Always Stay True

As a marketer, my main job is to help my clients be their best selves. After all, that's what marketing is about—showing the best, hiding the worst (if needed). But as a person who brings her whole self to work, I also strive to always stay true to who I am. Try as I might, I just can't dissociate my work and my values. At times I find myself pretending like the rough parts don't exist. At times, it can take an almost Pollyanna-like approach to be the cheerleader my clients need.

Two weeks ago, I struggled with a client who didn't think we needed to comment on what is going on socially or take a position. In their words, they didn't want to get "political". This response affected me deeply and I felt that I should drop the client as a result. I didn't think I could continue working with someone who did not believe they had a responsibility to speak up about injustice.

So I walked away, and we didn't send out an email the week of #blackoutTuesday. It just didn't feel right to send a sales email and I needed to stand up for what I believed was right. But I left that conversation unsatisfied. The wheels kept turning all week.

As I sat down to tackle the following week's newsletter, having processed all week, this is what I was able to put together. I felt like it hit all the right notes without getting too political. The client was satisfied and I felt like life was in harmony again (phew!). As background, the client has an egg business, hence what seems like a random reference to eggs!

In times of unrest and uncertainty, it helps to come back to something familiar for comfort.  Things like a plate of farm fresh eggs can help ground the day and offer the sustenance we need to take that next step, however challenging.

In the midst of all that we are now facing as a nation,  we have been asking ourselves, is there something we need to change? Is there something we can do better? We think so. We all have a role to play when it comes to promoting the health, security, and well-being of our fellow humans. 

Sometimes the truth is staring you straight in the face, waiting to be discovered. It happened for us this week when we received our new guinea fowl chicks in the mail. You may wonder at the choice but these birds provide much-needed support to our chicken flock. Not only are they talented at catching small snakes and rodents, but they are quick to give loud warnings when they spot a stranger or predator. 

This is what we need, on the farm, in our nation—someone to sound the alarm when things aren't right. We're joining together with those voices. This is the time for change. 

Compromise is important, as is working through difficult situations. But I don't think as marketers that we should ever sacrifice our values. Being the best at what we do and bringing the best out of our clients both require that we hold fast to our core beliefs. That is a principle I will always espouse, no matter how lucrative the contract.