Everyone knows marketing… and its bad reputation. And yet this discipline alone could help didgeridoo makers thrive, keep beginners away from unscrupulous sellers and, finally, protect Aboriginal art.
OK, I admit it. The title is a bit provocative. It’s my little vice, I sometimes like to shake things up! But at a time when the didgeridoo has tens of thousands of players around the world, when Aboriginal Australians are too often ripped off by profit-driven white people, when 95% of beginners buy expensive, poor-quality instruments, when more than one didgeridoo enthusiast would love to make a living from their passion, it’s time to demystify the discipline that makes honest people shudder: marketing. Between non-violent communication and spirituality, you’ll be surprised how far the paths of marketing can take us! 😉
But what is marketing, anyway?
Apparently, in philosophy, you always start by defining the terms used in your essay, it avoids a few misunderstandings. So here’s what Google tells us about this discipline:
Wikipedia
There are many definitions of marketing on Wikipedia, here’s a simple one that’s quick to understand:
“Marketing is detecting the needs of consumers in order to create the right product, which makes selling easier.”
Larousse
And on the Larousse dictionary website, we find: “All the actions aimed at knowing, anticipating and, possibly, stimulating consumers’ needs for goods and services, and adapting production and sales to the needs thus identified.” In short, when we talk about marketing, we’re talking about needs. The whole challenge lies in meeting the needs of a specific group…
Needs in marketing
Last year, I liked to go for a walk of about 30 minutes every morning. I’d go through a park near my home and make the most of this special moment to listen to talks on various subjects.
Among all the topics covered, non-violent communication caught my attention. In his videos, Marshall B. Rosenberg (the creator of this method) tells us that “Violence is a tragic expression of unmet needs.” Marshall explains that staying attentive to our own needs and those of others is the key to a harmonious relationship between two entities (people, countries, companies…).
And marketing also puts needs at the heart of its process. That’s actually why it can be so powerful (and so often misused for abusive ends, I’ll come back to that). Let’s see how this view of needs pushed me to completely rewrite my didgeridoo method.
15 years of didgeridoo to finally listen to your needs
In 2008, I started writing my first didgeridoo method. Released in 2011, it sold more than 1,500 copies in 7 years. Not bad for someone who knew nothing about marketing (and even hated it)! At the time, I was self-centred on what I wanted to give. I presumed to know what players needed.
What a mistake!
Luckily for me, I was fortunate. My book was the first didgeridoo method to cover all the contemporary techniques, which met a general need among didgeridoo players to learn. It took me more than 8 years to realise how important it is to listen to other people’s needs (in my professional life as well as my personal life, about time!!). So in 2016, I started listening to what players were telling me.
That’s how I got out of the “I know what players want” trap. Marketing helped me rethink my whole method. I divided it into 5 volumes, each one aimed at a specific need. This choice has many advantages:
- Going as deep as possible into each subject
- Adapting my teaching to the target audience
- Answering questions better
- Adapting the rhythms and exercises to the required levels
So the method “How to play your first rhythms on the didgeridoo” gives answers to people who want to learn or consolidate all the basics of the didgeridoo. Volume 2 will answer all the questions about the different breathing techniques, volume 3 will cover attacks on the didgeridoo… and so on.
Of course, to be honest with you, this overhaul also increases sales, which allows me to make an honest living from my passion. That way, everyone wins. By the way, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the hundreds of players who have already trusted me by buying volume 1 of my method.
“People flourish when their needs are met”
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Another definition of marketing
Seth Godin is one of the greatest American marketers in the world. Among other things, he was head of direct marketing at Yahoo and has written many books, such as the highly regarded “Purple Cow”. Seth has his own definition of marketing. I find it fascinating, and here’s what it boils down to: “Marketing is the art of spreading an idea.”
Simple and effective.
When I read this definition for the first time, it literally opened my mind. I said to myself: “Aaaah OK, so that’s what marketing is! It’s actually brilliant! I’ll finally be able to spread my beliefs about the didgeridoo effectively.”
Starting from this definition, Seth Godin explains in his book “All Marketers Tell Stories” that wars, famines and other atrocities could have been avoided thanks to marketing. So let’s see, through two examples, how this “art of spreading an idea” could well help our good old piece of wood!
“Marketing is the art of spreading an idea”
• • •
Making a (decent) living from the didgeridoo is possible!
Every year, thousands of didgeridoos are sold around the world. Unfortunately, the vast majority are low-end didgeridoos (read also: “Watch out for cheap didgeridoos“) imported from Indonesia.
And yet, for more than 20 years, passionate people have been dedicating themselves to making didgeridoos: from David Defois’s bamboos (read also: Interview with David Defois: creator of the didgeridoo-trombone!) to the high-end didgeridoos of Ujazi (read also: Ujazi Didgeridoo – A didgeridoo maker on the rise!) or CrooKedStiXz (read also: 5 (high-end) didgeridoo makers you should know), some makers and people in the didgeridoo world today offer excellent instruments that deserve more visibility. So why do thousands of people keep buying mediocre didgeridoos every year? You’ll tell me: “Well… That’s what you find on the internet or in music shops.” And you’d be right!
Industry is much better at marketing, distribution and pricing. On that front, we have very little chance of competing. On the other hand, it falls short on authenticity, ecology, the craft approach and the passion that drives the people of the didgeridoo world.
