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🚙 "We need to be tough" - Michael Schmidt about sustainability strategies (and the automotive industry)
112 Plays1 year ago
Michael Schmidt from Virtual Identity is Creative Director and Mobility Industry Lead. After working in all agency positions - from design to creative to account management to strategy - he specialises in international digital communication strategies that involve digital-driven organisational change. Leading teams of up to 25 people, he is an expert when it comes to digital consulting capabilities from strategy, analytics, performance marketing, audience insights, as well as creative, art, copy, co-creation and change management.
Besides his marketing know how, he ponders with thoughts on autonomous mobility – the next digital driver of economic and societal change after the smartphone – and how to get active against the climate crisis.
So, are you curious to make your companies marketing ready for the future? Then I have the some simple and exciting options for you:
First, this is exactly what I do for my clients - I help them build their future strategies with workshops and sparring sessions.
I also have a very simple entry offer for founders and aspiring marketing experts: The Simple & Sustainable Marketing Academy, with a ridiculously cheap entry ticket price, because I love sharing what I have learned.
And if you enjoy reading: Check out my newsletter where I write about marketing, strategies and sustainability available every two weeks in the MarketingFutures newsletter.
About Florian Schleicher: I'm a marketing strategist - over the last 15 years I've led and helped shape marketing at McDonald's, Greenpeace and Too Good To Go. Now I help forward-thinking companies take their marketing to the next level.
With FutureS, the Impact Marketing Studio, I help brands achieve their goals and sustainable growth. All without the usual hustle.
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Transcript
Introduction and Purpose
00:00:00
Speaker
consulting is really about challenging the client and in a way I believe this is the case when we talk about the climate crisis is really to you know if you get a brief or you're talking to your client typically would go yeah so we have this new I don't know sustainability report can you just make a campaign for it and you would say okay sure what's the biggest numbers in there and we're gonna do some nice pie charts but you can also say
00:00:27
Speaker
First of all, read it, right? Compare it to other ones and then say, is this enough? Is this something that is newsworthy at all? Is it something that can change, you know, not just people's impressions of your company, but people's behavior?
Podcast and Guest Introduction
00:00:44
Speaker
Hello, and welcome to Future Strategies. I'm your host, Florian Scheicher. You want your marketing to achieve goals and sustainable growth? You have come to the right place. In this podcast, I talk with marketing experts and share my own know-how on how to bring your marketing to the next level, with a lot of inspiration and learnings, all without the usual hustle. So let's jump right into it.
00:01:13
Speaker
Today, I am very happy to chat with Michael Schmidt from Virtual Identity, where he is creative director and mobility industry lead. After working in all agency positions from design to creative to account management to strategy, he now specializes in international digital communication strategies that involve digital driven organizational change.
Role and Responsibilities at Virtual Identity
00:01:37
Speaker
Leading teams of up to 25 people, he's an expert when it comes to digital consulting capabilities from strategy, analytics, performance marketing, audience insights, as well as creative, art, copy, co-creation and change management. Besides his marketing know-how, he ponders with thoughts on autonomous mobility, the next digital driver of economic and societal change after the smartphone,
00:02:04
Speaker
and how to get active against the climate crisis. Welcome to the show, Michael. Thank you, Frans. Thanks for having me. So you and I have worked together for four years at the agency virtual identity. And I was always very happy to learn from you because you are both a creative and a strategic mind.
00:02:27
Speaker
And I can still remember having a lot of fun discussions about several projects. So before we dive into some of the deeper questions, let's start with the basics. What is your current job as creative director and mobility industry lead? And what do you actually do in that?
00:02:47
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, my job as a creative director is pretty straightforward, I would say. I'm trying to find the project with the most potential for creative highlights and work with a team to get the most out of the brief, really. Most of the time, this involves some combination of kind of, we have three criteria that we're looking at. One of them is to be able to kind of trigger the zeitgeist in some way with the brief.
00:03:16
Speaker
The second is obviously to do something that not anybody has done before. So to find kind of a sweet spot in the industry or in the country, in the market that you're in. And the third thing is we're trying to find a point of view that is new and that pushes forward at least what we do.
