The slut & the idol or push & pull marketing

There is a very thin line between being adored and being sold. We all want to be adored. And we don’t want to be sold like slaves or things. We want to earn but through being worshiped and not because of some lower need.

I will use a primitive example. Imagine a small town. We all have seen such micro societies. There are old people and young. We will talk about the young – free and unmarried. Imagine two girls. They both are nice-looking and attractive. All girls want to be wanted and adored, so do our two young ladies. After some time one turns out to be a slut and the other one is adored and called idol and diva.

They started in the same society and their main wish was to be popular. What did they do differently to get to so different end-results? Deep inside, they had the same wish – to be wanted, to be attractive and by the end well-situated. This is simplified example, but it is about pure sexual attractiveness. The result is the same – situated by using sexual appeal.

Just one small detail – one sells her body directly and is considered dirty and vulgar, the other one can choose the best man in the town and still be worshiped by anyone. What they were doing differently? Talking in business terms, the slut was using “push” strategy and the idol girl was using “pull” strategy.

The “push” strategy sounds like “here I am, come and take me”. People listen, come, “take” and the word spreads in the town. Business goes on.

The “pull” strategy is not so straight-forward. It takes longer time and smarter “marketing”. The pull strategy makes people want something without “selling” to them. It is about values, about ideas, about beliefs. It is flirting and long-term coquetting. It is about understanding what you want and not compromising. It is about self-esteem and being listened to. It is about being loved and honored.

In the arts we have to take the hard way and use pull strategy. Otherwise we can’t build our name to be considered an idol. It doesn’t mean we have to hide and wait for the prince with his white horse. Such things happen just in fairy-tales. We have to build our way to the throne ourselves. But we have to do it without rush and delivering consistent messages. We have to be visible and to be heard. We have to talk. And talk about our values, ideas, philosophy, understanding of the world. Pure selling will sound like “here I am, come and take me/buy my art”. This is a short term solution. I don’t say we can’t use it. We can, but in short-term.

This is my understanding of marketing in the arts. You can disagree.