Electronic Retailer - September 2011 - 78

RICK PETRY

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electronicRETAILER | September 2011

The Realm of Possibilities
When Canadian street performer Guy Laliberté surveyed the scant coins dropped in front of him back in the 1970s, he may have had to squint hard to imagine that one day, fed by his fertile imagination, they would transform into countless shiny lights that dominate the Las Vegas Strip. Laliberté, co-founder of the Cirque du Soleil, reimagined the circus as an obscure, yet spectacular linear narrative, where the exotic animals on display are Homo sapiens exhibiting exhilarating feats of strength and agility. In the process, he helped create an entirely new genre of entertainment that some 9,000 Sin City spectators feast upon nightly. Laliberté has brought literal manifestation to the Thomas Edison observation that, “Great ideas originate in the muscles.” Innovators such as Laliberté and Edison, and those who will populate the InventHelp – INPEX New Product Showcase at this year’s D2C Convention at the Wynn Hotel, Las Vegas, live in a realm of limitless possibilities. Where others see a dead end, these dream weavers use their x-ray vision to see beyond brick walls, for to them such walls are imaginary. When a problem presents itself, they set out to find a solution and, in so doing, they birth products and ideas that harness the public’s imagination and create opportunity for an entire industry. This is a fact worth noting, because amid the flurry of activity in Las Vegas, it is often too easy to rush past these entrepreneurs clinging to their dreams in the form of a mop handle or fitness device. They deserve nothing less than our respect and gratitude, because their inspiration is the fuel that keeps our ships trudging forward. One could argue that it is the ship builders – the marketers – responsible for sustaining our industry. While their economic risk should not be underestimated, without the unbounded imagination of inventors and dreamers glowing like so many piping hot coals, there would be nothing to propel us forward; no product to send, no telephones to answer, no airtime to place. And yet when we hear words like innovation, evolution and invention too often, there is a tendency to ascribe them to a creative class that is thought to exist outside the lines of traditional business people. It is as if those who pick, pack and ship, answer those telephone rings, or plan that media are executing some sort of rote path devoid of imagination. It isn’t true. From the marketer perfecting his offer to the media planner plotting her buys with the fastidiousness of an Antonio Gaudi mosaic, there is an opportunity to apply the same sort of ingenuity that an inventor uses to grease his brainchild. As has often been observed, direct marketing is both an art and a science that results in a kind of alchemy where the sulphurous stench of failure frequently blows up in one’s face, and success, though rare, can produce unimaginable bounties. So it is fitting that we gather in Las Vegas of all places because, just like infomercials with their in-your-face tactics, Vegas is maligned for its excess. And yet, both Vegas and this industry hold a special promise: They lower the barrier to entry for anyone to grab the golden ring of a better future. From the clang of a jackpot that suggests life can change in the flick of a onearmed bandit’s handle, to the sense that anyone, fortified by the proper degree of conviction and a belief in a business proposition, can wade into this industry and strike it rich, there exists a liberating sense that anything can happen. Gathered together we can forget about being apologists because we peddle things. It is Edison himself who said, “Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success.” Here, on the trade show floor, crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in the parties, bars and restaurants, and in education sessions packed with insight, awaits infinite possibilities. This isn’t an opportunity reserved for old-line veterans, the brilliant or few; it is an opportunity that awaits you. So seize it. Prepare to walk through brick walls. Welcome to D2C. Rick Petry is a freelance writer who specializes in direct marketing and is a past chairman of ERA. He can be reached at 503-740-9065 or online at rickpetry.com. Find him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/thepetrydish.

Electronic Retailer - September 2011

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