Let's Do The Logic

A dictionary will define ‘invest’ as: “to put (money into an enterprise) with the expectation of profit”. Thus, we invest in our properties, the stock market, our collections of stuff, our businesses or anything else in which we sense a good return. Like it or lump it, that’s pretty much the way capitalism works, and we live in a capitalist society. Deal with it. On that basis, pretty much all we buy, one could argue, is an investment. Food and drink for our well-being, transport so-that-we-can-get-to-work-so-we-can-earn-money-so-we-can-invest-in-something-else, charitable giving so that we can feel good about ourselves, going out for a meal so that we can reward ourselves for our efforts and treat whoever we want to in the process, blimey, you could even argue a television so we can numb our fevered minds after a hard day’s work trying to generate even more investment funds. Yes, but marketing? How can that be an investment?

OK, here we go. Marketing companies exist, as do PR companies and advertising agencies. If they exist, they must be providing themselves with an income, and that must have come from other people/organisations, and, as we’ve already established, they must have seen that as an investment, because everything else might be. Therefore, marketing is an investment. If you’re reading this and don’t agree, why are you investing your time in reading a marketing blog in the first place? For some, however, there will be no point in trying to state this case, and they will never look at marketing as an investment. But they will be very brand-aware and drive a car that had a funky ad campaign that insinuated that it could change their lives. Awful looking into the mirror, isn’t it?