Are You a Screaming Toddler?

What do parenting and marketing have in common?  This morning as I cleaned my inbox over at Data Dog I couldn’t help see the correlation between marketing genius Seth Godin and parenting expert Dr. Charles Fay.  Godin compares marketing to a screaming child, “Like a toddler ignoring his ever more insistent parent, it’s so easy to turn off the yelling. Just as we ignore the all-caps emails, the flashing banner ad and the sirens in New York.”

What is a digital marketer and stressed parent to do?  Godin and Fay have the same answer.  In a family situation when a child starts yelling most parents’ instinct is to yell back over them.  Suddenly, no one is listening and the volume just continues to escalate.  The Love & Logic approach pioneered by Fay actually recommend that you start to whisper to the child.  It catches the child off guard and it breaks the yelling cycle.  I’ve seen it work countless times with my two little ladies.

It is interesting to think of this parenting technique from a marketing stand point.  Did you read Godin’s post yet?  Pop over and take 60 seconds to give it a read through, it is a mere two paragraphs.

Is your digital marketing yelling or whispering?  Take a moment to self assess.  Can you think of any examples of other organizations that whisper or yell?  Share below!