Many moons ago, I shared an office with a brilliant corporate video and meeting producer named Gerlinde Puchas. She didn’t usually do commercials, but she did one about canned ham for a supermarket chain. She put it in a top hat and tails, and had it dance. It ran for years. And it sold a lot of canned hams.
Then one day, a man called and said he wanted her to do a commercial about the ham he sold. “You’ve come to the right place,” she said, “I actually did a commercial about ham once before. “Yeah,” he sniffed, “but that was canned ham. I sell fresh ham. Do you have any experience with fresh ham?”
I’ve giggled over that story for years. I tell it when I am trying to explain that experience and expertise in marketing is what counts, not the marketing of a specific type of ham, or widget (before widgets took on their current cool iteration.)
These days, I often tell clients that story when I introduce ideas about new media marketing. I warn them: “OK, here comes a canned ham idea. I know it doesn’t apply exactly to your business. Please think about the concept.” It often helps to open their minds to new ways of looking at marketing.
Try it!
The Value of Canned Ham
BL Ochman | December 10, 2006 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) | TrackBack (
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