Marketing Dojo #87: ⚠️ Marketing's Solution Hoarding. 🚫
The XY problem in marketing, Oprah gift to Meta, The long and the short AND dragonflies.
Get what you want with what you have.
Last week hit different - and no, not because of the U.S. election drama. My brain was in overdrive, gaming out the ripple effects of workplace changes. You know that foggy feeling when you're processing too much at once?
Many long walks later, it struck me. Most decisions that shape our lives and plans aren't driven by malice but mere indifference.
So, I'm flipping the script. Instead of dwelling on uncertainty or fairness, I'm laser-focused on a simple mantra: "Getting what I want with what I have."
(Credit where it's due - this perspective shift came from a fascinating science podcast. Curious? Check out the P.S. section.)
Welcome to Marketing Dojo #87 - running a bit shorter this week but packed with value.
🎯 Marketing’s XY problem
🎁 Oprah’s Xmas gift to Zuckerberg
⏳ The long and the short.
And some more.
A quick request before we dive in - If you haven't already, consider subscribing to the Marketing Dojo. Every week, I share the best marketing news with you in an easy-to-read format. Sign up and join the gang!
The XY Problem: Why Marketing Is Losing Its Way.
I have a hypothesis that I hope to develop at some stage: The XY problem is the reason why marketing is losing its relevance.
We're all guilty of it. That time, we bought a fancy project management tool when a simple spreadsheet would do. Or spent weeks building an AI chatbot that customers never used. This is the XY problem in action - and it's eating our marketing budgets for breakfast.
What is the XY Problem?
Originally a concept in programming and customer service, the XY problem happens when someone asks for help with a specific solution (X) they've chosen rather than articulating the actual problem (Y) they're trying to solve.
This Sketchplanation does a fantastic job of articulating it.
Marketing today feels like drinking from a firehose of trends: influencer campaigns, live commerce, shoppable ads, Gen-AI everything. With everyone shouting "game-changer!" every other week, FOMO kicks in hard.
We rush to implement the shiny new thing, only to realize later it wasn't what our business needed.
The XY Problem In Action:
Here's one I found on Reddit: a team dead set on "implementing QR codes to boost engagement." Classic XY problem.
And look at ToysRUs's recent Sora-generated ad - an eerie piece of AI wizardry that cost a fortune. But did they first ask whether their customers were struggling to connect with their brand storytelling? Or did they assume "AI = better"?
The sequence of thoughts matter.
When we lead with "How can we use [trending technology]?" instead of "What customer problem are we solving?" we're already setting ourselves up for expensive mistakes.
The fix? Simple but not easy:We need to force ourselves to articulate the core business problem before jumping to solutions. Our budgets & business stakeholders (maybe even our customers) will thank us for it.
I would love to hear your thoughts on my early hypothesis.
All I Want For Christmas 🎄 …..
With the holiday season approaching, Meta just landed the ultimate gift: Oprah’s stamp of approval. Her iconic Favorite Things list now features Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses.
Meta has been working to break into the virtual reality space for a while—with mixed success. But this Ray-Ban collaboration might just be their first big hardware hit.
The glasses became the top-selling item in 60% of Ray-Ban stores across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Annual sales for these Meta Ray-Ban glasses are expected to reach 2 million units in 2024, potentially exceeding 6 million if AI functionalities expand globally, according to Sinolink Securities. This marks a dramatic jump from the first-generation model, which sold around 300,000 units.
Tech inflection points have a funny way of sneaking in through the back door while we’re all focused on the front.
In the 1980s, PC makers predicted that every home would have a personal computer, primarily for productivity—think word processing and spreadsheets. But it wasn’t until entertainment entered the picture that PCs truly took off.
Similarly, brands have been wary of investing in immersive tech without a clear business case. Yet, these glasses might just be the Trojan horse they’ve been waiting for. Consumers are coming—maybe it’s time we got ready for them.
Summary: The long and the short.
Les Binet is a marketing legend.
Les Binet and Peter Field's book, The Long and the Short of It, has significantly influenced marketing strategies since its publication a decade ago.
If you are short on time (who isn't), here's a quick 90+second clip that can help you recap Les Binet's marketing principle of balancing the long with the short.
Shorts:
Canada shuts down TikTok’s office, app access to continue. (A ban but not a ban!).
Search engine Perplexity is testing its shopping experience. (Everyone wants you to shop).
Australian Government plans to ban social media for those under 16. (Deaddicting a generation).
That’s a wrap on this week. Thank you for your time and attention. If you liked this week’s newsletter or found something interesting, please give me a like ❤️ or drop a comment🗨️. Your support helps drive the newsletter's discoverability.
Regards,
Garima Mamgain
P.S:
To get my mind of the work stuff, I decided to do what I love the most - immerse myself in the world of science.
This podcast on the Ted Radio Hour picks up on the topic of natural intelligence. The podcast shared a fact that blew me away - Dragonflies exhibit remarkable hunting strategies, particularly their ability to anticipate the movement of their prey rather than merely reacting to it.
In a brain smaller than a grain of rice, a dragonfly calculates its prey's future position based on speed and direction. It's not jumping to where its lunch is - it's intercepting where lunch will be. They achieve this feat with 96-98% accuracy.
This behaviour indicates the capability of dragonflies for learned behaviours, fine-tuned through experience. Its natural intelligence evolved to squeeze maximum performance from minimal hardware. (Makes one wonder about all the AI compute).
I was walking through a long patch of green while listening to the podcast, and coincidentally, I met this gorgeous Camacinia dragonfly native to Singapore. Gorgeous, isn't it?
If you're curious about how intelligence emerges in nature's laboratory, give the podcast a listen. - you wouldn't look at these tiny assassins the same way anymore.
The XY Problem scenario - possibly may be happening with larger brands and their creative agencies. For smaller / local brands - I am not sure if their owners are looking at consumer problems - and exploring ways to address them. Often it's the other way round - find the new shiny business idea and then try to retro fit it to consumer problems during execution.
The XY Problem - what a timely find for me! Was struggling to pushback on some ideas in my project, this gives me the perfect analogy.