“I’d Like A Washed Ethiopian”.

It’s a specialty coffee, apparently.

Well, at least I hope it is.

That’s what the man was asking for. We were in a coffee shop, so I trust it’s ok.

Specialty coffee.

Is it a marketing created phenomenon or an evolving need answered by marketers?

When our local butcher gives funny names to his sausages they sell more. I don’t mean like calling them ‘Pete’ or ‘Bob’. I mean like “Pig and Apple”. We are simple beings. If a little stupid at times. Imbue a product with a little personality and we, literally, eat it.

Most marketing simply creates need. It’s what most companies need. More need, more need. More need keeps people buying. This is a thankless endevour with ever diminishing returns.

Some marketing talks to something bigger, however. We are constantly evolving, changing. What we want shifts and changes. We want connection, to belong, to feel safe. We want wellness. We want to share wellness. Ok, not all of us, but many do.

These drivers of positivity, of warmth, of our shared humanity, exist as compellingly inside us as do drivers to self interest, to fear. They just need activating, they need talking to.

Marketing can do this.

Knowing the underlying patterns which shape our moods, our views, our emotions point to far more compelling opportunities for companies. Dipping into these trends will make for a more profound relationship. Dipping into these trends will make for more robust, more resilient commercial relationships.

And where does this leave the washed Ethiopian?

Well, connecting to product grown from the earth thousands of miles away does talk to an underling need - to belong, to connect. As would supporting the farmer in a more reciprocal way. We can talk to these things more compellingly, more persuasively, whether it is washed or not.