Marketing is to business as hype man is to rapper.
Alas, I have ended up becoming the thing I make fun of.
What's a hype man to a rapper?
I used to make fun of my brothers for watching music videos filmed on awful quality cameras , with the main singer in the front surrounded by 10 guys just pointing at him and reacting. The hype men. They confused me so much, because why? and for what reason? I had so many questions.
Alas, I have ended up becoming the thing I make fun of.
“The hype man is essential to a live performance. He is an integral piece to the whole show. It’s his job to be the support for the performer, give the performer energy and keep the crowd engaged at all times”.
The answer to the question "Why did they need hype-men?", is now so obvious to me. How else are you gonna know which bars are the most fire if left to your own devices? There is no room for error in interpretation with hype men around. And they even by extension hype up the viewers, the hype man totally validates my hype! OF COURSE it's good. OF COURSE he dropped a fire bar. OF COURSE, we all knew it the whole time.
I also used to really question the hype man's individual motives. Why would you leave your house to just react to your friend's music? The answer here is also simple; because they think it's really good music, and by extension, more people should pay attention.
You see where I'm going with this?
What's a marketer to a product?
So now, to be good at what I do- Product Marketing- I have to be a world-class hype man. And I've been taking notes from the best of 'em. I'm learning all the time, I'm not loyal to source or method. From podcasts, to books, to interviews. I am just loyal to the cause of genuinely being outstanding at creating hype for an outstanding product.
And I probably wouldn't be so serious about creating the hype if I didn't think the idea had legs or that it could genuinely change the trajectory of enough people to have impact at a larger scale. So I've had to go back to the drawing board and learn how to create hype.
I would love to share what I've learned and what I continue to learn about the world of marketing. It's a job I can't quite believe is a job, because it really is, and I cannot stress this enough, being a professional hype man. Read the Emmanuel quote again, and tell me that isn't marketing...
If you believe in what you're hyping, others will want to know about it enough that you'll get them on-board.
If I've done my job correctly, just like the gif, you don't know what the product is, but you're sure that it's good. So we can leave it here.
What's a hype to a non-believer?
It's a no-thing. And we have to be okay with being niche. Better than that, one of the first lessons of marketing is that a niche is akin to liberation.
As all good hype men know, as much as we would love everyone to enjoy what we enjoy as much as we do, it wont be for everyone. And there's something quite fantastic about not having to convert people to your way of thinking.
So, that's the pitch.
I've changed career, it's truly exciting,
I would love to share what I am learning and think that it'll be fun to bring you along,
T&C = if you're in the niche of those who want to see what it looks like to learn - and fail - as they go in their career.
Come with me as I learn to perfect being this guy:
