Forbes.com is tapping into the ideas of a Nashville marketing guru. His new book “How to Speak American” calls out the advertising industry for overlooking the middle of the country.
It’s the title of Paul Jankowski’s new book. He’s a strategist who has spent a career in Tennessee’s music industry – from Elvis Presley Enterprises to Gibson Guitar. After frequent run-ins with counterparts in Los Angeles and New York, Jankowski decided to publish their anonymous thoughts on people from the country’s mid-section.
“Dumb, gullible, unworldly, racist, fat. You name it, they said it because that’s the way they felt. Now look, that’s a small microcosm of the thought process. But I’ve got to tell you, it represents – from what I’ve seen – a broader stereotype of what I call the “New Heartland.”
Jankowski’s heartland stretches from the Midwest to Florida (excluding Miami, and he says the region’s residents prefer to be characterized for their focus on faith and family. They represent 60 percent of American consumers, which is why Jankowski says market makers on the coasts would do well to dismiss what he considers inaccurate – or at least overly broad – stereotypes.
Forbes.com has now turned the idea behind Jankowski’s book into a new column called “Speak American.”
In an interview with WPLN, Paul Jankowski gives examples of New York and L.A. marketers offending heartland audiences.
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