Ketchum / Ray Kotcher: "Dancing Backward in High Heels"

Ray Kotcher, senior partner and CEO of Ketchum, is one of the most talented and harkest-working people I know in Public Relations.  I was very fortunate to have worked in Ketchum's New York City office while he was the director there.  For me, it was the equivalent of a graduate degree in the profession. 

Mr. Kotcher recently gave a speech in Beijing and his remarks are publishing on Kethcum's webiste.  Here's a taste of what he said: 

Some of you will remember Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, a dancing team and the darlings of Hollywood in the 1930s. Fred Astaire today is remembered as an actor, singer and choreographer – but most of all as one of the greatest dancers of his century.

 

Ginger Rogers is remembered mainly as Fred Astaire’s partner, not as a great dancer herself. But it should be pointed out that as great a dancer as Fred was, Ginger matched him step-for-step – and her steps were backward and in high heel shoes. 

 

I think of this when I look at companies from emerging markets that are trying to break into North America or Europe. They face the same barriers to entry as any other company. But like Ginger, they will have to dance just as well as better-known companies. And they must do it backward in high heels. Or in the case of businesses, they must match the performance of their competitors in the context of an environment with long-held stereotypes and misperceptions.

...

This takes me to my next point – nothing is local anymore.

 

In addition to the way that media coverage sometimes reinforces stereotypes and misperceptions, the expanded speed and breadth of coverage also increases the amount of information that people look at.

 

This has created a compelling duality. On the one hand, the speed of communication and amount of information available can result in rapid change in how we see the world.

 

On the other hand, people have a tendency to bucket ideas in ways that we already understand. So, much of the new information that we have to deal with is collapsed into already existing molds.

 

When these two factors work together, new stereotypes can be created overnight, and once established, they are incredibly difficult to change.

I highly encourage you to read his speech.  You can find it here.