The Art of Marketing

By: Guest | February 3, 2011 |

Annelise Loevlie loves to laugh, ski, write, do BIZ, create, and a whole lotta other things that won’t fit in a two line bio.

This summer I met a man who changed his name because of a book he read.

Hans Lysglimt (“Light-Shine”) formally Hans “Something else”, was a stoic, chisel-faced Norwegian who, over a Las Vegas salade Nicoise and a watered down iced tea, brought to my attention the importance of Romance, yes romance, in everything we do.

As a self-proclaimed romantic, I was intrigued. The idea that romance plays such a major role in everything we do appeals to me, however, I was skeptical.

Romance is magic. It can’t be pinned down, explained, even defined – “How is this going to turn out?,” I wondered.

So, I bought the book that changed Hans’ name, “The Romantic Manifesto” by Ayn Rand, and it turns out this book is the real meat (or heart?).

AND. It has some seriously engaging applications that have transformed my approach to marketing, selling, and creating community.

Rather than venturing into a Romantic Manifesto of my own, (I’ll leave that up to you for later), I’d like to talk about how this concept changed my way of thinking and ignited some serious marketing wicks in my business (and hopefully will for yours too).

Following is, in short, my very brief approach to integrating Art into your business and using it’s magic to convert customers, create loyalty, and stand out from the crowd.

The Allure of Romance

Romance, or Art (used inter-changeably), comes in many forms:

Music
Dance
Love
Writing
Sculpture
Skiing

It’s anything borne from passion and creative expression, that acts as a conduit or connector between people.

Art alters consciousness. It provides an alternative to reality that provokes questions and presents new perspectives.
It challenges beliefs and morals, as well as awakens sleeping giants from within.
Art is a drug, one of the oldest known to mankind, and it has played more of a role in human evolution than we can even imagine.

When you can connect with another through any medium of art, you have paved a path with marketing gold. You are dissolving the business to consumer relationship and creating a mutual bond.

What is the art in what you do? Find that drug and take it – infuse your work with it, create with it. Everyone is an artist, what’s your Jam?

Emotional Triggers

In marketing psychology, we know that if you can identify and agitate your target markets’ emotional trigger points, and then present a solution, you have yourself a customer.

Many of these tactics are based on emotions like fear, scarcity, functionality, etc. ALL of which are perfectly effective and acceptable marketing tactics.

The emotion involved in art is different. It is more sensual and feeling. Specifically, emotions associated with art are immediate and profoundly personal (yet hard to define, creating immense value to the person experiencing it.) It is a connection on a deeper level than most people are aware of, making it that much more potent.

So how, instead of providing your customers with a solution to a problem, can you instead, transport them to another reality? (Hint: It can be as simple a personalized newsletter with compelling photos, quotes, or raw testimonials from a happy customer.)

You Are A Real Person – Act Like It

I have to keep it short here, so let me say one more thing.

I touched on this briefly above, but the number one most important thing to remember when considering this idea is that people are looking to connect with PEOPLE (not businesses).

The power in personal connection lies in the fact that it IS borne from shared experiences, shared passions.

People CAN connect directly with virtually any one, and any business. They EXPECT to. The more you can do to expose the real people, ideas and drivers behind a business, the better.

Maybe you think this idea is cool and the concept intriguing, but you’re convincing yourself that what you do is not art, it’s business.

This is where I invite you, dear reader, to put this information in your pipe, turn up your favorite tunes, and smoke on it for a day or so – I think you’ll be surprised at what you find.

There is Art in everything. And Art is magic. And people like magic.

Annelise Loevlie loves to laugh, ski, write, do BIZ, create, and a whole lotta other things that won’t fit in a two line bio. (editor’s note: she has also done very very cool things with art in marketing over at Icelantic Boards. Check them out on facebook and twitter.)

And she thanks you for reading this 😉