00:03:44
Speaker
If we're making a good job, we're pushing forward the industry, but we're trying to reinvent ourselves as much as we can. And certainly this year, it's very important for us to do that.
Exploring Mobility and Change
00:03:57
Speaker
So that's my job as a creative director.
00:03:59
Speaker
what over the past decade really was working with a lot of mobility clients. And we identified that there's a number of key industries for our business and our portfolio that we need to move more into and deep into. And one of that was mobility. And I took over responsibility over the next three years to lead that effort and try to get a better stance in the industry
00:04:29
Speaker
as hopefully an expert and I'm not doing this alone obviously with a team so you will see hopefully some of those fruits coming to life the next few months. I can't wait for that. So I saw that you also were consulting director for a couple of years at the agency. Now would you consider yourself more of a strategist or of a creative person?
00:04:52
Speaker
I think of a blend, really. I mean, first of all, thanks for the overview of my career so far. I spent most of my time at one agency and doing all those different things at one place compared to you or many others in the industry who switch from interesting place to another. And I try to keep myself interested in the things that I can do.
00:05:20
Speaker
at my agency and that's I say what I'm taking kind of more as a laddering up approach to say okay I did this and I did that in the past and I can put that into the projects that I'm doing now. I saw it's like it's been like 14 years.
00:05:37
Speaker
Yeah, it's I think the beginning of November, it's going to be 15 years. So what do you like so much about this agency in particular that you've built your career there? I mean, you should know, you've worked with us for some time. No, I mean, the one thing is for the creative part, it's really it's kind of full circle in a way because I started in the creative department and I entered the industry, I was a designer. So now I'm making the creative field and I enjoy that a lot.
00:06:07
Speaker
But what keeps me there is really the company culture.
Virtual Identity's Unique Culture
00:06:12
Speaker
And I think you've got a glimpse of that or even more. And the strong focus that we have, personal and professional development, the way you receive feedback on a very personal level that helps you evolve as
00:06:32
Speaker
As a person and as a leader, in the best case, that is something that is not just for me, but that's the thing that keeps people with us. When you ask them, why are you still here? They would tell you this is kind of the bond that they have to the place. Yeah. And I think I can definitely sign that there is a lot of investment into people and their development at the agency. And I've learned a lot, like really a lot from
00:07:02
Speaker
how people work together, how to give feedback. And in a positive way, it has ruined me from working at other agencies. Because whenever I was in contact with other agency, whether I was at McDonald's, at Greenpeace, later on too good to go, I enjoyed working with those companies, with this advertising agency. But I never reached a point where I thought, I would like to work for them, not with them.
00:07:28
Speaker
And I think, so there is something special that you have created there at Virtual Identity too. Yeah, thanks for saying that. I mean, you know, obviously I don't have the experience of working at one agency before I came to Virtual Identity. So I don't have direct comparison to say, but it's really better than anywhere else. So I cannot really say for myself, but I get the same feel. And, you know, as long as I can evolve myself,
00:07:56
Speaker
I have the same feeling, just as you described. I like working with a lot of great partners that we have, but most of the time I'm like, yeah, no, I like it more where I
Sustainability and Global Challenges
00:08:06
Speaker
am. And, you know, obviously over the years I was able to help shape plays and with all the ups and downs, obviously, that are coming over the years. Yeah, but it's still, I don't have enough still, so I can go on.
00:08:23
Speaker
Let's now talk a little bit deeper about a topic both you and I care deeply about, which is sustainability and the future of our planet. So I'm really curious on what made you personally realize that you want to become active and dedicate your work also to this topic. I mean, first of all, if I may,
00:08:46
Speaker
The planet will survive without us. So I think that's a helpful distinction to make because it also gives us more of an impression of the impact that we're having, both in a positive and a negative way.
00:09:01
Speaker
So maybe we should call it not like climate crisis, but humanitarian crisis? No, I think it climate crisis is pretty correct, but it's not that we have to save the planet. I think we have to save ourselves really, or the future generations. I mean, it's the ultimate, I think it's the ultimate challenge of humanity and the problem really is it's self-inflicted, right? So we don't have anyone else to blame.
