Marketing with Wonder
By Jaffer Ali

Article Link: http://www.jackmyers.com/commentary/Jaffer-Ali/44816567.html

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the
mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all
science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can
no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as
good as dead: his eyes are closed. — Albert Einstein

This article was inspired by Dr. Robert Fuller of Bradley
University. He is a professor of Religious Studies and my
son sent me a link to his brilliant lecture which was
taped and made available online:
http://admissions.bradley.edu/clients/bradleyedu/btvplayer/index.php?videoid=14&btv=off

Some may find it odd that I could gain marketing inspira-
tion from a religious scholar, but as I listened and
watched Dr. Fuller, I could not help but think that the
major problem today with marketing in general and with
online marketing in particular, is the conspicuous absence
of the essential and vital capacity to wonder.

Our sense of wonder has been crushed under the weight of
false promises promulgated by technological clay idols of
our own design. In fact, I contend that the failure of
these algorithmically precise yet dispassionate media
models is in direct correlation to our estrangement from
that special sense of awe.

So, what is wonder? Perhaps it’s easier to describe through
what Jung called circumambulation… or talking around the
subject. Wonder involves the unexpected, those inexplicable,
spontaneous feelings that inspire our thoughts and actions.
And isn’t that what good advertising and marketing is all
about?

Wonder invites possibilities. This is in stark contrast
to algorithmic limitations. In fact, if your marketing
campaign does not evoke a sense of wonder, you should
immediately go back to the drawing board. Why? Two reasons:
1) Because wonder gives new meaning to the world around us,
and 2) It’s our job! If we decide that what we do is indeed
a sacred journey, then not only will we be enriched through
wonderment, we will enrich all around us.

That’s because wonder connects us. We live in a fragmented
world and wonder draws us into something greater than
ourselves and unites us. Great marketing sustains this
sense of wonder by reaching and touching something inside
of us. It is an emotional connection, a transcendent state
through which soul is injected into the process.

We have become so enamored of numbers that we have closed
ourselves to the possibilities and potential in what we
do. Wonder emanates from within. But the growing noise in
our heads has all but drowned out the wondrous feelings
our hearts beg to express.

It is not our possession of knowledge that threatens our
sense of wonder. It is our abandonment of wonder and
mystery as essential, that is destroying it. You have to
remain open to the possibilities in order to experience
wonder. And you need to experience those possibilities
before you can articulate them.

It’s a damn shame that our online industry has ceased to
wonder, because we could all use a healthy dose of what
could be. That being said, I find it interesting and
utterly appropriate that the antidote to what ails us
would come from a professor of religious studies.

Reawakening our sense of wonder is really the task at hand.
If you can do this, from the inside out, you will transform
your life. This inside-out transformation will manifest in
your business model… in your advertising campaign… and
most of all, in your relationships with others and the
world around you.

Carl Jung said, “The self is our life’s goal, for it is the
most complete expression of that fateful combination we
call individuality.” Once we experience wonder for our-
selves, we then can then transcend our individuality and
speak to others in a shared language of the heart.

If we believe that life is a sacred journey, then wonder
is our roadmap to a great life. It’s also the blueprint
for true marketing. If you are heading up an advertising
or marketing campaign, please heed this simple advice
from one of Dr. Fuller’s heroes:

If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he
needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share
it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery
of the world we live in. — Rachel Carson

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About Jaffer Ali Jaffer Ali is CEO of Vidsense, the Web’s
largest video advertising network. With more than 80,000
advertiser-friendly video clips licensed from major film
and TV studios, the Vidsense network of more than 50,000
safe-for-work partner websites delivers millions of
qualified visitors directly to advertiser websites on a
pure Pay-Per-View (PPV) basis.

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