Dichotomy Observations

As a marketer, I am a business person focused on watching how companies and individuals brand and market whatever it is they are promoting; what works well, how was it positioned, what was the appeal... does it achieve its purpose which is to make me (or someone like me) do something, buy something, call something, ....sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. 

For instance, all these medicine commercials that seem to be inundating us... I listen to the promotion of the benefit.  They immediately present the virtues or benefits of the product. Then I wait to hear the minor details, uh, like how your head might fall off, if you fall into that 1/100th of a 5% group.  So if I take this medicine - I will achieve this benefit - with the ever so slight risk, of being a member of the 5% group.  Hmmmm... decisions, decisions...Of course, I am not quoting statistics and this isn't a true "side-effect" (to my knowledge).  I'm using this strictly for illustrative purposes. 

We are using natural and unnatural or synthetic remedies... knowing fully well there are risks attached to it.  The question then becomes of "value" - identifying and reaching that personal value that someone has attached to something else and how well this answers that value.  This is not easy to do well.  You have to study and educate your consumer - by successfully presenting the benefits, clearly - and the risks, understandably. 

It also means you understand the driving force behind the acquisition -- and right now -- defying death is a biggy in our civilization whether we talk about war, famine, disease... there is an enormous desire to achieve Nirvana, Heaven, Eutopia, Bali Hai, Paradise ... whatever name you want to call it.  Remove or at the very least stop where possible, mitigating death due to circumstances.  Big business...

and then we need to turn and look at critical mass.  The planet's ability to sustain the current and growing population - as other species are routinely culled to reduce population - the human one does not believe in that.  We defy death - and challenge "survival of the fittest".

Thus we are creating a guarantee of polarizing conversations, and debate on how to handle this going forward.  That is my activism side.  The side that is a champion of wildlife and the environment.  I am also a business person who needs to make living - and my trade is marketing.

Unfortunately, for me, this issue is the 600 lb. gorilla sitting in the corner of my living room.