Wallace V. Whipple
Here’s the setup:
(Source: Wikipedia)
“These are the players, with or without a scorecard. In one corner, a machine; in the other, one Wallace V. Whipple: man. And the game, it happens to be the historical battle between flesh and steel. Between the brain of man and the product of man’s brain. We don’t make book on this one and predict no winner, but we can tell you that, for this particular contest, there is standing room only in the Twilight Zone.”
In this episode, Wallace V. Whipple, owner of a manufacturing company, decides to upgrade his plant to increase output by installing a machine named the “X109B14 modified transitorized totally automated machine,” which leads to layoffs. Some former employees try to convince him that the value of a man outweighs the value of a machine, but their protests fall on deaf ears. Eventually, the board of directors find him neurotically obsessed with machines and retire him. Whipple joins his former plant manager at the bar opposite his factory and expresses deep sorrow at his misfortune (“It isn’t fair, Hanley! It isn’t fair the way they…diminish us”).
They cut to a scene where we see Robby the Robot running the office. Pretty sad.
Well obviously this got me thinking about brands and the “shiny new toy” syndrome we ALL face as consumers and producers.
With the advent of technologies such as Twitter, Foursquare, the new iPhone 4, XBOX’s Kinetic and so on and so forth, we as humans are inundated with new technologies and the promotion behind them. It’s said that we receive over 6,000 advertising messages a day. The New York Times, WIRED Magazine have released articles on how technology and the internet are rewiring our brains. And to top it all off, there’s even a book about it called Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirky. (plug-Not really. It’s a good book.)
So what does all this mean for brands? Well, brand managers need to see beyond the data. They need to see beyond the trend. Realize that we by nature, are relational. It’s human nature to build relationally. And for brands to create a high Emotional Quotient for their followers, they need to create relationships. And that doesn’t mean create one with your brand. Put them in touch with other people like themselves. Build community. Leverage technology, but don’t allow technology to leverage you.
It’s true, we can all be replaced by something bigger, cheaper and more efficient. Technology has helped us create efficiencies that we have thought we would never see. It has renewed lost relationships and created countless jobs. But I think brands are on a slippery slope when they lose the end goal of creating relationships. Just because you are the most social brand, doesn’t mean you’re the most relational. Leverage technology in a way that allows you to create more relationships and then watch your brand soar!
Lesson: Taken right from Twilight Zone -”There are many bromides applicable here: “too much of a good thing”, “tiger by the tail”, “as you sow, so shall ye reap”. The point is that too often man becomes clever instead of becoming wise. He becomes inventive, but not thoughtful. And sometimes, as in the case of Mr. Whipple, he can create himself right out of existence.
Brands need to create relationships and value them. If not, they will be replaced by the shiny new toy.
