1 - Ok, an individual suggested that I am wrong to focus on profit because profit is the outcome of having a big idea that worked.

It's an interesting thought, and one that isn't altogether wrong.

It also gives marketers excuses to ignore profit. https://twitter.com/minethatdata/status/1336388264920432640

2 - Show of hands ... how many of you have worked for companies that are struggling ... only to hire a new marketing team full of big ideas that blew up and made the problem even worse?

3 - My least favorite example was a "Brand Marketing Team" that was brought in during my tenure at Eddie Bauer. Good people. Hard workers. Big ideas. Big ideas that we tested and caused a 10% drop in sales.

4 - Once sales declined and profit decreased, my team (which was responsible for the catalog division) stopped using their imagery. We went back to old imagery. Sales went back to normal.

The brand marketing team was HOT. Incandescent. Upset.

5 - "Why don't you give us a chance? Let the customer adapt!! This stuff won't work right out of the box, you have to give it a chance!"

Here's the problem with that line of thinking ....

6 - Because my team was responsible for the performance of the catalog (and the nascent e-commerce business), a 10% reduction in performance was reflected upon us. If we stuck with the -10%, we'd get fired. We saw it happen (that's how we got our jobs).

7 - So we had a choice ... let the business we were accountable for sink and lose our jobs and most certainly lose our bonuses because the "BIG IDEAS" people wanted to wait to see if the BIG IDEA would work ... or we could go back to what previously worked.

What would you do?

8 - And this is the wrong time to argue that a brand shouldn't be comprised of "silos" where somebody like me gets to shut down the BIG IDEA people. That's not how business works.

9 - If you are going to argue that the BIG IDEA is what matters, then you had better darn well be sure that your BIG IDEA is going to work, because if your BIG IDEA doesn't work then other people lose their jobs, get fired, lose a bonus ... all because of your BIG IDEA.

10 - That is why I argue that profit is what matters ... that profit is the currency of marketing.

A big idea that works generates profit.

A big idea that fails shreds profit, causes people unattached to the big idea to get fired or laid off or to lose a bonus payout.

11 - Now, should big ideas have a level of importance at a company? Absolutely!!

12 - But big ideas have to be tethered to profitability. If not, then you essentially have a brand funding the arts ... you have creative / brand marketing individuals who get to create art without accountability.

13 - And I say all of this because I've been there, I've seen people not tied to the big idea lose a job because of unaccountability of big idea people. I've personally had my salary decreased (via reduced bonus payments) because of big idea failures.

14 - And yes, I'm sure that my salary via bonuses increased because of big ideas that worked. That's how teamwork goes.

Which is why profit is more important than big ideas ... if you focus on profit, you don't take big risks (you take smaller risks working toward big payoffs).

15 - Alright ... enough for now, thank you for listening.