In the human world, organic is better. In the business world, synthetic is better. Why? There are several reasons, so let me give you a high-level overview.
Organic
Eating serves an organic system – us. We are organic (well, most of us are…) so it is better to use organic things to sustain ourselves. Sure, “traditional” growing practices yield larger harvests at lower production costs. It even saves us a few dollars more at the grocery store. The question remains, though, is it good for us?
Hundreds of people argue that organic food (grown without hormones, pesticides, or the use of cloning) is healthier. This is an argument that remains to be proven. The one thing I do know is that naturally grown food seems to taste better – this is just my opinion, and I accept that it may be slightly colored by the advertising efforts of organic farmers and advocates …
Synthetic
Business, however, is entirely synthetic; it’s a man-made construct that would cease to exist is we disappeared from the planet. I’ll admit that many businesses have developed over time – evolved, if you will. This would seem an organic process, but keep in mind that man is still at the helm of business development. There would be no new products, or any products for that matter, without someone designing them, marketing them, selling them, and buying them.
So what’s the point? Why does this matter? Simple … under which category should we place branding?
On the one hand, a brand is consumed – much like food. An organically grown brand will be more palatable to some market segments because it feels ‘natural.’ On the other hand, branding is a people-intensive activity. Where in our dichotomy does it fall, then?
I’ll give my answer and analysis on Friday. Please share your analysis with me before then.
