I want more crayons!
When I was little I had a huge tin of Crayola Crayons that I would use almost everyday to draw houses or color in coloring books. Most of the crayons were made up of castoffs from the typical 8-, 24- or 48-pack and they were inherited, worn down or broken. The tin never included the desired 64-pack.
Every time I was drawing I found myself needing that one color that I didn’t have and was only in the 64-pack. Colors like raw sienna, burnt sienna, raw umber, lavender, copper, and plum were out of reach and, to me, my drawings never quite seemed complete. (added 9/29: see I am still scarred, I combined the two best crayons there were!)
Fast forward to when I first kicked off my career in marketing. I relied on the tactics of the day: public relations, events, collateral, advertising and direct mail. Consider them the available tin crayons, which included basic colors like black, blue, brown, green, orange, and red.
Having only eight colors gets boring and redundant pretty fast.
Then along came integrated marketing communications, Web 1.0, SEM and SEO. Wow! More colors…and cooler colors like robin’s egg blue, shamrock and purple mountain’s majesty were now available to me.
Where am I going with this? Well, it occurred to me after attending great events like Social Media Camp NY, PodCamp and SearchCamp Philly, and most recently Small Business Marketing Unleashed that every interaction I have and every person I meet is like one more complimentary and unique crayon that I didn’t have in my tin. And it’s fresh and unbroken.
As I look forward to attending the Marketing Prof’s Digital Marketing Mixer next month, I realize that the coveted 64-pack is no longer out of reach and there is no better time to be a marketer and communicator than now. As marketers, communicators and social media leaders we have new crayons at our fingertips—daily—and we can get them from anywhere in the world—there are no broken crayons limiting us.
I’ve recently added two new colors: wild blue yonder and outer space and I can’t wait to see where they take me.
How about you? What crayons are you looking for?
[Photo: iStock]
Tags: 7 Responses to “I want more crayons!”
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What a FUN post and great analogy, Beth!
That tin is most likely to exceed that number of 64 with the influx of niche communities and conferences that are growing every year. The amount of ‘colors’ are endless, seeing we put forth the effort to attain them and TOGETHER, creating great work.
And the funny thing is Beth, the more colors you use/meet, the more you begin to realize that you really don’t need those original 8 colors anymore. Think of them as the ‘broadcasters’
I use lots of colors in my webdesigns….they are relevant lol
@MackCollier, I agree with your assessment!
@Aaron, thanks for stopping by! Colors are great fun and relevant in web design for sure…but I was speaking a bit more metaphorically, of course.
@SonnyGill, “The amount of ‘colors’ are endless, seeing we put forth the effort to attain them and TOGETHER, creating great work.”
Well said sir, well said! It’s been great working together (with you!) and getting to know so many of the ‘great colors’ that are out there. I hope Crayola can keep up with us all!
beth, i’ll keep this short as i’m sure you are very busy. i am in the construction industry and am often looking for ways to improve and make my day more functional. i stumbled upon your blog via blip.fm and your “crayon post” inspired me! i will use this in my next pep talk with my employees, with the moral of the story being… having more tools in your box and knowing more than the next guy with get you that promotion and/or raise faster! i know that what you do is a far cry from construction… but it works. thank you!
@trey_trey, Hi Trey, thanks so much for stopping by! Glad to know that you found my blog via blip.fm (BTW, thanks for the props!)
I don’t think it matters what industry you are in…people are people and it’s important to tap into the people around you for guidance, advice and friendship. The crayons are the people and each person is a different color that adds something unique to a person’s world. Metaphoric, I know…but it was the best way to describe how wonderful it is to meet folks online, listen to them, get to know them and learn from them. It’s even better to meet them in person once you have known them on-line.
I think the same thing happens off-line, but sometimes it’s harder to make those connections…for all of us.
And to your point, knowing more and sharpening your skills will always make you more valuable. Now the promotion or raise, that I can’t guarantee.