marketing is not only useful but also ethical, challenging modern perceptions.
• 💡 The speaker calls for a reevaluation of marketing practices, recognizing the finite resources of the planet and the need for sustainable growth.
• 🔄 The speaker criticizes the current state of marketing, which has led to inequality and environmental damage due to a focus on growth above all else.
• 🧩 The speaker suggests that we need to reconcile contradictions in marketing, such as balancing profit with social and environmental responsibility.
• 🦸‍♀️ The concept of 'Harmonia' or harmony from ancient Greek mythology is proposed as a solution to reconcile the contradictions in modern marketing.
• 🛑 The speaker emphasizes the need for marketers to unlearn and relearn, embracing ambiguity and creating products that are designed with harmony in mind.

Q & A

What significant disparity does the speaker highlight between access to mobile phones and toilets globally?

The speaker points out that there are 6 billion people with access to mobile phones compared to only 4.5 billion with access to toilets, indicating a greater number of smartphones than toilets worldwide.

What role does the speaker believe marketers play in society beyond just selling products?

The speaker believes that marketers help the world by reaching out to billions of people, interacting with them, and recommending products, which was not possible just a few years ago.

How does the speaker define marketing and its importance in our daily lives?

The speaker defines marketing as a necessary tool for making sense of our existence, communicating with others, building our identity, and choosing the right products and services.

What is the ethical stance on marketing according to Philip Kotler, as mentioned in the script?

Philip Kotler, considered the father of marketing, implies that marketing is not only useful but also ethical, as it helps in the exchange of products and services and in building identity.

What are the negative consequences of the current marketing practices as described by the speaker?

The speaker criticizes the current marketing practices for acting as if resources are infinite, prioritizing growth without considering collateral damages, creating an unequal society, and contributing to a toxic mix of globalization, capitalism, and consumerism.

What is the speaker's epiphany regarding the reconciliation of contradictions in marketing?

The speaker's epiphany is the concept of 'armonia' or harmony from ancient Greek mythology, which represents the reconciliation of contradictions and the idea that we need to find a compromise between the interests of companies and the societal and environmental consequences.

What does the speaker suggest as a solution to the problems caused by marketing and globalization?

The speaker suggests that we need to leverage technology such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and blockchain to create a new approach to marketing that reconciles the contradictions and inequalities caused by current practices.

What is the speaker's view on the relationship between marketing and the ancient Greek concept of 'armonia'?

The speaker believes that 'armonia', the ancient Greek concept of harmony, can be a guiding principle for marketers to create products and services that are good for the company, the customer, and the planet.

How does the speaker propose to address the challenges of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity in today's world?

The speaker proposes that marketers and the business community need to relearn to accept ambiguity and ambivalence, and start making products that are harmonic by design, considering 'harmonia' as a new modus operandi.

What is the speaker's final dream for the role of marketers and the business community?

The speaker dreams of a world where marketers and the business community can relearn to deal with contradictions, where 'harmonia' becomes a superpower, and where marketing can inspire the next generation of products and services, with marketers becoming the superheroes the world needs.

Outlines

00:00

📱 The Smartphone vs. Toilet Dilemma

The speaker begins by highlighting a startling statistic: there are more people with access to mobile phones (6 billion) than toilets (4.5 billion). This disparity is used to underscore the success of the telecommunications industry and marketers in promoting products. The speaker acknowledges the audience's skepticism about marketing's role in promoting unnecessary consumerism but argues that marketing is essential and ubiquitous, even in nature. The speaker introduces the concept of marketing as not just useful but ethical, citing Philip Kotler's definition, before pivoting to critique the unsustainable growth mindset that has led to environmental and societal issues.

05:01

🌐 The Dark Side of Globalization

The second paragraph delves into the negative consequences of unchecked globalization, capitalism, and consumerism, which have resulted in an unequal society and environmental damage. The speaker challenges the audience to consider how to reconcile the contradictions between business interests and societal well-being. The speaker shares a personal story of returning to their hometown in Calabria, Italy, and reflects on the ancient Greek mythology of Harmonia, the goddess of harmony, born from the union of Ares (god of war) and Aphrodite (goddess of love). This story serves as an epiphany that harmony can be the key to resolving modern contradictions.