00:09:23
Speaker
And I read, I think there's a great article inside the E. And they said it's kind of the, it's one of the major things that that is hard for humanity to accept. You know, just like the Earth is not the middle of the universe, or the center of the new universe. And, and a few, few other things that we consider kind of changing the trajectory of our society. But this one is really hard, because
00:09:50
Speaker
because we know it's only ourselves we can blame and it was easier to accept eventually that the sun is the center of the solar system because I mean okay that's the way it is we can't really you know I don't know who you can blame for that but you were asking what kind of the trigger for me was exactly I mean I don't think that it's really a specific point in time
00:10:17
Speaker
where I changed my mind or so, but I think I was raised with a conscious of, it wasn't called sustainability back then, but it was called being conscious about your waste and energy use and water use, et cetera.
00:10:34
Speaker
And I think the major thing that happened for all of us was the pandemic and it showed what happens when there's a real global agreement that there's a big, big threat for all of us and all the things that were possible.
Agencies' Role in Sustainability
00:10:51
Speaker
Obviously, you can debate about what was positive and negative about it, but it was a big global effort to stop this.
00:11:02
Speaker
And the same is not happening in the climate crisis. And I think Greta Thunberg keeps repeating this line, saying, if we would just treat this as a crisis, then it would be fixable. I think the longer we go on, the further away this positive outcome will be.
00:11:28
Speaker
And so because everyone can just do what they are good at or what capabilities they have to address this crisis, we can use marketing advertising skills, creative skills to solve that.
00:11:46
Speaker
What do you think is the role of an agency like yours to combat this crisis? You asked me before about my previous role as consulting director and I had this mantra back then for the team which says consulting is really about challenging the client.
00:12:08
Speaker
And in a way, I believe this is the case when we talk about, you know, societal issues. The biggest one, obviously, the climate crisis is really to, you know, if you get a brief, or you're talking to your client, typically would go, yeah, so we have this new, I don't know, sustainability report, can you just make a campaign for it? And you would say, okay, sure, I what's the what's the biggest numbers in there, and we're gonna do some nice pie charts. But you can also say,
00:12:38
Speaker
First of all, read it, but compare it to other ones and then say, is this enough? Is this something that, you know, is newsworthy at all? Is it something that can change, you know, not just people's impressions of your company, but people's behavior? And this is something I would say is the most important thing, what the role of an agency can be is to challenge
00:13:08
Speaker
your clients, challenge the briefs you get, challenge the industry, challenge your colleagues within the agency. And that's, I think, where we need a lot of nimble young minds to do that and to keep the effort up. Yeah, absolutely.
Automotive Industry and Innovation
00:13:27
Speaker
And I think this changing behaviors is one big part.
00:13:32
Speaker
But thinking about that and coming back to your role also, let's talk about the elephant in the room that as mobility industry lead, you work with a lot of automotive companies also that not all wear or are 100% sustainable.
00:13:50
Speaker
So I'm very interested in what is your observation of this industry when it comes to real and sustainable change? Are they interested in that or do they just see quick business wins? To be honest, no, they're not interested in that. Most of the people I have met in the last decade,
00:14:09
Speaker
trying to preserve the business as it has been in the last 50 years. It's a great business. We sell millions and billions of cars and the demand was insane. Infrastructure was built around the car. Basically, you get the feel that the world is made for the car and it is.
00:14:31
Speaker
And that's why I think there has been for a long time, there's been little incentive to change, or at least let me put this more specific for major change. We haven't seen innovation, we have seen small scale improvements, etc. But
00:14:48
Speaker
most of the things that are happening now are because there is real market pressure and there's real pressure from regulation. So it's not, it's not, you cannot go on and just make combustion engine cars for the foreseeable future. So you will see that there's a number of markets would not sell your product and you have competitors taking over your customers. So that's, I think,
00:15:16
Speaker
what is happening now and probably what should have happened much earlier. But yet for the industry to move out of this state where you say, you know, I'm doing this for my kind of overall bottom line and say, of course, I have a fleet of, I don't know, hundreds of thousands of cars that are electric, just so I can go on selling the old school stuff.
