Marketing in the Morning After

It's ironic that in the morning after (or after turning my back on marketing), I get invited to be one of two speakers—the other is a celebrity entrepreneur—at the Philippine Marketing Association.

“Frankly, I was a bit apprehensive in inviting you,” Vince said, smiling impishly.  “I've heard many inspirational speakers before and sure, they make you feel good, but . . .”

Vince, whom I met in another event where I also spoke, took a leap of faith. Touche. I didn't think I'd be qualified to talk about marketing again either, but . . .” 

I did—and didn't.  

I spoke of my morning after—that defining period in my life when I turned the corner, took up my old love for writing, walked to the opposite end of my lifestyle, and became an author totally dependent on grace.

This is detailed in a book on retirement, I told the marketing men and women in the room, that I just finished writing (hopefully to be launched at the International Book Fair in September).  

Used to speaking directly to a crowd, in a brightly lit room where you could look people in the eye and react to them, I felt like a trying-hard-would-be diva on stage, washed in spotlight, unseeing anyone in the audience—just a black, blank vast space with spotty shadows. So this is what Taylor Swift sees every time she performs, I thought. I decided I won't be a diva when I grow up.

There was no way then for me to have even a glimpse of whether the talk added value to the audience's day,  but it sure added value to mine.

In preparing  my slides, I thought hard about marketing again, remembered much, and gained new knowledge while doing research.

At the event I met old clients and collected new friends.  I was delighted at the many impressive projects the PMA has undertaken in the past and will continue to undertake under the leadership of Gwenn, the incumbent president.

I have always suspected that marketing men are the most vigilant and observant people in the world, continually improving upon their last acts and reinventing the wheel. 

That day at the Intercontinental Hotel, my suspicion proved to be correct. Wherever you find marketing people (in the boardroom where I used to wrangle with brand managers) and in a general meeting like this one, they are one step ahead of the consumer and know where he is going—the day before or the morning after.  

How can an ex-marketing gal not be inordinately blessed?