June 7th, 2018
Selling Rat Poison To A Rat
I don't know where I first heard the rat poison adage - and I don't particularly care for it - but it does make a good point. Namely, that it is possible to make even the most unappealing of things appealing if you "market" or pitch it in the right way.
I recently came across a historical example of this.
Back in the 1700s, scurvy was a common and deadly fate for many sailors due to the lack of vitamin C in their diets (no access to fresh produce and no way to keep produce from spoiling on long ship voyages). Because of this, captain James Cook had the innovative idea to take fermented German cabbage (i.e. sauerkraut) with him on one of his voyages in order to ward off scurvy.
I personally love sauerkraut, but apparently Captain Cook knew that his men would find the cabbage to be unappetizing and unpalatable. Thus, he came up with the equally innovative plan to let the sailors know that only the captain and the officers would have the privilege of eating sauerkraut for the first 2 weeks of the journey.
Talk about milking the forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest idea!
Indeed, in modern day marketing jargon, one might say that Captain Cook engaged in demand creation.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this post: it is possible to make even the most unappealing of things appealing if you "market" or pitch it in the right way. You can make something unappealing or challenging more desirable to someone else, but don't forget that you can use this idea in your self-talk with yourself, too.
Selling Rat Poison To A Rat
I don't know where I first heard the rat poison adage - and I don't particularly care for it - but it does make a good point. Namely, that it is possible to make even the most unappealing of things appealing if you "market" or pitch it in the right way.
I recently came across a historical example of this.
Back in the 1700s, scurvy was a common and deadly fate for many sailors due to the lack of vitamin C in their diets (no access to fresh produce and no way to keep produce from spoiling on long ship voyages). Because of this, captain James Cook had the innovative idea to take fermented German cabbage (i.e. sauerkraut) with him on one of his voyages in order to ward off scurvy.
I personally love sauerkraut, but apparently Captain Cook knew that his men would find the cabbage to be unappetizing and unpalatable. Thus, he came up with the equally innovative plan to let the sailors know that only the captain and the officers would have the privilege of eating sauerkraut for the first 2 weeks of the journey.
Talk about milking the forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest idea!
Indeed, in modern day marketing jargon, one might say that Captain Cook engaged in demand creation.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this post: it is possible to make even the most unappealing of things appealing if you "market" or pitch it in the right way. You can make something unappealing or challenging more desirable to someone else, but don't forget that you can use this idea in your self-talk with yourself, too.
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