00:15:43
Speaker
Yeah, and this is something that I mean, you know, I thought about that a lot saying, you know, but you want to change something in the field or help change in the climate crisis. And then you work for the automotive industry. And how does it compute? And I said, you know, I would rather be
00:16:03
Speaker
be working with a client to understand the internal pressure, what's happening in the background, why are people making decisions like they are, then just stand on the sidelines and say, but you're the bad guys and I really don't want to talk to you. So I posted this one article on LinkedIn that said, one day I thought about this,
00:16:30
Speaker
We need to make such big changes or basically ubiquitous changes that we need to have changed anywhere.
Sustainability Leadership
00:16:40
Speaker
So it doesn't really matter where you work. Everywhere there needs to be something done differently. And so that's what I believe. And that's what keeps me going. And probably I will have other clients as well in the future.
00:16:58
Speaker
who still have that transition before then. Yeah. I think it's a very honest look at how it is because currently as I see it, a lot of companies like everybody's talking about sustainability. Yeah. And I think in management layers, everybody knows about the challenges we face and the things that need to change. But I just had some workshops also with clients.
00:17:28
Speaker
revamping their sustainability strategy. And there are some hard decisions to make in there. I talked to Georg Vänger Rami from Urkustomage in this podcast, and he told me, you also have to accept that it's harder to make profit when you are 100% sustainable.
00:17:49
Speaker
Yes. You can still make it. And I think what's very interesting is you also mentioned regulations that are coming. And I think now is still time when companies can be active players in the market and say, hey, that's what we're going to do in order to become more sustainable. Because in two years, regulators are going to tell them what they have to do.
00:18:14
Speaker
And then everybody will do it. So now is still a time where they can become thought leaders or like front runners on this topic. And I was wondering on coming maybe back to also the clients you work for, what do you think is important to create an authentic and also ambitious sustainability, outreach, communication, marketing,
00:18:41
Speaker
for those companies.
Aligning Marketing with Sustainability
00:18:43
Speaker
I think that's the real question. I'm glad you're asking that because in the last couple of days, obviously I thought about our conversation today and I said, okay, what can I bring to the table? A lot has been said about sustainability and efforts in that direction, but really what I think is your question goes in that
00:19:08
Speaker
is there's, we need to consider both, I think in, in, in communication, we need to consider what's the message, but also what's the medium. And I mean, for you and I probably, I don't know, you have to tell me, but for the last couple of years, you know, when I worked with.
00:19:27
Speaker
within campaigns, the media was really, yeah, of course it's digital, right? So I think about anything else. And then, but I think if the message is we're going to be more sustainable, the least we need to do is to have to work in media that are just as sustainable as the message were.
00:19:48
Speaker
we're bringing across. And this is not, I think what needs to be done on client side or in the collaboration of agency and client is really to be just very, very consequent about this. And not say, yeah, of course, I'm doing sustainability campaign and then I'm booking all city lights in the, you know, in town.
00:20:11
Speaker
and run it 24 seven. So just everybody gets the message, but really it's about we have something that we need to talk about a
00:20:20
Speaker
But the way we talk about it and the places we choose to do that, I think it's just as important for the conversation. And just to make sure the field that I'm working in is marketing communications. I'm not working in pricing. I'm not working product development, et cetera. There's a lot to be found there that can bring real effects. Obviously, the product itself,
00:20:48
Speaker
how it's manufactured, how it's sourced, how it's delivered, et cetera, et cetera. And then the pricing, I think we saw Penny in Germany for a week to change the pricing to true cost. If you saw that, it was in July. No, I haven't. Yeah, I should check it out. You could say it was a marketing gag, but if I'm doing a marketing gag, I should be doing this. Are people aware of the true cost of a product?
00:21:15
Speaker
But if you're looking just at kind of the placement and promotion, when you just stick to the kind of playbook marketing piece, I think that's where we need to look at. And my work is always going into
00:21:30
Speaker
If we're talking about a topic, can we make the medium just as strong? You have a kind of direct conversational topic, you pick TikTok, for example. But the one thing that we did was for BMW and the case, I mean, we've been running that case up and down the street for the last couple of months.
