The Curse of Knowledge
In this episode, Mark Mathis talks about why the term “above the fold” still has relevancy in today’s digital orientation.
Featuring:
Mark Mathis
Mark Mathis is Chief Creative and Strategy Officer. Transcription:
Mark Mathis: Hello, this is the One Minute Marketer. I'm Mark Mathis, Creative Director at Amperage Marketing and Fundraising. I've been thinking about the curse of knowledge and coffee makers. We talk about user experience for websites, but we also need to focus on the experience of dealing with our marketing vehicles. Envelopes that won't open without ripping, lobby videos made with audio, but the sound is turned down by employees, too small a font size on brochures or websites, billboards you can't read even traveling at 20 miles per hour. The list is long and frustrating to the general public, which defeats the purpose of all communication executions. The problem is some refer this as the curse of knowledge.
The curse of knowledge is defined like this. It's difficult for informed people to think about the problems from the perspective of uninformed people. In other words, put on the other person's shoes and walk a bit. My wife and I were shopping for a new coffee maker at a local store. One of the new coffee maker manufacturers had prepared a video and placed it in a player at great expense, next to the coffee maker.
I pushed the button and blammo, loud music that echoed throughout the store. Everyone turned and looked at me. It was embarrassing for my wife who quickly walked away from me, which she does very often in stores like that. And it was embarrassing to me too. I tried to figure out how to turn off the video, but it just kept playing. So, I kept watching the video to see if it would shed some light on the coffee maker. It absolutely didn't. It was an image video. At that point, I wanted to be sold, not branded. I needed information, testimonials and data. Instead I got slow-mo music and a lifestyle video. The video probably looked really good in the C-suite in the field, it didn't sell the product.
I was uninformed about what they do and how they make their coffee makers. The curse of knowledge strikes again. As David Ogilvy said, it's not creative if it doesn't sell. So, this video was not creative. I'm the new owner of a coffee maker, but not the one with the video, which made a poor attempt at selling.
That is the One Minute Marketer for this week. My special, thanks to Audio Engineer, Bill Klaproth. If you like this marketing thinking and strategy, reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We will move your needle.
Mark Mathis: Hello, this is the One Minute Marketer. I'm Mark Mathis, Creative Director at Amperage Marketing and Fundraising. I've been thinking about the curse of knowledge and coffee makers. We talk about user experience for websites, but we also need to focus on the experience of dealing with our marketing vehicles. Envelopes that won't open without ripping, lobby videos made with audio, but the sound is turned down by employees, too small a font size on brochures or websites, billboards you can't read even traveling at 20 miles per hour. The list is long and frustrating to the general public, which defeats the purpose of all communication executions. The problem is some refer this as the curse of knowledge.
The curse of knowledge is defined like this. It's difficult for informed people to think about the problems from the perspective of uninformed people. In other words, put on the other person's shoes and walk a bit. My wife and I were shopping for a new coffee maker at a local store. One of the new coffee maker manufacturers had prepared a video and placed it in a player at great expense, next to the coffee maker.
I pushed the button and blammo, loud music that echoed throughout the store. Everyone turned and looked at me. It was embarrassing for my wife who quickly walked away from me, which she does very often in stores like that. And it was embarrassing to me too. I tried to figure out how to turn off the video, but it just kept playing. So, I kept watching the video to see if it would shed some light on the coffee maker. It absolutely didn't. It was an image video. At that point, I wanted to be sold, not branded. I needed information, testimonials and data. Instead I got slow-mo music and a lifestyle video. The video probably looked really good in the C-suite in the field, it didn't sell the product.
I was uninformed about what they do and how they make their coffee makers. The curse of knowledge strikes again. As David Ogilvy said, it's not creative if it doesn't sell. So, this video was not creative. I'm the new owner of a coffee maker, but not the one with the video, which made a poor attempt at selling.
That is the One Minute Marketer for this week. My special, thanks to Audio Engineer, Bill Klaproth. If you like this marketing thinking and strategy, reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We will move your needle.