Marketing, Marketing!

There is this scene in the classic Mel Brooks movie Spaceballs where Lone Starr and Yogurt talk about merchandising. (Pilfered from the relevant Wikiquote article)

Lone Starr: Yogurt. What is this place? What is it that you do here?

Yogurt: Merchandising.

Barf: Merchandising? What’s that?

Yogurt: Merchandising. Come! I’ll show you. [to the Dinks] Open up the store

[Yogurt walks over to a wall filled with Spaceballs merchandise.]

Yogurt: Merchandising! Merchandising! Where the real money from the movie is made! Spaceballs: the T-shirt, Spaceballs: the Coloring Book, Spaceballs: the Lunchbox, Spaceballs: the Breakfast Cereal. Spaceballs: the Flame Thrower… [fires a short blast from flame thrower]

Dinks: Oooooohhhh!

Yogurt: The kids love this one. And last, but not least, Spaceballs: the doll, me.

[Yogurt squeezes the doll, which says "May the Schwartz be with you!"]

Yogurt: Adorable.

What made me think of this was Andy Abramson’s post on why some innovations don’t make it. It boils down to one thing: marketing, or lack thereof.

Most technical people I know aren’t great marketers. I, myself, couldn’t market my way out of a paper bag. That being said, I also know that about myself and, if placed in a situation where I would need marketing, I’d pay someone else to do it–someone who knew how to do it. And marketing isn’t cheap.

I’m not sure I could add anything to what Andy said here. Go read Andy’s post. It’s well worth the time.