00:21:49
Speaker
was just saying, we need to make people aware that electrification is a thing, and how can we do that? We just paint it all over the walls in the city. Eventually we took one wall for a mural, but you could do that on multiple places. And my feel is we need to think more spatial, to use the latest trend word, in the way we look at
00:22:17
Speaker
media mix and choice of medium because this is, I think what happens now, I don't know if you heard that, but there's a radio campaign now going and this has been going on for a long time.
00:22:30
Speaker
the magic of radio in German. Radio is the most sustainable and emission free medium, right? So everybody's trying to pick up the strength, but I say if we really think about it, the least we need to do is make sure we have green electricity to run all our devices and, or have no electricity at all and just, you know,
00:22:53
Speaker
make a green space that communicates your message. For example, we have all kinds of working QR codes that can be made up of anything, right? So I think we need to be more specific, more consequent. What are the things that we need to do anyway in terms of having more green cities and how can we use that
00:23:15
Speaker
as a medium for our message. And I think that's, I would say that's the challenge that we should face when we plan marketing communications. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And I think this aspect also of advertisers, so the companies who own the city lights, the billboards, the radio stations, et cetera.
00:23:39
Speaker
I think a big problem there is, and overall in our society, there is no definitive description of what sustainability means. Because a lot of people also say, okay, a big oil company is also sustainable because they have been existing for the last 100 plus years. So they have created a sustainable business, but a lot of
00:24:04
Speaker
The conversation right now is about the green aspect of sustainability. There are many others. So it's easy to say, okay, radio is the most sustainable, but what's the definition behind
Challenges in Green Marketing
00:24:14
Speaker
that? How do those people run their radio stations? I mean, we have the United Nations.
00:24:22
Speaker
sustainable development goals. That's exactly the definition, right? But most of a kind of a mainstream is really, you know, sustainably something with green and it's, you know, I don't know, less polluting than anything than something else.
00:24:35
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. And you wrote it in a blog post a couple of months ago, which was titled, What Can You Believe in Green Marketing? And you were talking about that there is a lot of claims currently about emission reduced future from everybody. I saw a cheese this summer advertising in Austria and Vienna that it's very climate friendly, which I don't know if it really is, but it sounded a little bit like greenwashing.
00:25:05
Speaker
And I think the problem also is you wrote it, and I would like to quote you on this, doing less doesn't mix well with the advertising industry. Marketing people are used to maxing out opportunities and going after the extra mile in more reach, more sales, more rewards. To renounce, wave, or sacrifice an advertising opportunity isn't really part of this industry's vocabulary. So I think there is a lot of
00:25:31
Speaker
of good stuff in there of the analysis, like why marketing also has such a tough job in changing messaging because we were used to getting people to buy something that is per se not sustainable. Yeah. It's the default way of thinking. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. And that's, yeah, a few, a few, I think, important things in there too.
00:25:56
Speaker
to unpack because really if you're saying from an economic or let's say business standpoint, sustainability or yeah, let's stick with that. It's really about de-growth. It's really about reversing the kind of default thinking that we have implemented in us. I mean, even more in us because we're working in advertising and marketing. I think it's probably something else for everyone else.
00:26:23
Speaker
But there was one book I was reading, and it's called All You Need Is Less. And it's two old white men talking, so it's taken with a grain of salt. But the one is a philosopher, and the other one is a Buddhist. And then I said, OK, because I was thinking, in a lot of years, if I look back,
00:26:48
Speaker
We thought, what's the best you can achieve in marketing? You need to be something like Apple. It's like a religion, right? And people camp out and stand in line for hours, et cetera. And then I said, is there a religion that can help us de-growth or pursue de-growth? And then you understand it.
00:27:09
Speaker
Many religions are really about, you know, kind of accepting that you need less. I think there's something very good in there. It's the less, but I'm not convinced that degrowth is the system we should go for because degrowth would mean less than our economic growth, which
00:27:36
Speaker
we could do and let's say Austria does it, let's say the EU does it, China will not agree to that.
