A Sunday rumination...
It was 20 years ago that the Pumpkin Spice Latte was born.
And I ask you, is it simply a coincidence that ever since then the world has been slowly going to hell in a pumpkin-spiced handbasket? No, I think not.
PSL is everywhere and in everything. There are even PSL in both beer and donuts… for dogs! PSL-scented trash bags for gawd's sake!
While some might consider it a success to embrace the PSL cult, I feel that, in marketing, if you see everyone doing something, you should run the other way faster than Forrest Gump.
Good marketing focuses on authenticity, on what makes you unique.
That’s one reason I focus on the importance of great headshots to show your unique spark, because, as the saying goes: "be yourself, everyone else is taken."
This is also why I feel it is so harmful for a business to lean on stock photography. Because anyone can do that sort of lean and it does not make you stand out.
Anyone can put pumpkin pie, a cup of coffee, and loads of cream and sugar into a Vitamix and create a 400-calorie heartstopping drink. But not everyone can craft a beautiful, subtle espresso that makes you feel like you are in Italy.
Choose wisely.