Way back when, when I was in college, I read one of the seminal marketing books of our time, Al Ries and Jack Trout's classic called Positioning.
Along with my prof Don Tobin and author Roger von Oech, this book was a key influencing factor in my decision to dump Liberal Arts and dive into Marketing. And one of the things from Ries and Trout's treatise that has stuck with me was their explanation of "owning" a word in consumer minds. For example, in the car biz, Volvo owns the word "safety"; you think of the brand, you think security...and vice versa.
So here's where I'm going with this.
Over the past two weeks, EIGHT smart marketing types (most recently Rick Spence) emailed me the Paul Potts video; that "from nowhere" opera singer that first took Britain, and now the world, by storm. In their emails, they explained that, while immensely talented, the incredible Surprise of hearing that mellifluous voice emerge from such an obviously uncomfortable and unlikely source was what made it truly special.
And thus, made it perfect for me.
So that's when it hit me.
It took me nine months, but looky-looky...in the words of Ries and Trout, it appears that I have come to OWN "Surprise."
Fret not, I will continue to share it with y'all, but it is indeed satisfying to know that the concept is resonating.
Which, I must admit, is a most gratifying Surprise for yours truly.