10:02

🔄 The Need to Embrace Ambiguity

In the third paragraph, the speaker discusses the historical shift away from accepting ambiguity and towards a preference for binary thinking and efficiency. This has led to a loss of the ability to deal with contradictions and nuances, which the speaker argues is necessary in today's complex world. The speaker calls for a relearning of this ability, suggesting that marketers and the business community should embrace ambiguity and create 'harmonic by design' products. The goal is to align with the original definition of marketing by Philip Kotler, which emphasizes value creation for the company, customer, and planet.

15:05

🌟 Marketing as a Superpower for Harmony

The final paragraph presents the speaker's dream of a world where marketers and businesses use harmony as a superpower to inspire the creation of products and services that are beneficial for all stakeholders. The speaker envisions a future where marketing can help reconcile contradictions such as ethics and profits, finance and ESG, local and global, and human and tech. The dream is for marketers to become the superheroes that the world needs, leading the way in creating value and inspiring the next generation of sustainable and ethical products.

Keywords

💡Mobile Phones

Mobile phones are portable electronic devices used for communication over a wide area network. In the video's context, mobile phones symbolize the widespread access to technology and the influence of telecommunications companies and marketers in shaping consumer behavior. The script highlights a statistic that more people have access to mobile phones than toilets, emphasizing the penetration of technology in our lives.

💡Toilets

Toilets refer to facilities for the disposal of human waste, a basic necessity for sanitation and hygiene. The script uses the contrast between mobile phones and toilets to underscore the disparity in global access to technology versus basic human needs, suggesting a societal imbalance and a call for reevaluation of priorities.

💡Marketers

Marketers are professionals who promote and sell products or services. The video discusses the role of marketers in creating campaigns and influencing consumer choices. It challenges the negative perception of marketers as manipulators, arguing instead that marketing is essential for communication, identity building, and product selection in a complex world.

💡Personal Brand

A personal brand is the image or identity that an individual projects, often through social media and personal interactions. The script suggests that everyone engages in marketing by building their personal brand, like posting selfies online, which is a form of self-promotion similar to what professional marketers do for clients.

💡Globalization

Globalization is the process of increased interconnectedness and interdependence among countries. The video criticizes the misuse of globalization, which has led to environmental damage and societal inequality. It calls for a more responsible approach to globalization that considers the long-term consequences.

💡Harmony (Harmonia)

Harmony, or 'Harmonia' in the script, represents the concept of balance and concord, particularly between opposing forces. The video uses the ancient Greek mythological figure of Harmonia as a metaphor for the need to reconcile contradictions in modern society, such as the conflict between profit and sustainability.

💡Contradictions

Contradictions refer to opposing or conflicting elements or ideas. The script emphasizes the need to accept and manage contradictions, such as the tension between short-term gains and long-term sustainability, as a way to achieve a more balanced and ethical approach to business and marketing.

💡Ethics

Ethics are moral principles that govern a person's or group's behavior. The video argues that marketing and business practices should be guided by ethical considerations, rather than solely by profit. It criticizes the current prioritization of vested interests over broader societal well-being.

💡Sustainability

Sustainability refers to the ability to maintain processes or conditions over the long term without depleting resources or causing harm. The script calls for a shift towards sustainable practices in marketing and business, which would benefit both the environment and society at large.

💡Inequality

Inequality denotes the unequal distribution of resources, opportunities, or privileges among individuals or groups. The video points out that current marketing practices have contributed to societal inequality by favoring the interests of a few over the needs of many.

💡Ambiguity and Ambivalence

Ambiguity and ambivalence refer to the state of being unclear or having mixed feelings. The script suggests that marketers and the business community need to relearn to accept ambiguity and ambivalence as part of the complex reality of today's world, moving away from binary thinking towards a more nuanced approach.

💡Harmonic by Design

Harmonic by Design is a concept that suggests creating products and services that inherently promote harmony and balance. The video proposes this as a new approach for marketers to create value by designing products that are not only profitable but also ethical and sustainable.

💡Circular Economy

The circular economy is an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources. The script uses the circular economy as an example of a sustainable business model where products, like devices, are designed to be reused or recycled at the end of their life cycle.

Highlights

6 billion people have access to mobile phones, while only 4.5 billion have access to toilets.

Telecommunications companies and marketers are thriving due to the prevalence of smartphones.

Everyone engages in marketing, even in everyday activities like posting selfies and personal branding.

Marketing is evident in nature, with examples such as peacocks and bears showcasing their offerings.