Economic Transitions and Degrowth
00:27:43
Speaker
And all current third world democracies also will not agree to that because they say, hey, now finally we have figured out how to do growth and you want to stop us. So I think that that's very hard to do. I think probably you agree on that is less but better stuff.
00:28:03
Speaker
So less can then be more expensive stuff. Like I don't buy five sweaters at H&M. Maybe I buy one sweater a year at a higher price, which then is more durable and gives me more joy and is fair produced and with good materials. Let me just pick up what you said.
00:28:28
Speaker
What is important there is any of those buzzwords, they're not the solution. It's very easy. There's no simple solution for that. I agree that there will not be a global handshake that says, okay, guys,
00:28:46
Speaker
Starting October 1st, we're going to degrow and everybody's fine. Probably not going to happen. I learned that in the end, you will ask me about some book recommendations. I have one there.
00:29:00
Speaker
there needs to be a way of sorting out the needs that are there and kind of successfully transitioning from the economic system that we have now to a different one, whatever that will be. And what I'm convinced of is there need to be leaders that are going ahead into the unknown. And we have seen it in Scandinavia and Finland,
00:29:30
Speaker
have the most ambitious electrification program of all verticals, really, from public transport to ferry systems that have not just the same charger as the electric car, but also machines in construction. The construction side doesn't make any noise because they're all electric. And I think that is something where
00:29:56
Speaker
where some pioneers will hopefully be able to prove that it is, A, feasible, B, that there is an industry and the business there, because if Finland needs, I don't know, 2000 construction machinery, somebody else will buy them as well. And hopefully there's a factory that can make a lot of them. But we need to see that
00:30:23
Speaker
see the proof and then, as you said before, find out where is the profit, is there a profit in there? The way everybody thinks now, without a profit, you would not go on, lift a finger. Exactly. Yeah, it's tough. Yeah, I think we can summarize the sustainability discussion with, it's tough.
00:30:42
Speaker
Yeah, I think we have to remain optimistic about it still. Yeah, sure. But we need to, I think we need to, if that's the last word we have, let's say we need to be tough. I think that's more because the time is running out, we cannot be easy on ourselves.
00:31:03
Speaker
There's this oil company, Mobile, right? And I found an ad from 1967 that they did. And it was listed in this book, Game Changers of Advertising, which was, we want you to live.
00:31:21
Speaker
Right. So this is an oil company in 1967. And today it's, you know, proven that many of the tactics and, you know, lobbyist outcomes that they've achieved was really to make sure we will not live. And I think that's when I mean, we need to be tough. It's really, there's some, there's a lot of things we need to say goodbye to. And this will be a hard transition.
Future of Transportation Innovations
00:31:51
Speaker
Yeah. One very short question before we move to the final three. Yeah. You wrote in your bio that you are thinking about the next societal change after the smartphone. Yes. What can that be? Yeah, that's a good question. I don't have the answer yet, but I will go out on a limb and say it's not Apple Vision Pro. And my best guess would be it's the e-bike.
00:32:18
Speaker
It's the e-bike. I mean, if you look at the growth charts from e-bikes, it's I think the closest we can get to iPhone and iPad. It's through the roof. It's the best selling electric vehicle in the world and nobody's talking about it. So everybody's talking about electric cars, but really they are not the solution. I think many people made that point.
00:32:48
Speaker
The traffic jam that is out there, it will be the same if those cars are all electric. So there's a model change that needs to happen, and it is happening. And I think that's where I would be looking at, because it has so many implications. If you start thinking about it, and we touched upon the subject today, infrastructure built around the car, if you think about what else is depending on the car, and if you eliminate the car over the next decades,
00:33:16
Speaker
This is a major, major transition. And where I would be looking is e-bikes and e-scooters. This last word, there is a last sentence, there is this, you probably know this micro, this was this tiny scooter, it's not electric scooter. Yeah, I had one or so. Yeah, of course. I was one of the uncool kids back then because everybody was using their skateboards and then there was me on the scooter. Oh, wow. But was it a nerdy thing? Yeah, definitely. Anyway, do you know that the same company
00:33:45
Speaker
is now making an electric car. It's called Microlino. They have a really great, I think a great marketing. It's built in, I think in Italy or Switzerland. And it looks like a Fiat 500 Cinco Cento, like it's by design. And it's electric. And this is, you know, they're trying to be a disruptor in the car industry coming from non-electric scooters. So a bunch of interesting things happening
00:34:14
Speaker
kind of on the outskirts of this industry. Very interesting. I feel like there is still so much more we could talk about, but we'll have to do that another time. It's my first podcast in Florence, so I'm just getting started. I was never on a podcast, so it's my first time.
