A lesson in crafting marketing messages, from a toddler

My wife Nila and I were having breakfast this morning. Waffles, syrup, ice cream and bacon. I polished the plate in minutes and had moved on to my 2nd cup of coffee.

Nila was just finishing off her plate when Aditi stormed in bringing war to our otherwise peaceful coffee table.

"Aditi orange. Aditi orange."

We have no qualms about giving her an orange. Thing is, she had already had one; of which she ate half and the remainder, chewed and spat back into the plate. Clearly she didn't have an appetite for more.

Nila and I tried explaining.

"Aditi already had her orange."

"You didn't want anymore, remember?"

No amount of rationalising worked.

She is 2 years and 2 months old.

Of course, rational explanations are not going to work.

Rational thinking barely works with adults.

Disagree?

Think back on your last purchase, or guilty indulgence.

Aditi reminded me...

The toughest pill to swallow in marketing is the realisation that no matter how important and accurate you think your message is... The other guy disagrees. 

It's a bloodbath out there for marketers.

Not only are we battling clutter to be seen, we're struggling to be understood.

The only way out is...

Develop a deep, deep understanding of your target audience.

So that the message you craft speaks ONLY to them.

Ignore everyone else.

The moment you try to speak the same way to everyone, your message is lost in the void.