Marketers help consumers choose among similar products through packaging and brand positioning.

Philip Kotler's definition of marketing implies it is not only useful but ethical.

The pursuit of growth and profit has led to environmental and societal issues.

Globalization can be beneficial, but it requires responsible action to avoid negative consequences.

The speaker's epiphany involves reconciling contradictions using the concept of 'armonia' from ancient Greece.

Ancient Greeks recognized the world is full of contradictions and the need to find harmony.

Modern society has lost the ability to deal with nuances and contradictions for the sake of efficiency.

Today's world requires a relearning of dealing with volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.

Marketers and the business community need to blend humility with ambition and embrace art with science.

The speaker calls for a reevaluation of ethics and profits, finance with ESG, and the balance between local and global.

Marketers should aim to create products that are harmonic by design and consider 'harmonia' as a new approach.

The speaker envisions a world where marketers can inspire the next generation of products and services that are good for all.

The dream is for marketers to become the superheroes that the world needs by embracing 'armunia' as a superpower.

Transcripts

foreign

[Music]

a few weeks ago

I read this

there are 6 billion people in the world

who have access to mobile phones

and only 4.5 people who have access to

toilets

in other words it means that we have

more smartphones than toilets

it is such a great news

it means that there are plenty of

telecommunications companies who are

making great deals

phone makers and consumer electronic

stores that are selling plenty of

products and marketers like me were

creating clever campaigns for these

brands for these companies to support

their sales

and don't look at me like that

I know what you're thinking here is

another hidden Persuader trying to

manipulate us to convince us to buy

useless products and services

but the reality

is that we are all marketers

marketing is helping the world

look at this image

thanks to technology now marketers can

reach out to 6.5 billion people

regardless of what they are and we can

interact with them we can exchange those

we can recommend products it is amazing

it wasn't possible only a few years ago

and frankly

you should also think that you do

marketing every day yes you too

your marketers every time that you take

a selfie you post it online and you try

to build your personal brand

I do exactly the same professional

marketers do exactly the same on behalf

of their clients

and your marketers when you put on

makeup when you decide what to wear

when you decide where to go for dinner

we are all marketers

and it's fine

we

see marketing even in nature and it's

fine look at this male peacock

he's trying to sell the product himself

trying to attract as many customers as

possible female peacocks in order to

maximize his return on investment

and look at this female bear carefully

choosing the right Channel

the river to maximize her return on

investment Salmons

and coming back to humans

how could we possibly choose among so

many different but very similar

alternative products if marketers hadn't

carefully designed a catchy packaging

and find a memorable brand name and pay

attention to the product positioning on

the Shelf

it's been possible

the reality is that we need marketing

in this part of the world we need

marketing to make sense of our own

existence to communicate with others

to build our identity

in our image

other than of course to choose the right

products and services

and if we go back to the roots of

marketing

this is a definition given by Philip

kotler who is unanimously considered the

father of marketing

if you look at this definition marketing

is not only useful but even ethical

so what is the problem

what is wrong with that

this is wrong

we acted as if the resources on this

planet were infinite

we acted as if

the only Compass to follow was growth

and this is wrong

this is wrong

they told us the business of business is

business

and if there are collateral damages well

they are technically negative

externalities they are part of the

equation it's fine

this is wrong

we created an unequal Society

prioritizing the vested interest of the

few

at the expenses of the many

this is wrong

it's wrong because

globalization can be something very good

but if we don't care about the

consequences then the planet will remind

us of the consequences and we created a

toxic cocktail of marketing

globalization capitalism and consumers

and this is the result

this is wrong we abuse globalization and

thought that we could just telecallize

production without paying too much

attention to the details

so now the point is how can we reconcile

these contradictions

this is the real question today

how can we Leverage

The Unbelievable computational power at

our disposal that of virtual reality

augmented reality artificial

intelligence blockchain 3D printing and

what is the role of marketing

in this effort to reconcile

contradictions

as you can imagine given what I do for

living these questions have been keeping

me awake for quite some time and then I

add my epiphany

I traveled back in time

to

the south of Italy

to a region called Calabria

to a little city a little town called

Castroville where I was born

the Romans gave to that part of the word

the name of magnet Risha or greater

Greece because of the many Greek

settlements

well I was lucky enough to grow up there

and one day