The didgeridoo industry sells in bulk and cheaply, nothing very attractive for the knowledgeable player. Mind you, I’m not saying that didgeridoo makers will one day replace industrial manufacturers. That’s impossible. I’m saying they could easily make a living from the didgeridoo if they managed to win over a tiny share of the thousands of didgeridoo buyers.
So their whole challenge is to succeed in:
- Studying the needs of didgeridoo enthusiasts (What are they looking for? How much are they willing to pay for what they’re looking for?…)
- Making excellent didgeridoos suited to these needs (while respecting their own vision of the didgeridoo)
- Convincing people that their didgeridoos are unique (for all the reasons mentioned above), and that these reasons justify their price.
That way, didgeridoo makers could make a better living (or a living at all) from their craft, and players, better informed, would support craftsmanship by buying better instruments. Once again, everyone would win.
Now let’s talk about Aboriginal culture.
Doing justice to Aboriginal Australians
Last March, I went to the Puces du Canal flea market in Lyon to browse and enjoy the first spring sunshine. My partner and I were strolling around when, surprise, we came across an Aboriginal art gallery! Curious, we went into the shop. My eye was drawn to some didgeridoos displayed against the wall. I immediately recognised teak and eucalyptus didgeridoos from Indonesia (read also: Watch out for cheap didgeridoos!), pale copies of traditional Aboriginal instruments. Seeing my interest in his “didgeridoos”, the seller came up to me with a big smile.
To test his honesty, I pretended not to know the didgeridoo and asked him my questions. Without batting an eyelid, he told me they were traditional didgeridoos from Australia, painted by Aboriginal people and hollowed out by termites. In short, he gave me his sales patter.
Inside, I was fuming. I asked the price… Ouch.
He then pointed me to a (supposedly) ceremonial didgeridoo played by Aboriginal people (… Blah blah blah…) And he explained that in this particular context, its price was €800! It’s not unusual for a Yidaki (traditional instrument) to sell for that amount (read also: The origins of the didgeridoo: the Aborigines of Australia). It’s completely justified depending on the instrument. But the instruments he was showing me sell for €60 on the internet… Anyway, I turned on my heels and left.
At moments like these, I think of Aboriginal Australians, whose culture is too often exploited by unscrupulous white people who, unfortunately, are trained in marketing! Maybe this man didn’t know what he was selling (although I doubt it). Nevertheless, what matters is to act and not let this kind of abuse spread through ignorance. So let’s try to spread our ideas to educate future buyers as much as possible.
Fortunately, there are also people who work with respect for Aboriginal Australians. That’s the case of Gregory Zwingelstein, a passionate friend and the creator of didgeridoo-passion (read also: Interview | Grégory Zwingelstein – The ethical didgeridoo). With him, you can be sure to find Yidaki and Mago that respect Aboriginal culture (I should point out that I earn nothing from sales, I just like to support friends who do good work!).
There’s no bad marketing, only bad marketers
In October 2018, I launched Wakademy, the French didgeridoo school. A world first that I’m proud of, but one that has to be well thought out to work. If I didn’t manage to make you want to sign up and join me on this adventure, Wakademy would quickly be a flop…
So I spent time reading about entrepreneurship and marketing. And of course, I sometimes came across absurdities, ultra-liberal books with nauseating messages. Or websites offering to reveal the ultimate secret to earning €10,000 a month while doing almost nothing. You’ve surely seen these tempting ads.
But these scams aren’t “marketing” as such, they’re “some marketing”, and bad marketing at that. Just as there are good and bad dentists, there are good and bad marketers. These excesses aren’t the fault of marketing but of the humans who use it. Just as a knife is a good tool for cutting bread, it’s unfortunately also very effective for harming others.
That said, let’s admit it: in marketing, the lure of profit is strong and the traps are many:
- Unhealthy manipulation,
- Dishonesty, taking advantage of the most vulnerable,
- Excessive prices compared to the product or service offered (although this point is very subjective), or even a disproportionate marketing budget at the expense of developing the product itself,
- The end often justifies rather unorthodox means.
Even if these vices give marketing its reputation, we can approach them in two ways:
- Focus on bad marketers and let our anger rise.
- Learn about marketing and make ourselves heard. On this path, it’s essential to have integrity and be sincere in order to overcome the fear (I had it too) of crossing over to the dark side of marketing.
Ma Anandamayi said: “Sincerity is the greatest quality of a spiritual seeker“. If we consider that spiritual is defined as “Relating to the mind, considered as distinct from matter“, then this advice applies broadly to any form of inner journey. So I like to think that by being honest and sincere, no one can blame us for earning a living. So let’s trust our sincerity and get to work!
And anyway, we’re all already doing marketing without knowing it, so we might as well be aware of it, it’ll be more effective. 😉
“Sincerity is the greatest quality of a spiritual seeker”
• • •
Conclusion: didgeridoo lovers, let’s spread our message
At a time when information travels at the speed of light, it’s crucial to learn to spread your ideas while staying open to everyone’s comments. Didgeridoo friends, professionals and amateurs, let’s try to share our passion for the didgeridoo (and for any other subject) in an accessible way, so that everyone feels included. Then, in the simplicity of the breath, each of us will resonate with our own uniqueness, with respect for the didgeridoo and for Aboriginal Australians.
To continue on the theme of this article: by commenting on or sharing it, you contribute to my need to share my passion and to earn a decent living. Thank you in advance!
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