What Dave Trott taught me about marketing
If we avoid rejection, we also avoid opportunity
Dave Trott is a brilliant, mischievous marketeer. Imagine a wise-cracking London cabbie who accidentally ended up as a creative genius in an ad agency. That’s Dave. In his first book, Creative Mischief, he shares the following story. A colleague of Dave’s started reading The Exorcist during his daily train commute from Brighton. It was the most evil book he’d read and he could not finish it. One weekend, the colleague went to the end of Brighton Pier and throw it into the sea. On learning this, Dave went to a bookshop and bought another copy. He ran it under the tap then left it in his colleague’s desk drawer, for him to find.
Simplify the message
Complexity is your enemy. Any fool can make something complicated. It is hard to make something simple. - Dave Trott
Simplicity is key for effective communication. The message must be clear and direct to cut through the noise of a cluttered marketplace. This principle applies broadly.
Apple's advertising for the iPhone uses simple imagery and straightforward language to convey its message. A clean image of the device and a few words highlight its features, ensuring the message is understood by the audience.
Simplicity is a guiding principle for me when designing digital products, including websites, spreadsheet models and apps, e.g. Scarper.
Curiosity drives success
The person who doesn’t make mistakes is unlikely to make anything. - Dave Trott
Curiosity leads to exploration and often to mistakes. These mistakes are fundamental to learning and innovation. Curiosity celebrates the messiness of the creative process and the growth that comes from it.
James Dyson’s development of the Dyson vacuum cleaner involved over 5,000 prototypes, each a learning step towards the final successful product. The initial inspiration for his idea came from the dust extraction mechanism used by a timber saw mill in Bath, where I live. His curiosity and willingness to make mistakes were essential to his innovation.
Storytelling is powerful
People don’t buy what they need, they buy what they want. And what they want is the story that comes along with the product. - Dave Trott
Storytelling is at the heart of effective advertising. The narrative surrounding a product can be more compelling than the product itself. This underscores the importance of crafting stories that resonate emotionally with the audience.
Nike’s advertising campaigns do not just sell shoes; they sell stories of perseverance and triumph. Their Just Do It slogan is backed by stories of athletes who push their limits, resonating with customers.
I often tell stories in this blog. I particularly enjoyed sharing Percy’s story about the kidnapping of a colleague’s toy penguin.
Question the status quo
If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. - Dave Trott
Innovation requires breaking away from established patterns. Question the status quo to discover new possibilities and opportunities. Continuous improvement and innovation results.
Netflix transformed the entertainment distribution industry by questioning the status quo of DVD rentals. They fundamentally changing how people consume media by evolving it into a streaming service.
In my corporate job, I am developing a process to challenge the status quo. It will reduce the time to provide customers with service quotes from weeks to hours.
Other resources
Upstream Thinking talk by Dave Trott
How to Find Counter-intuitive Solutions post by Phil Martin
Great Communication in 3 Steps post by Phil Martin
Here’s a passing thought from Dave Trott. Creativity is the last legal way of gaining an unfair advantage over the competition.
Have fun.
Phil…
