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There’s an anecdote which shows how detached agency marketers have become from real sales-generation. An agency marketing executive was camping with a friend. And both being of Scottish descent, they decided to barbecue a sheep, cooked in the old way, to recapture their cultural roots.
But they needed a sheep, so off the exec went. Soon, up a country lane, he found a shepherd who said he liked to bet.
“I’ll bet that I can count your animals in five seconds flat,” said the marketing executive, pointing to a nearby herd of sheep. “If I lose, I’ll pay you twenty pounds; but if I win, I get to claim a sheep.”
The farmer scratches his head, trying to figure out this city boy, “That’s impossible. It takes me an hour to count the herd. You’re on!”
The marketing executive scanned the flock. The farmer sees his suredness. ”How will you know your count’s accurate?”
“We have our ways,” the exec chuckles. “I work with numbers every day.”
Then, after the shortest of pauses – he announced his result. “There are two hundred and forty-seven animals in that field.”
“That’s incredible,” said the farmer. “Exactly right, dangit! Well, go on then, make your choice.”
Within a minute, the executive was back at the gate with his prize.
“Before you go,” said the farmer, “can I have a go, to see if I can win back the prize? “Cause I reckon I could guess your job.”
The marketing exec chuckled. “Well,” he said, “that’s probably harder than what I did, so go ahead.”
The farmer beamed, squinting his eyes at the man with exaggerated studiousness. “I believe you are . . . a marketing executive and you work for a fancy Fifth Avenue agency,” he said.
The executive was astonished. “How in the world did you ever guess that?” he asked.
The farmer smiles, “Oh, we have our ways. Now – give me back my dog.”
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By Walter |
Topics: Here's Your Sign |
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