Is right-brain marketing…girly?

So glad you asked that.  When I say right-brain marketing deals with things like emotion, intuition, and imagination, I can understand that it sounds a little soft. Squishy. Artsy-fartsy.  Maybe even, heaven forbid, girly.  Especially when contrasted with left-brain skills like:

Logic!
Analysis!
Quantitative Rigor!

But let me ask you: Is Harley-Davidson girly?

The genius of Harley-Davidson’s marketing resides in its whole-hearted embrace of empathy.  By valuing the emotional needs of their customers and would-be customers, Harley has built an extraordinary, iconic, profitable brand.  It’s grown its business well beyond its original market while retaining its badass cachet.  (For more, read here.)  Yes, they have awesome engineering, strong dealerships and sound operations.  But empathy, a core right-brain skill, is what brings the brand to life.

How about IKEA?

IKEA is a fully whole-brained brand.  Left-brain brilliance shines through in their attention to numbers (low pricing and cost control), and operational efficiency.  But those ingredients alone a Walmart make.  IKEA is special because of all the right-brain elements:  Striking design.  Quirky playfulness (furniture that doesn’t last!).  Irresistible cheap meatball lunches.  Where would you rather shop?

I could go on.

American business undervalues right-brain skills (for a host of reasons I’ll be exploring).  When these skills show up in business schools and big companies, they are usually dismissed and/or ground out of people over time.  Oh yes, they can be accessed “when needed” in safe doses through outside expertise (ad agencies, design firms, creativity consultants).  But when  geeks like Guy Kawasaki and Zappo’s Tony Hsieh discover Enchantment and Happiness, they’re considered geniuses.

It needn’t be this way.  Right-brain skills are simply part of being human.  Truly great brands and business leaders have discovered the power of both/and.  Which business would you rather lead these days: Microsoft or Apple?  United or Southwest?  Safeway or Trader Joe’s?

To resist or dismiss right-brain thinking as girly is, dare we say, half-witted.