What the fsck is Punk Marketing?

Here’s a question I seem to get a lot. maybe it’s because I’m the geek who coined the phrase, but really, I had thought it was self explanatory. 

A long, long, long time ago, in a far, far, far away place called London (in the late 1960’s / early 70’s) a movement came out of the low-income social class called punk. Now since that time there has been some serious myth-conceptions about what punk really is, or was.

So, going beyond the media’s misunderstanding, and beyond the twisting the conservatives of the time published, punk was really simple: change. It was about change. Changing the situation. Changing how people thought and viewed things. True punk wasn’t about fighting, violence, hatred, or dropping out.  It was a direct result, a backlash if you will to the hippy movement at the time, which didn’t do much to actually change things. It was about simplicity. It’s music roots were in reggae and rock music. yes, it was fueled by the frustration of the youth at the time. And in my humble opinion John Lennon was the first punk icon. It was about sharing, and people getting along. It was against racism and institutional racism. It was about being socially conscious. It was about rebelling against what was wrong in politics, society, etc. It was a concept that had merit and still does.

The Problem began when the media glammed on (no pun intended) to the antics of bands like the Sex Pistols. The conservative governments of the time and organized religion saw it as a threat. And as they, the rest is history.

Punk Marketing.

I first began using the term with clients in the late 1990’s. My belief was and still is, is success demands that those who have the power and the money should make a real effort to help those who don’t. Yes, I can hear the capitalists screaming foul. But in an era where there exist corporations who have more money and worth the a large number of countries, especially third world countries, I find it depressing and disgusting that so many people go hungry daily. Movements like Make Poverty History are a good start, but they are not enough. Charity should start at home. Charity is not about publishing a news release stating how much you donated, or worse yet spending 70% of your budget advertising your charity and less then 30% on the actual charity. 

So I believe you can be a good corporate citizen and help others and that effort will be rewarded. For anyone who has ever worked with a non-profit organization (NPO), you know all to well how these socially vital organizations are under-staffed, under-skilled, and under-funded. Take a look at most of the grass-root NPOs in your area and you’ll quickly see how they lack branding, marketing and business development skills.

Long before viral marketing became a buzz-word, punks in the 70’s were employing the concepts to get the message out to others. Long before guerrilla marketing was coined as a term, people were being damn creative with no budget and promoting events, ideas and concepts. Social networks are the buzz these days, but for those of us old enough to remember and who were in any way a part of the “scene” we were doing everything social networks do today. People you didn’t know would show up in your city from around the globe and through the “network” know how to contact you, and you’d offer them a place to stay, food to eat, and show them around your city. People created distant friendships based upon reputation and mutual interests that were founded in trust.

So you see, punk marketing has been around a long time. maybe I’m just the geek who named it. Doubt it. But for now I’ll continue to use it and take the time to explain to clients how their success can have more meaning then just money. Significance has far more social value then cash. And the kid you enable to eat tonight, may one day be the next Steve Jobs.