Cockroach Theory vs Chaos Theory | The Digital Marketing Conundrum

Before you read: If you don't understand the game of cricket then this article won't make any sense to you.

I stumbled on this great post about Sundar Pichai's Cockroach theory.

Source: Divya Brahmbhatt (CSWE)

At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady.

She started screaming out of fear.

With a panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach.

blah blah blah... Read the full story here

Fast forward to Digital Marketing Conundrum

Here's the key lesson learnt from the cockroach theory:

We should not react in life. We should always respond.

The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.

Now, here's another story that complements the cockroach theory.

The chaotic theory by M.S. Dhoni : Twist in the game

IPL 2018: Chennai Super Kings vs King XI Punjab. This was the last league game of the season for CSK led by Dhoni and nobody thought this game could eventually turn into a clever case study of chaotic theory.

CSK were 27/3 in a chase of 154, with most of the highly expected and in-form batsmen failed to make the cut. KXI Punjab led by M. Ashwin had come up with a clear set plan to uproot the chase.

Dhoni promoted Harbhajan Singh and Deepak Chahar to numbers 5 and 6 respectively, and it turned just led to a massive confusion in the KXI Punjab team.

They didn't expect tailenders to come up the order and the bowlers, who were following a clear plan failed to respond to the chaos. They started trying different lengths and eventually they got smashed all over the park. Even the best bowlers couldn't contain the onslaught by these tailenders who knew nothing but to slog.

By the time these tailenders lost their wicket, the damage was already done. Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo went on to finish the game. In the post match interview, Dhoni called it as inflicting “chaos” in the opposition camp.

" In a game like this, you want to take as many wickets as possible when it is swinging. With Bhajji (Harbhajan) or Chahar going in, it creates a bit of chaos. The bowlers all of a sudden starts to bowl yorkers, short of length or bouncers. When batsmen are batting, the bowlers somehow stick to a very good line and length,” Dhoni had said, describing his move.

The same concept was tried by other teams later but miserably failed.

The wider implications of the chaos theory are pretty clear. It is not just about getting in the pinch-hitter but also ensuring you have the right pinch-hitter. In a game spanning 120 balls, even a ball lost can be decisive. Of course, there is an option to disregard pinch-hitters altogether, but as Harbhajan and Chahar proved, when used right, the theory could be a game-changer. Read the full story here

Dhoni's Chaotic theory could well compliment Sundar's cockroach theory.

The Digital Marketing Conundrum:

Now putting this into the Digital Marketing industry perspective, we are indeed in the middle of chaos inflicted by an information overdose.

SEO, Facebook Ads, Instagram, LinkedIn live, chat bots, Instagram, Programmatic advertising, IGTV, Instagram, Voice search, Amazon ads, Instagram, AI based marketing (yeah I made that up. Nothing looks sexy these days without the word AI) Instagram is repeated because of Gary Vee :)

How many times have we planned a digital marketing road-map only to stop it right after few days because someone's talking great about a new digital channel. Only later to learn it doesn't work for your business model and switch to another and another. The story goes on.

Here's something you can do to right now to avoid this chaos.

1. Look at your LinkedIn activity for the past 2 months.
2. Go through all the posts you liked/commented/shared
3. Pickup all the strategies that you think is great for your business
4. Compare it to your Digital Marketing roadmap and see if any of those strategies you learnt from LinkedIn fits anywhere
5. If it fits, Who is the best guy in your team to execute that strategy?
6. Execute.

No matter how many people you follow on LinkedIn, books you read, videos you watch, it just boils down to how you "Execute".

Now, Are you going to react or respond to this information overdose?

Cheers!

Senthil