The Significance of the Mundane
This article begins with a tip of the hat to a scholarly
publication called the Journal of Mundane Behavior. Unlike other
publications, which herald important issues, this one trumpets
everyday, but rarely noticed, behaviors. It sees what the rest
of us overlook because that stuff is so, well, mundane (my
dictionary defines 'mundane' as being ordinary or common).
For example, I just read an article in the Journal about beards
and shaving, one that interests me because I've had a beard for
almost as long as I've been able to shave. And while that
subject may interest me, it doesn't mean much in the great
scheme of things.
Today, I'm interested in the connection between the mundane and
communication. In this article we'll explore how great
strategies can emerge from observing not great, but everyday
events. We'll use our understanding of seemingly insignificant
things and behaviors to come up with grand strategies.
Federal Express, for example, used to run humorous television
ads that showed ordinary people, shipping clerks I suppose, and
how scared they were that their shipments might not get to their
destinations on time.
Clearly, a case of using the mundane to craft a great marketing
strategy. That advertising strategy, coupled with a strong
business strategy, led to one of the entrepreneurial success
stories of the 20th century.
And that business strategy might not have been so successful
without the advertising strategy. After all, most companies
would have opted for commercials showing shiny cargo planes,
pilots in crisp uniforms, or bright people figuring out cargo
scheduling.
>From that example, we might think of crafting our own
communication strategies, based on the mundane.
One of the great difficulties with the mundane, of course, is
that it's harder to see and to grasp. After all, it's the
absence of something rather than its presence. The classic
expression of this phenomenon may have been Sherlock Holmes