Pharasees, Frosted Flakes, Axe Body Spray, and You & Me...
I suppose that, if you read, what the whole Frosted Flakes post was all about. Given that the rain has cancelled my softball game today :) and I'm in a contemplative mood, I'm obliged to blog on this...
I was reading in my quiet time the other day (again, in Matthew tracking a few posts ago) about this dialogue that Jesus had with the Pharasses about "hand washing." Apparantely, there was a ceremonial "washing" that was part of the Jewish ritual at the time that required your hands to be washed in a certain way before you ate a meal, and Jesus and his posse wasn't doing this to their specifications (Matt 15:2).
Then Jesus calls them out - telling them about another, very dispicable, tradition that they had started up... in a way creating a hedge fund for themselves in the name of God that would give them a loophole in their obligation to take care of their parents if they were to become needy (Matt 15:3-7). Then he gives this short parable that confused the heck out of the disciples (and if you were in that system at the time, probably would have confused you too):
"Listen and understand. What goes into your mouth does not defile you, but what comes out of your mouth, that is what defiles you." - Matt 15:10b-11
Before saying that, He made this comment that offended his audience (the disciples took a straw poll and let him know the results):
"These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules." - vss. 8-9
After getting the results of the straw poll, the disciples were concerned but Jesus wasn't. Why were the disciples concerned? The Pharasees were looked upon as an (if not the) authority in religious matters in their culture. They were seen as the Godly people of the day - and the Pharasees also worked hard to maintain that image as well. They kept all of the rules, they said all of the right things, and they were the (self-appointed) standards-bearer for their culture.
However, we know from history and from the words of Jesus - this was ALL image management, and that the reality didn't match up with the image. And eventually, like all "posers" (as John Eldridge would call us in Wild at Heart), reality would be brought to light... in this case in a direct confrontation with Jesus.
How does this relate to Frosted Flakes? And to you and me?
A little bit of history about me... I went to Indiana University for my MBA in marketing and learned a LOT about brand management during my time there. I love this whole business of branding... even though I talk to many in the high-tech field that look upon this practice as "fluff" or "image management" - and with many products out there, I would agree. However, I disagree with the notion that brand = merely image.
The definition for a "brand" that I learned during business school that I thought was the most relevant is that a brand is a "promise of value." This means that if I see a box of Frosted Flakes, that the brand representing the product inside that box makes a promise that I will get a certain experience if I purchase that product and eat the cereal in there. In the long term, that can't be built in one-time "image management" pushes, but must be maintained over the long term to ensure that the promise of value delivers. One funny story about this from my internship... I worked in marketing in the summer between my first and second years for the leading "boil in the bag" rice brand that was managed in my hometown of Houston, TX. The brand manager told me once when we were discussing the focus groups she would conduct that many of the brand loyal focus group participants would warn her to "not mess with their rice!" - meaning that they loved the product that the brand (Success) represents and to change the experience (the quality of the rice) would not be good because they expected excellence when they purchased it. In other words, the brand was more than the colors and fonts on the box...
Another key learning I discovered in this world relates to the sales cycle of these products... the fact that in branded products that there are "two moments of truth"
The first "moment of truth" is when the consumer initially picks the product off the shelf, either because it's a cool "NEW" deal or they got an FSI (Free Standing Insert - the coupons in the Sunday paper) that gave them a good deal. This would be the "trial"
The second moment of truth is more important... it is the "repeat" MOT. Meaning, at some point the consumer that bought the product in the first place has to USE it - and that's when the image management goes away and the truth is revealed. If he or she likes the REAL product, they'll buy again. If not, eventually all of that branding and promotions and blah, blah, blah goes all away because image did not meet reality. For example, us guys know about the Axe Body Spray ads... that promise us that women will be attracted to us if we use this stuff (you'd have to be living under a cave or not care at all about sports to not notice these!)... and most of us that buy this stuff probably don't buy into the extremes of the commercials but we do want to smell good when we go out... Well, if I bought a can of Axe (I have... it smells good, I'll admit), and I spray it on myself and it smells like dog crap, I'm not really likely to buy another can of it (also, if a girl I'm talking to makes a negative comment about my "smell" with it on, I'm probably not so much going to buy since that's their "image."). Even in that wierd case, the second moment of truth still trumps all of the ads of women falling all over a guy that uses this (guys - this probably doesn't happen in real life!)
So, how does this relate to you and me... and to what Jesus is saying to the Pharasees about their own "branding" efforts?
We're all pretty good at image management, especially in America with the image we portray by the clothes we wear, books we read, causes we support, music we listen to, cars we drive, etc... It's really hard to not get wrapped up into that and to be honest, we do want to be seen in a certain way so I'm not sure if it's ALL bad to an extent. However, the truth about branding is also (as Jesus told us) the truth about us... the reality of who we ARE deep inside our core always trumps the image that we manage.
At the end of the day, our true brand will be revealed. In the words of Henry Cloud, what shows up in the visibile world always originates in the invisible world of someone's soul (paraphrased from 9 Things You Must Do To Succeed in Love and Life). The goodness of the inner life of the person who's in love with Jesus and lives life with integrity will be revealed... aka - the true greatness that Andy and Clay have been talking to us about at Buckhead Church... which is cool. It makes me want to be great... meaning that I ensure, even if it hurts the short-term image today, that my inner world... the second moment of truth that the world sees... is great... that my life is characterized by authenticity and integrity... that's greater than any short-term gain that I can get through image management.
