WonkaVision  [ Page 1 | 2 | 3 ]
What Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory teaches us is that we cannot become self-satisfied and self-absorbed. We always have to develop marketing that has impact and have look for ways to create buzz. There is any number of opportunities for us to create our own "Golden Tickets."

There are always going to be barriers. Some of these barriers come within our own organizations. While many management consultants preach about getting "buy-in" from stakeholders for our initiatives, it isn't always possible to get everyone onboard. With research and homework, we can get our ideas to market.

We have to let go of fear and cynicism. Regardless of what we do as marketers and promoters of our teams and venues, there are always going to be people who don't like what we are doing. However, if we do nothing, we are burning time and money -- everyone's (owner's, co-worker's, team's, customer's) time and money. Imagination and creativity will lead us to marketing solutions that will turn-on more customers that they turn-off.

This process is never easy. The execution is never easy and the creative process is never easy. But, if we are intimidated by the naysayers or the scope of the effort, we end up losing and cheating ourselves and our customers.

It is up to us to plant and harvest the snozeberries, rescue the oompa-loompas, develop the Scrumpdelicious and the Everlasting Gobstopper. Let's mix our chocolate by waterfall. We owe our partners, clients and customers the rush of pure imagination. Create the Golden Ticket and show passion for the product it promotes. Every one of us can put our adult sensitivities in park and operate with a strong sense of WonkaVision.

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Jim Bloom is the Director, Consumer Marketing for the Toronto Blue Jays.