Smug is out of vogue in marketing. The era/image of the cool product manager has been replaced by the workmanlike visage of a community manager. Martini lunches are out and have been replaced with 2 am coffee breaks.
You can't demean, supplant or bash those who don't ascribe to your views. (Well you can technically, but you won't get any work or respect.) Most of us (the new guys included) still suck at this.
Take a look at your heroes in marketing/PR these days. If they look like they have been getting any sort of sleep they probably aren't doing their job. Keeping up with and being on top of the news/blogging cycle takes its toll on anyone. If you are truly on the top of your game...you learn to subsist on cornflakes, kashi bars, caffeine and adrenaline.
Has marketing fallen to the point where it can be done by the common blogger? Absolutely. The elitism and barriers to entry are gone. Now anyone can technically do it.
Why do marketers/PR people still exist? For the same reason that modern art does: "Why is that art? I could do that..." "But you didn't."
We're still the best at what we do. Granted, the tools have leveled the playing field and allowed for new, better, faster players to enter the fray. However, the advantage can be yours if you partner with said new players.
How can this paradigm shift be useful for agencies and companies? By being willing to educate, have humility and a have a willingness to get your hands dirty.
Teach everyone how to use the technology/monitoring software. Empower your employees to try and engage the customers on different platforms everyday. Marketing has become simpler so you can stretch out the work between multiple departments and people. This is what social media people mean when they say breaking down silos. Think of it as saving yourself work instead of reorganizing corporate structure (This tends to go over far better in meetings).
You will be amazed at what empowerment, education and a commitment to the process will achieve when you leverage your existing employee community. Now imagine what you could accomplish when you take this to an already empowered product community. The results of said endeavors almost always beat your expectations.
Stop being smug. It's destroying your marketing/pr reach.
Swagger is still cool though.
"I don't breathe on a track, I asthma attack it." ~Kanye
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tagged as don't be smug, era of smug, marketing swagger, PR swagger, smug, smug cloud, swagger like us, swagger marketing
Nothing wrong with a warm glow of smugness when you have good reason. If you are too humble you don't get the business or you get it at a rate you can't live on.
Tell the punters about how good you are but ensure that you can produce the goods when the chips are down.
We feel smug right now 'cause our clients Nikolsons, Naissance villas & marina have just won the CNBC Property 2009 award thanks to our creative.
Of course we feel smug. Go on... tell 'em how smug you feel!
Take good care and get as much joy as you can everyday.
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