Tag Archives: pain

Finding Balance – Pleasure & Pain

11th Screen | The Interactive Out-of-Home Blog

As marketers and communicators, I think balance is key to so many things we do. I’m going to explore some of those things here. My first post was around the balance between sales & relationships (marketing & communication).

One of the most common challenges I’m faced with is around the idea of relieving a pain vs. providing a pleasure. In the client’s eye, one or the other is usually the key thing that keeps them up at night.

How am I going to get this story out fast enough? How am I going to engage if someone responds a certain way on our wall? How can I keep up with the evolving times if I can’t hire or reallocate staff? These are pain-related and typically, if you can answer the how, then demonstrate the ability to execute against it, you’ll get (or keep) the job.

On the other hand…

What do I need to do with this major sponsorship? What will position us in an innovative light? What can we do to make a big splash launching a product? These are pleasure-related and typically, the biggest, best, or first idea of its kind will get you the job.

The two have very different objectives, budgets, and ways of thinking against them. But they’re linked, nonetheless.

One challenge is that relieving the pain has a tendency to be less glamourous than providing the pleasure. Solving an organizational challenge might go unseen whereas a new, multi-channel campaign has the ability to garner industry-wide recognition. Both can be equally game-changing, though.

That organizational change could put them in a position to create quicker, better, and more efficiently. That, in turn, could enable more thinking about pleasure in the future vs. pain. This balance and challenge will never go away. Once you solve or create one thing, another one pops up.

Regardless, clients appreciate and like creative thinking, despite what they’re feeling at that moment in time. So, even when relieving pleasure, don’t let creative thinking, expression, and capability get left behind. And when providing a pleasure, don’t ignore the strain it could have on the organization.

Know that the two are linked and do whatever you can to demonstrate the ability and knowledge that you can do both. If, in fact, you can. And if not, learn.

Because, truthfully, that’s what’s really going to get and keep you the job.