Michael Phelps and Marketing

As a marketing junkie I get jazzed when I see an opportunity for marketing. Michael Phelps, the superhuman swimmer, is/will be a marketing magnet for a very long time (at least for another four years). The bottom-line is that when you excel, when you're good, when you're the champ, and when people want to be/like you, then you are attractive to business.

We are a vain country. We like the finer things in life, V.I.P. tables, and access beyond the velvet ropes. We like to be seen and say that we have celebrity status, i.e., "Do you know who I saw gambling at the casino last week?"

Marketing will always be about making money, power, and vanity. Marketing is not a crime, and if played by the rules can transform your business to heights never imagined.

Marketing must never lie or bait the prospect into thinking he will get something that you never intended to give him. Do this once, and only once, and you'll suffer the consequences for a very long time. Can you say Michael Jackson, Brittney Spears or Barry Bonds?

Marketing is about benefits; the "what's in it for me?" mentality. Find a way to make "me" better, faster, stronger, and your company will ride the wave of profitability until the 2012 London Olympics and beyond.