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Pink and Blink in Belgium

For the first time in some years, I'm attending the Belgian marketing foundation's annual congress (Stichting Marketing Congres) again this weekend (Return On Passion: Emotion & Ratio In Marketing And Management). I have to admit that there has been a time in which the annual newspeak drove me up the walls. The yearly 'new' and 'revolutionary' insights often boiled down to the same basic principle: common sense. Only was the fuzz surrounding these self-proclaimed gurus far more deafening than what they actually had to say (OK, now I'm exaggerating, but you get the picture...)

So what has made me change my mind? The fact that my boss is paying the entrance fee is certainly a nice incentive. But I noticed some interesting evolutions in this year's programme. Not only is the conference gift box bigger than ever (thank you, kind sponsors), there are even some people on the speakers' list whom I would really love to meet in the flesh. Well, from a distance, at least...

Martin Lindström is one of them: hardly one year older than I am (yes: it's my generation's turn to start calling the shots - however: where am I at compared to this guy?  >;-(  ), but already a C with lots of Es and Os behind his name. He is, among many other things, one of the co-founders of BBDO Interactive Europe. Being a former employee of BBDO myself, I automatically felt there was a connection (ahum, yeah, right). One of his pleas is for brands to use all 5 senses when powering up their market position. Being an enthousiastic user of my taste, smell, touch, sight and hearing (abuser at times, I confess), I am really curious to learn how he sees this happening in real life.

Another slot which I have already marked in red is that of Jan Van den Bergh, CEO of I-merge in Belgium: "How Pink and Blink Breed Brands". Can you guess? Yes: he'll be talking about consumers who are not simply consuming but who are also communicating about what they consume. Sounds familiar to all you marketing and PR bloggers out there? Exactly... Glad to notice that our small country is not completely lagging behind here. Oh: of course he also runs his own blog (or at least, his company does)...

For the rest I am already looking forward to bumping into former colleagues; to the usual exchange of smalltalk and of gossip about long-forgotten co-workers; to the bragging about how wonderful our current-day job is; and to the probably silly attempts of avoiding one of my former employers, who also chairs the congress. But then again: I might as well buy him a beer. Just to keep at least thàt sense in shape...

Old-fashioned fingerfood

"I would not like to be a sprout. I hate them. Everybody hates them." I had to admit to our eldest: I prefer not to be a sprout too. Still, if our family were a focus group, marketeers would proclaim sprouts to be the hottest product of the year. 80% of all consumers love them!

But we are no focus group. And sprouts are not hot (although I do prefer them cooked, with just that extra pinch of nutmeg). I don't know of any other vegetable being so openly loathed by so many. Pure racism if you ask me. They're normal vegetables, healthy ánd tasteful. Okay, so they're an acquired taste. So what? So is beer. So is single malt. So is just about everything. Personally, I am not fond of caviar. Or truffles. Or sweetbread. Totally overrated. But I do not feel like getting on my orange crate about that.

Still, I really do like sprouts. Somehow they remind me of my childhood. Of my grandmother. Maybe they are just old-fashioned. They are definitely not the hippest food of the year. I wonder: what if some famous chef would turn them into a fingerfood dish...

Family life on a Sunday afternoon

 

Search me...

To be honest, I have no idea what I have gotten myself into. I used to think blogging was something for sad and lonely people. The Bridget Jones kind of people. The ones who, in my opinion, had nothing better to do. The ones I would use to tell to go and 'get a life...'

Yet, here I am. Blogging. Strange feeling, when I think of it. As if I am some sort of virtual exhibitionist. Perhaps that is what drives people to publish their sometimes inner most feelings on the net. The dual excitement of exposing themselves and hoping nobody notices at the same time. It does sound pathetic when you look at it in this way, doesn't it? Or is it just our common need for attention that gets us blogging? Might as well get a cat then…

On the other hand: people who know what they are talking about have convinced me. And they seemed like normal enough people to me. People who even have interesting things to say. “Blogging is not something for geeks and nerds. […] Bloggers are part of an ever growing and influential community. They are creating new networks, personal but also professional ones. […] Bloggers can be quite influential when it comes to customer power. To public relations. To marketing. […] Blogging will change reality.” (not really literal quotes, but close enough)

Mmm… I know what some of you are thinking. “Surely they are exaggerating.” I don’t know. They seemed pretty convinced. They even had some convincing evidence to support their ideas. If you really want to know more, check out some of the blogs you find on my blog roll. They have revealed to me a whole new world out there.

For the rest, I’m only an absolute beginner. So don’t ask me if this virtual world will remain just that or not. I don’t even know where thís blog is heading. If anything, it might be a good way of practising my English (being a native Dutch-speaking Belgian, that is). It might even turn out to be quite therapeutic. Channelling the thoughts you have been harbouring for a certain period of time: perhaps that is the essence of blogging. Online therapy. The whole world is your psychologist. Could that be it? Search me…