Marketing Musings: Jacob's Cream Crackers on the Roof of the World.

I found the following anecdote while reading my Grandmother Gladys’ memoirs this past weekend.

This authentic and beautiful story about discovering Jacob's cream crackers on a trek to Tibet speaks to the human part of marketing as well as consumer products and business in general. I sometimes struggle to describe to people why I work in Marketing and what it means to me. It's more than advertising or expansion; it's storytelling with heart and it is work with purpose.

When I found this, something clicked and I thought about all the talented people I work(ed) with that will find beauty and meaning in this story; not just marketing mavens and brand gurus but CEO's, entrepreneurs, educators and writers. Muse with me as I share a 100-year-old brand story that connects continents, tastes, languages and cultures.?

When I was five years old my father took off for a six-month trek to Central Asia through Western Tibet. This was a very dangerous journey as he had to follow trails marked only by bones of animals that had dies on the way. He also had to cross a pass of 18,250’ above sea level with no oxygen. My mother had condensed milk by boiling regular milk till it got thick, for him to carry with him, as well as other supplies. I was too young at the time to realize how nervous she was about her husband leaving and crossing the ‘roof of the world’ without any mail contact, and she wondered whether she would ever see him again.

At one high elevation, near the Chinese border, my father took very ill with altitude sickness. A runner came with a message from a Chinese official inviting him to dinner. Though hardly able to move and feeling very sick, my father felt impelled to go. A rich meal had been prepared – curried sheep’s eyes, friend rice etc. My father toyed with the food. Seeing this, the “Amban” signalled to a servant who brought in a package that had been found in the snow. (The Roosevelt Junior expedition had been through the district several days before and had lost some of their pack animals in the snow.) My father opened it to discover a tin of Jacob’s Cream Crackers – just what he was longing for in his condition! God is faithful.

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Jacob’s cream crackers on the roof of the world. Beautiful storytelling? Purpose? Meaning? Brand? Legacy? Connections? Those who seek shall find.

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Esther Clark?is author and outstanding contributor to Forbes and the World Economic Forum (WEF). Follow @ClarkEsther.

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