Don’t Confuse Innovation with Lousy Creativity
I usually run like a girl from “innovation” marketing speak (but, hey - I am a girl…) Then, I happened upon Bob Bly’s post, The Awful Truth About Innovation.
Mr. Bly has a valid point that we can “innovate” ourselves right out of business when it comes to marketing. But his point about sticking to the “old tried and true” is just - well - wrong. Of course, it’s no coincidence that he’s a long-time interruption marketing poobah - who espouses direct mail, a very old marketing tactic. He’s also a blogger who recently published a book that reportedly disses blogging. Go figure.
Without innovation, we wouldn’t have wheels, let alone new-fangled things like printing presses and in-door plumbing. And, Steve Jobs - stop that thinking crap, right now!
So, let’s not confuse innovation with lousy creativity.
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Tags: innovation, creativity, marketing troubleshooting, marketing
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February 12th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Your post reinforces a question that came up at lunch today: why do people feel the need to “diss” blogging or any other marketing tool?
The “right tool for the right job” is not a bad mantra for anyone with something to sell.
Now granted, I know it takes wisdom to know when which tool makes sense over another.
Sounds like, “if you’re good with a hammer, everything looks like a nail” syndrome to me.
Keep creating,
Mike
February 14th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
I recently interviewed Bob Bly for my Freaking Marketing blog. We discussed his 2004 comments about blogs and his views on “creativity.” He no longer believes blogs are a complete waste of time and he’s definitely in favor of ethical creative ideas that earn marketers money. The entry is called “Bob Bly: The Freaking Marketing Interview.”
February 15th, 2007 at 8:24 am
Thanks, Robert for stopping by. However, I’ve got a couple of questions:
1. I’ve visited Mr. Bly’s blog and it appears he is still promoting the old-style interruption marketing, including discussions about how to get around spam filters. Que?
2. His book re blogging was just published wasn’t it? If, in fact, he actually wrote it back in 2004, that could account for the inaccuracies that have been noted in reviews of it.