It was a beautiful sunny day as I was walking home from work. Upon returning to my doorstep, I found a pamphlet stuck to my door. The type that makes you roll your eyes and mouth un-utterable words because you are still outside. Just as I was about to rant about these annoying marketing schemes I caught myself, and for a moment tried walking a few blocks in their shoes. I figured they are trying their best, and concluded that they are simply doing the necessary work all businesses are tasked with. As I started to think about what it takes to make your business successful, I was gently reminded that I too have to ponder and strategise how my own business is going to position itself such that the utmost exposure is gained.

Now hear me out, the word marketing gives me a chilling cringe. The idea that at all times our lives are being shaped by the wants of others is absurd. We are constantly fed other people's opinions, perspectives and ways of living. This leaves me with an undesired feeling but it is a truth that I (and we) need to accept.

The funny thing though, is that what was once forced upon us, we now willingly consume. Through social media we green light and on-board it all. What was once a social hub for people to stay connected through the sharing of their life experiences has now become a platform to sell each other everything and anything. Our lives and marketing are deeply intertwined. Take for example influencers, they are literally selling you a lifestyle that includes experiences, products, fashion, and decisions.

Marketing has become intrusive.

///I cringed even more as I wrote this\\\

As I return to thoughts on how to expose the world to my own start-ups, I started to think that maybe intrusive marketing can become non-intrusive if it is accepted and consciously implemented in our own lives.

(Now this gives me a nerve wrecking nightmare, because eventually, we may all just end up in our own little world, filled with the ads that we want.)

If we realize the impact that marketing has on our lives, we could (maybe, just maybe) start making better life decisions. If we understand that marketing is a form of educating people about something and informing them so that they can make the best decisions, (maybe, just maybe) they may make better decisions. I think we need to start to reframe how we see marketing and think of it as education.

I understand that this is wishful thinking, because companies out there do not want us to know what is in the products, or has been involved in the production of said products. This poses its own problems which I personally think could be resolved if as a labor force of artists, we refuse to work for companies who we know have a dirty track record.

Without a doubt, I am pushing it with my wishful thinking, but I think as those who are responsible for the strategizing of a marketing plan, we should think about how to better the lives of people through the creation of products that enhance their lives. It is a tremendous privilege to influence the life of others, hopefully, we can take advantage of it.

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