25 years ago more or less at school one

of my professors told us an amazing

story

it was the story from the ancient Greek

mythology of

daughter

of two gods

heiress the god of war and Aphrodite

the godness of love

can you see the power of this idea two

opposite incredibly opposite

contradictions Love and War United to

give birth

to a baby to a baby girl to a child

and what is even more impressive

the name that they decided to give

the child

armonia

or harmonia in English

she was the goddess of Harmony conquered

and synthesis

to me

the very existence of Harmony is the

proof

that 20 centuries ago ancient Greeks

among other Western and Eastern

civilizations understood that the word

is not linear

it is actually full of contradictions

and it's been like this since the tone

of civilization think about it male

female

day night

odd even

circle square

light Darkness good

evil

and wise men and women

in order to be successful in life had to

reconcile these contradictions they had

to deal with them they had to find a

compromise

they to find the solution

whether in their private life in society

in politics in science in art even in

their own body

so here is my Epiphany armonia can fix

our broken word armunia can help us

finding a compromise between the

contradictions that I showed you before

between the legitimate interests of

companies to make profit and the

consequences the inequalities that

that's generated

but it will be quite hard

because we spent the last few centuries

trying to kill our own ability to deal

with

this

opposites

we decided that it wasn't very efficient

to have nuances we decided that it was

way easier to have black or white and to

double down on one of the two

we decided to sacrifice armunia

in the name of efficiency Effectiveness

predictability calculability control

effectiveness

planning if you want

and we did that because the only way

achieve economies of scale of scope

economies of learning efficiency is to

have a very stable predictable

environment

you can't deal with these cows you need

stability if you want to maximize the

return on investment if you want to

maximize your profit if you want to

maximize the competitive advantage to

exploit your competitive Advantage as

long as possible you need stability

so do you see how complicated it is

today we need to relearn something that

we used to know that we forgot and that

we now need because today's word is full

of contradictions it's all about

volatility uncertainty complexity

ambiguity

so let's have a look at today's

contradictions humility and ambition we

need to find a way to blend the two we

need to admit that we don't have all the

answers but we also need the ambition to

write the rules of the game

Art and Science

assuming that they are two opposites

if you think of Leonardo da Vinci was he

a scientist or an artist hard to say

probably useless to decide

short-term and long term you can have

short-term returns you also need to have

long-term sustainability if we don't

find a way to reconcile these two

contradictions or these two opposites

we're lost

ethics and profits

finance and ESG

local and global

human and Tech

and while this list is by no means

exhaustive I could have had

virtual and real physical and digital

he gives you a very clear sense of the

complexity we have to deal with

so

we need to go back it would be hard it

won't be linear it would be very

difficult

but maybe there is a solution

and of course

now you know me enough to know that to

find the solution I had to go back

to the ancient Greece

among many other very interesting things

beside armonia

they also invented heroes

think of

Ulysses

Achilles

Atalanta

women and men

with Superior abilities women and men

with superpowers as we would call them

today

they were the predecessors of Superman

Batman

but woman

Wonder Woman

and man with Superior capabilities with

superpowers

this is what we need today

we need to go beyond our limits

we need to unlearn and relearn something

and so

here is my Eureka moment here is my

epiphany

we need to when I say we I mean

marketers the business community at

large everyone

we need to relearn to accept ambiguity

and ambivalence as inevitable variables

of the status quo

we need to start making products that

are harmonic by Design

we need to consider harmonia our new

modus operandi

and if we are successful if marketers

are successful then we will lead the way

we will be seen as a source of value

creation we will honor the very first

definition of Philip kotler

we will help and Inspire companies to

make products that are good for the

company good for the customer good for

the planet this is possible

I'm thinking of shoes that are

fashionable

good for performance but at the same

time are made of recycled materials I'm

thinking of expensive devices that

generate profit for the phone makers and

at the same time they can be part of the

circular economy at the end of their of

their life cycle

I'm thinking of expensive luxury

products that are absolutely cruelty

free and child labor free even though

they generate huge margins for the

companies it is fine if we can reconcile

and so here's my final dream

a dream of a word where marketers and

the business community at Large

can relearn to deal with these

contradictions

I dream of a word where armunia becomes

our superpower

I dream of a word where

marketing can Inspire the next

generation of products and services

energy of a word where marketers can

become the superheroes

that this word

desperately needs and deserves

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]