Hmmmmmm... speaking of that, I should get me some Frosted Flakes :)
chris <><
I was reading in my quiet time the other day (again, in Matthew tracking a few posts ago) about this dialogue that Jesus had with the Pharasses about "hand washing." Apparantely, there was a ceremonial "washing" that was part of the Jewish ritual at the time that required your hands to be washed in a certain way before you ate a meal, and Jesus and his posse wasn't doing this to their specifications (Matt 15:2).
Then Jesus calls them out - telling them about another, very dispicable, tradition that they had started up... in a way creating a hedge fund for themselves in the name of God that would give them a loophole in their obligation to take care of their parents if they were to become needy (Matt 15:3-7). Then he gives this short parable that confused the heck out of the disciples (and if you were in that system at the time, probably would have confused you too):
"Listen and understand. What goes into your mouth does not defile you, but what comes out of your mouth, that is what defiles you." - Matt 15:10b-11
Before saying that, He made this comment that offended his audience (the disciples took a straw poll and let him know the results):
"These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules." - vss. 8-9
After getting the results of the straw poll, the disciples were concerned but Jesus wasn't. Why were the disciples concerned? The Pharasees were looked upon as an (if not the) authority in religious matters in their culture. They were seen as the Godly people of the day - and the Pharasees also worked hard to maintain that image as well. They kept all of the rules, they said all of the right things, and they were the (self-appointed) standards-bearer for their culture.
However, we know from history and from the words of Jesus - this was ALL image management, and that the reality didn't match up with the image. And eventually, like all "posers" (as John Eldridge would call us in Wild at Heart), reality would be brought to light... in this case in a direct confrontation with Jesus.
How does this relate to Frosted Flakes? And to you and me?
A little bit of history about me... I went to Indiana University for my MBA in marketing and learned a LOT about brand management during my time there. I love this whole business of branding... even though I talk to many in the high-tech field that look upon this practice as "fluff" or "image management" - and with many products out there, I would agree. However, I disagree with the notion that brand = merely image.
The definition for a "brand" that I learned during business school that I thought was the most relevant is that a brand is a "promise of value." This means that if I see a box of Frosted Flakes, that the brand representing the product inside that box makes a promise that I will get a certain experience if I purchase that product and eat the cereal in there. In the long term, that can't be built in one-time "image management" pushes, but must be maintained over the long term to ensure that the promise of value delivers. One funny story about this from my internship... I worked in marketing in the summer between my first and second years for the leading "boil in the bag" rice brand that was managed in my hometown of Houston, TX. The brand manager told me once when we were discussing the focus groups she would conduct that many of the brand loyal focus group participants would warn her to "not mess with their rice!" - meaning that they loved the product that the brand (Success) represents and to change the experience (the quality of the rice) would not be good because they expected excellence when they purchased it. In other words, the brand was more than the colors and fonts on the box...
Another key learning I discovered in this world relates to the sales cycle of these products... the fact that in branded products that there are "two moments of truth"
The first "moment of truth" is when the consumer initially picks the product off the shelf, either because it's a cool "NEW" deal or they got an FSI (Free Standing Insert - the coupons in the Sunday paper) that gave them a good deal. This would be the "trial"
The second moment of truth is more important... it is the "repeat" MOT. Meaning, at some point the consumer that bought the product in the first place has to USE it - and that's when the image management goes away and the truth is revealed. If he or she likes the REAL product, they'll buy again. If not, eventually all of that branding and promotions and blah, blah, blah goes all away because image did not meet reality. For example, us guys know about the Axe Body Spray ads... that promise us that women will be attracted to us if we use this stuff (you'd have to be living under a cave or not care at all about sports to not notice these!)... and most of us that buy this stuff probably don't buy into the extremes of the commercials but we do want to smell good when we go out... Well, if I bought a can of Axe (I have... it smells good, I'll admit), and I spray it on myself and it smells like dog crap, I'm not really likely to buy another can of it (also, if a girl I'm talking to makes a negative comment about my "smell" with it on, I'm probably not so much going to buy since that's their "image."). Even in that wierd case, the second moment of truth still trumps all of the ads of women falling all over a guy that uses this (guys - this probably doesn't happen in real life!)
So, how does this relate to you and me... and to what Jesus is saying to the Pharasees about their own "branding" efforts?
We're all pretty good at image management, especially in America with the image we portray by the clothes we wear, books we read, causes we support, music we listen to, cars we drive, etc... It's really hard to not get wrapped up into that and to be honest, we do want to be seen in a certain way so I'm not sure if it's ALL bad to an extent. However, the truth about branding is also (as Jesus told us) the truth about us... the reality of who we ARE deep inside our core always trumps the image that we manage.
At the end of the day, our true brand will be revealed. In the words of Henry Cloud, what shows up in the visibile world always originates in the invisible world of someone's soul (paraphrased from 9 Things You Must Do To Succeed in Love and Life). The goodness of the inner life of the person who's in love with Jesus and lives life with integrity will be revealed... aka - the true greatness that Andy and Clay have been talking to us about at Buckhead Church... which is cool. It makes me want to be great... meaning that I ensure, even if it hurts the short-term image today, that my inner world... the second moment of truth that the world sees... is great... that my life is characterized by authenticity and integrity... that's greater than any short-term gain that I can get through image management.
Hmmmmmm... speaking of that, I should get me some Frosted Flakes :)
chris <><
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