How much can our perceptions be molded
My name is Cory, I am the President of Creative Return and the host of The Insider’s Guide To Finance. The following are my insights and learnings from the interviews and dealings I have with talented entrepreneurs, operators, and financiers. I hope you find them valuable in your endeavours.
Marketing and brand building is an ongoing process of messaging and managing perceptions. I find it fascinating as it is an art that mingles with psychology and although intangible, is malleable.
What struck me recently was just how far our perceptions of taste, aesthetics, prestige, luxury, etc. can be molded.
Let's examine the world of fine cheeses. This passage is from the book, A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century.
"The French have described the aroma spectrum of cheeses as being some distance from “the outhouse.” Pungent cheeses are closer; milder cheeses farther away. ...the most prized cheeses are often the ones with the most spectacular levels of fecal character. So while many cheeses smell something like shit, the positive or negative connotation of the smell is a matter of taste..."
What I take from this is first a laugh, and second how our perception of things of value is heavily influenced by what we are told to see, think, feel, and in the case of cheese, smell and taste.
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