Is your marketing message missing the mark?

"Banananana. Banananana. I want banananana."

My two-year-old daughter, Aditi, is on the warpath. My wife and I are trying to finish dinner at the kitchen counter.

"She's already had one", said my wife.

I was not prepared to become collateral damage.

I grabbed one from the fruit bowl and cut it in half.

"Anything to avoid a tantrum. Besides, it's only a banana", I muttered.

I was about to peel it, when Aditi said, "I want to open it".

"Here you go, baby," I said, and got back to my half-eaten sandwich.

Aditi sat on the floor and with concentration that would put a surgeon to shame, began peeling her "banananana".

Once done, she stood up.

We weren't prepared for what came next.

She handed me the banana and headed to the garbage bin, saying "Bin, bin."

She opened the lid, dropped the banana peel inside and looked at us triumphantly. Her confidence would've made Rihanna look twice.

"Don't you want your banana?" I asked.

"No!" A firm refusal as she went about her own business.

The only reason she wanted the banana was to make an excuse to use the garbage bin!

Why we thought she wanted the banana was not why she actually wanted it.

The product was used to solve a problem that we did not foresee.

What's this got to do with marketing? And content? And copy?

How many marketing messages miss the mark completely?

Someone buys your expensive widget and you assume that it's because of A, B and C features. But they only bought it to show it off to their peers.

Think Apple and every other product competing with them.

While all the products highlight their features, Apple talks up ONLY what matters to the audience.

It's not to say that they don't have all these features.

They do (at least some of it... 😆😆).

But their messaging promotes the stuff that inspires you. And makes you feel like you are part of something. Something big. Something trendy.

I've spoken to several Apple users. The average number of Apps they use on their phone... 7 - 10.

Email. Teams. Zooms. Social media. Notes. Maps. That's pretty much it. A $200 Android phone could do the same.

But the Android phone won't make them feel like they're "aspirers", "succeeders", and "explorers".

While their products can do a lot, Apple's marketing talks about what matters to their audience. Period.

For a good reminder of this, revisit Apple's launch of the iPod or iPhone.

<<<Written on Chromebook 😎>>>