Marketers: Meet Me at the Intersection of Faith and Fear… - Jeff Einstein - MediaBizBlogger

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.
-- Nelson Mandela

The search for meaning, commiseration, and escape clearly finds motivation in fear and uncertainty, and it's not for nothing that deep recessions typically witness sharp increases in church attendance, bar traffic, and box office sales. These are deeply evocative days. Why then are we marketers and advertisers of the digital era so fearful of our own power to evoke? Why do we shrink from substance and seek refuge in trivia?

Offered in honor of Easter is a passage in the Gospel of Mark in which Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome go to Christ's tomb to anoint him, a simple act of respect imbued nonetheless with considerable risk under Roman rule. They find the large rock that had sealed the tomb the previous day mysteriously rolled aside, and inside sits a young man clothed in a white robe, but no Jesus. The young man tells them that the crucified Jesus of Nazareth has risen, then instructs them to tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus had gone ahead to Galilee, where they will meet again, as promised.

The three women had confronted their fears that morning when they went to the tomb of Jesus, expecting to pay their homage, complete their task, and move on with their lives, the terrifying crucifixion of Jesus now behind them. Apparently, however, no good deed goes unpunished, and they are instructed instead to confront their fears once again, this time as disciples in Galilee. What they thought was the end turned out in fact to be just the beginning. The antidote to their fear proved to be their faith – over and over and over again.

What they and other heroes learned over the eons is what successful marketers have known for decades: that the true key to success in marketing and advertising is found precisely in the confluence of fear and faith. The best among us search out those fearsome intersections and confront them with deliberate faith. The best among us will gladly trade true uncertainty for false security any day.

But as digital marketers we've lost faith in ourselves and now share our loss with others via technology-mediated, emotionally and spiritually destitute encounters measured in the tens of millions and billions. We are playing impossibly small when we define success as a 17% lift on a .3%, CTR, and we are compelled in the process to redefine powerful words like "relationship" and "friend" downward to meet our own impoverished expectations. We systematically strip all meaning and substance from our own language – just so others won't feel insecure around us. In the end the medium becomes the sole message, a lonely and soulfully empty place whose only call to action is more of the same.

Marketing and advertising should liberate and inspire others to act. Online marketing and advertising does neither for a simple reason: we cannot liberate and inspire others to act unless and until we first liberate and inspire ourselves. But we choose instead to remain mired in fear. We choose to remain small for fear of our own power.

Recessions should be and typically are opportunities to reaffirm our faith, opportunities to rediscover meaning and recover substance in our lives. Don't let this one pass you by simply because your email inbox is full or because you're too busy with social network pissing games. Play big instead. Look for me at the intersection of faith and fear, and together we'll forge a better future for ourselves, our families, and our industry. Phone me at 347-561-4465 and we'll get started today. I'll meet you in Galilee…

About Jeff Einstein and the Brothers Einstein

Jeff Einstein is one-half of the Brothers Einstein, a creative strategy and branding boutique. The Brothers Einstein work with select rapid-growth clients to help define and execute healthy brand strategies in a toxic media environment.