Small Talk

April 16, 2010 »

The Last Minute Epidemic

I arrived in NYC last night around 9pm.  As I emerged from Penn Station onto 8th Avenue, I was astounded to see the thousands of people waiting in line in front of the James A. Farley post office, anxious to have their tax returns stamped by midnight on the 15th of April.  A fellow traveler remarked to no one in particular, “These people will all be late to their own funerals, too!” and marched off into the night.  Gotta love those New Yorkers!

This same kind of behavior exists at holiday time, too.  Thousands of shoppers wait until the last minute to buy their gifts, fighting crowds and scattered inventory - but they somehow get it done.

The people who file on April 15th or who shop on December 24th aren’t really late, then, are they?  They met the deadlines imposed by our society - tax day, Christmas day, whatever day - and only had to endure some relatively mild consequences (traffic, long lines, some aggravation, perhaps?) to avoid penalty.   

As a brand manager and marketer, what kind of deadlines do you face?  And are you on time or are you late?

Do you announce to your customers when they can expect to receive their ‘gifts’ from you?  Do they know when you’re having a launch, when your new site will go live, or when you’ll share something special with them?  If that happened, how would it change the way you approach your day?  Would you go to as many meetings, or could it empower you to say no more often to your boss so that you could focus on what matters, to achieve and deliver on what you promised?  Would you trade your certain salary for a bigger variable bonus if you shipped on time, every time?

We still see pharma marketers engage in “last minute” behavior, time and again.  The consequences vary - from more stressful discussions with MLR teams who weren’t informed upfront about plans, to rush charges for faster production, to less optimal brand integration.  The penalty, however, doesn’t change behavior - which is why it continues to occur.  

In many ways, this behavior is endemic to our society, and very well could be a part of our Darwinian evolution to survive when the pressure is on.  Rest assured, those same lines will be there next April 15th, and later this year at holiday time.

But we’re choosing a different path.  We’re excited about how we’re helping our clients do a better job of shipping on time, sharing early ideas with the consumers who want to know more, and staying ahead of the curve.  

This shift doesn’t happen overnight, but it is the philosophy of how we all work.  Brands and agencies that work this way, too, will win - and in the days ahead, this will become the new normal.  

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