Marketing as a Driver for Progress
00:34:30
Speaker
Amazing. So to finalize this first podcast of yours, let's move to my final three questions. Number one is, what do you think makes good marketing in three words? Yeah, three words.
00:34:44
Speaker
I'd say good marketing is the footprint of progress. Interesting. I like that. I have other ones, but I'm not telling you them. I delete it. I can stroke them out. I know that's good. Maybe you can show me them another time. What I can do is I can comment on your LinkedIn posts. Great. Yeah, let's do that. Second question, what is the future of marketing? The same thing, I'd say.
00:35:12
Speaker
There's no future on a dead planet. It's what the saying goes. The future of marketing is only happening if we can solve the climate crisis.
Recommended Readings and Wrap-up
00:35:25
Speaker
I agree. Last question. What book have you read recently that you would like to recommend here?
00:35:32
Speaker
Yeah, I have in my vacation just one and a half weeks ago, I read Invisible Women by Caroline Craddo Perez about the data gender gap, which is just enormous. It's unbelievable. So I mean, I was aware what's happening, but just just the sheer size of this problem is just ridiculous. And
00:35:59
Speaker
For a long time, we've been deliberately excluding 50% of the population on some of the most essential statistics in our society. So this is highly, highly recommended. And then on another level, if I may,
00:36:16
Speaker
And I read this two or three years ago, but I keep recommending this and also handing out books if I find some. It's only available in German and Italian. So I don't know how many language skills, but there is a short version on Medium, which maybe I can send you the link.
00:36:33
Speaker
And it's from Maike Stoderhoek, she's a German biologist, and she wrote about female choice, you know, the pattern that in animal life, like, you know, if you consider humans animals as well, there are over, you know, millions of years, the female would be the one choosing her partner.
00:36:55
Speaker
Somehow, humanity managed to reverse that. And most of the time, if you look back at the last centuries, it was the male choosing a female partner and then kind of controlling her fate, if you will. And this is an enlightening book, which answers so many or gives hints what the answer could be so many of the challenges that we face. Why is our world the way it is? It has something to do with humanity settling down.
00:37:24
Speaker
changing the kind of public and private parts of society. And yeah, highly, highly recommended. Those two books kind of changed my life, I would say. Thank you so much. Very interesting. And please send me the link to the second one, so I can also put it in the show notes maybe. So to wrap things up,
00:37:46
Speaker
Thank you so much, Michael, for taking the time and talking with me about all these topics. Sure. It was a pleasure. I was really excited going into this and yeah, I could go on, but maybe it's not to keep everybody's time. So thank you again, all the best for your podcast and I'm looking forward to meeting you soon.
00:38:06
Speaker
Yes. So I really look forward now to our next conversation, maybe again with a breakfast before we start into our whirlwind of days. That's great. Yes. So see you soon and take care.
00:38:17
Speaker
Thank you for that. And that's it for today's episode. Thank you for listening. And now I have a question for you. Are you curious how your marketing can achieve sustainable growth? Then I have some simple and exciting options for you. First, this is exactly what I do for my clients. I help them build their future strategy with workshops and sparring sessions.
00:38:41
Speaker
I also have a very simple entry offer for founders and aspiring marketing experts, the Simple and Sustainable Marketing Academy, with a ridiculously cheap entry ticket price, because I love sharing what I've learned. Lastly, if you enjoy reading, check out my newsletter, where I write about marketing, strategies and sustainability, for over a thousand bright and curious minds.
00:39:06
Speaker
you can find all the info in the show notes. And if you have any feedback on this episode, I'd love to hear it. Please give me a rating wherever you listen, if you like it, or reach out to me directly. So until next time on Future Strategies.