Life is not an either/or proposition, and applying that principle to modern marketing is basically what’s at the core of Michael Solomon’s new book Marketers, Tear Down These Walls! Liberating the Postmodern Consumer.
Solomon breaks his book into several chapters that focus on traditionally opposing forces: Us versus them, me versus we, offline versus online, producer versus consumer, and so on. It’s a clever device, and one he uses to show how those divides are being blurred and marketers are thriving because of it. Numerous examples back up his premise, and he offers advice on how to navigate the world he describes.
I’ve often thought that too many marketing and advertising folks, in their determination to sound like definitive experts, view the world in black and white terms versus shades of gray (Solomon, however, doesn’t use this one.) They’re too quick to proclaim that “Such and such is dead” as clickbait to get attention.
But as our jobs grow more complex, and technology enables us to bridge so many cultural and geographical divides, the nuances make our work more challenging and the possibilities more intriguing. Marketers, Tear Down These Walls! is a good reminder that the world is evolving from absolutes.
Special thanks to Smith Publicity for providing me with a review copy.
