Vantage Point / Effort + Perspective
Back in 2010, when I got married and moved to Miami, I had the privilege to work at Apple as a Family Room Specialist. This position is basically a one-on-one and workshop instructor, and part Genius specializing in mobile devices and some computers. Though I was only there for a short time before embarking on another great career opportunity, I learned quite a bit! Part of the mission of Apple at the time when I was there was to enrich lives through the products that are created. I got to be part of that first hand being able to sit with people every day to help and show them how their product can truly change their life. Not only did I show them how to use their devices but I was able to meet them where they were at and actually show them how they can use it in their daily life. It was such a rewarding experience!
The marketing lesson here is seeing how people see things. I believe our experiences can put us at different vantage points in our lives. As content creators and marketers we have the power to sway how people see things. Don’t believe me?
If you have been playing attention over the past 2 decades you would have noticed that the American-made Ford Motor Company has been getting slammed. There are numbers to prove it, Google it. Remember the acronyms: Found On Road Dead, Fix Or Repair Daily? Not to mention the Firestone and Ford tire controversy which was a very huge deal. One didn’t have to know much about Ford to determine if making an investment was worth the thought.
Does all mean that people never bought Ford again? No. In the past few years Ford Motor Company has done something to change the overall outlook on their company and their products. From my perspective and point of view I’ve noticed key changes that have made people change their minds about owning this American-made vehicle. Maybe they took a page from Apple but they showed how their products enriched peoples lives starting with the people that actually work at Ford. They launched a series of media that showed the hardworking people of Ford who are just like you and I. They showed the spirit and the hard working class of our great country. The focus was now shifted on the lifestyle brand of Ford. Consumers now have a vested interest in the company because I believe Ford Motor Company has met people where they are and connecting with every walk of life.
What does have to do with vantage point and how to shoot better? It has everything to do with effort. What if Ford never made the effort to connect with their audience? What if Apple created products just to compete with other computer companies? For the content creator, what if we didn’t push beyond our own limits or norm to deliver great content?
Taking a photo or video is different for me now. I can take a shot of my kid from where I stand or I can take a shot by bending my knees, meeting them at eye level showing a different perspective that other adults can’t see. It all requires effort. Not everyone communicates the same and as creatives we can’t always assume the way or how people input/output information.
My virtual mentor, Chris Do of The Futur gave a resent talk about how mindset changes everything. There’s input and output but he explains how there is one more step we don’t factor in. Chris opens up by asking a true/false question. You get out of life what you put it. True. The part we fail to factor in is interpretation. I asked myself why that is and my experiences states the obvious: everyone’s interpretation is difference because people of difference walks of life have different experiences. In fact, they all have their own set of filters. Input and interpretation have different outputs of emotion. Anyone can find a way to be happy, sad, excited, grateful, angry, hurt, or inspired. Chris mentions that there must be a developed belief system that cause one to output happy all the time. I’m sure “happy” is an emotion we always want to interpret and output.
To invoke such filters, the creator must push beyond what comfortable, effort is required. What are you communicating? Through what filters shape how you’re communicating? Knowing this could very well change how you create, how you frame that next shot.
