Month: August 2013

The Lesbiman: A New Masculine Ideal?

~ thenarcissisticanthropologist ~ 4 Comments

In the last couple of years I have spent a good amount of time studying the context  of the American Male (often in comparison with other geographies / cultures).  The concept of masculinity as a part of how men make their consumer behavior choices is pretty interesting.  I have been affirmed in some areas and … Continue reading The Lesbiman: A New Masculine Ideal?

What gets in the way of you loving the work you do?

~ thenarcissisticanthropologist ~ Leave a comment

Really enjoyed this perspective that merges my philosophy of context being everything (and in this case, the difference having a context of “loving it” makes) as well as the application to brand strategy – which is my profession and one of my deep passions. 🙂

Beloved Brands

love workWhen I was a Brand Manager and my son was in kindergarten at the time, I once said that our lives were very similar.  We make stuff that we want to put on our fridge.  It stuck with me because I started to look at work and wonder if it was “fridge worthy”? Would I be proud enough of this to put it up on the fridge at home. In other words, did I love it?

I’ve always stressed to my team “you have to love what you do, that has to be the benchmark on whether we approve things–do you love it?” And one day, one of fridge artmy Group Marketing Directors said to me “Loving it seems a bit unrealistic, why do we have to love it?  Why not just like it”.  Great question. I suppose not all marketers think this way, and I’m fine with that.  If you…

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Culture, Pushing Boundaries and Change

~ thenarcissisticanthropologist ~ 5 Comments

Recently in my professional career I have been yet again posed the question of "why study cultural context" - not so much from a "prove your value" perspective but from a "help us sell this stuff" perspective. I got to thinking about the connection between "values" (broad term for not-so-easy-to-measure sociocultural "stuff") and value (the … Continue reading Culture, Pushing Boundaries and Change

Joy And Mike’s Place: An Ethnographic Southern Comfort Snapshot

~ thenarcissisticanthropologist ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday I spent an afternoon with Joy and Mike and their daughter (my wife) and son and his wife. We were having a get-together to share some Korean delicacies sent as a gift from the Son's in-laws and to celebrate the Birthday of Joy's mother who passed a few years ago. My wife often fondly … Continue reading Joy And Mike’s Place: An Ethnographic Southern Comfort Snapshot