The Empathetic Adman blog started in May of 2015. While writing The Lint Screen blog was fulfilling to Patrick (PD) Scullin, he decided it was time to create something dedicated to the craft he had been practicing for so long.
Scullin had witnessed the incredible transformation of the marketing world in the Twenty-First Century. He grew up in an industry where dinosaurs like the IBM Selectric ruled and type was knifed with an X-Acto-knife and spaced by hand. The analog world was a hell of a rough place. We didn't even have spellcheck.
And whereas once upon a time, an ad campaign consisted of some TV spots, radio commercials, and print ads, with the digital age media opportunities, were mushrooming. Advertisers had more ways than ever to annoy people as they did something they enjoyed. But is that a good thing?
The grizzled adman thought about his career spanning almost four decades. One that took him to eight cities coast-to-coast, like a thug in the witness relocation program. He had seen a lot, worked with many smart and even brilliant people, and learned from a couple of industry-recognized legends. In all those travels, experiences, marketing challenges, and countless campaigns, Scullin came to a profound conclusion–– only two skills were necessary for success in the marketing world.
Empathy and creativity.
If one could not easily slip into the shoes of his audience, be they Chuck Taylors, sensible Pumps, comfortable Clarks, buffed Florsheim wingtips, or Birkenstocks, he could not understand the mindset and motivation of the person and could not succeed. Empathy and making the connection to human emotions were critical in creating successful marketing campaigns.
The Empathetic Adman blog features over 100 musings from a philosopher-king about the modern marketing landscape. Despite all the new communication avenues, the skills required to do it well have never varied: empathy and creativity.
Ironically, with all the new ways to communicate, people are more cynical and distrusting than ever–– and they can trash advertisers and burn companies with social media.
All this means marketers had better beware and be smart. Empathetic Adman was here to help