Flowers & Pearls: The shooting starts again (or maybe not)
In her column, Sarah Pally debunks some of the most cherished marketing clichés. This time, she goes hunting and shows why there are a surprising number of parallels between a hunting blind and an office chair—from strategic inaction to frantic missteps to the never-ending search for the right positioning.
Camouflaged early risers stalk through the woods, armed; hikers wear particularly bright colors; and the dogs all walk obediently on a leash: Hunting season is just around the corner!
For non-hunters, all of this is pretty baffling: You sit there motionless for hours, watching, waiting for that one moment when you can pull the trigger with precision. So, basically, just like in marketing!
The parallels between hunting and marketing are truly unmistakable. Except, perhaps, that marketing people don’t hang stuffed trophies on their walls. At least, that’s what I think. So here’s the ultimate roundup of phrases you can use in both hunting and marketing.
Everyday life: «Damn, it’s so early in the morning. Pass me the hip flask.»… For hunters, this line tends to come around 4:00 a.m.; for marketing people, it’s at the first meeting (no matter what time it is)—but in both contexts, it’s absurdly early. What follows are hours of a remarkable mix of strategic inactivity and a bit of frantic hustle. An outside observer quickly gets the impression that absolutely nothing is happening here. In reality, of course, complex processes are taking place—it’s all mental work. That’s why the standard explanation in both worlds is: «It might look easier than it is» or «It’s actually more exhausting than it looks.».
Strategic Inaction
The long but important periods of strategic inaction bring to light some astonishing insights: «The wind has shifted» can mean that the deer has picked up a human scent—or that the measures taken were completely off the mark. The result is the same: you can start all over again. Often, whether up in the hunting blind or sitting in an office chair, you’ll hear: «Let’s just see what happens for now,» «Sometimes you just have to wait,» «Just don’t lose your cool now,» often followed by «Trust me, I’ve been there.» And when all else fails, the ultimate phrase is uttered: «We need to reposition ourselves.».
Headless Hectic
The actual «moment of truth»—that is, the moment when the buck is supposed to be shot—is usually missed. Then, either «Damn, we’re too early» or “Damn, we’re too late” gives voice to the failure.
And as soon as something finally gets going, these lines are just rattled off in a rush so you can then go back to making a name for yourself with hours of carefully considered idleness: «Just don’t lose your cool now. Hand me the hip flask… ah, crap, too late. Shit, it’s so early in the morning. I guess the wind has shifted. We need to reposition ourselves. Or we’ll just wait and see what happens. Because sometimes you just have to wait. Trust me, I speak from experience!»
Well then, good luck to all you avid hunters.
Analyzed since 2025 Sarah Pally In her column "Blossoms and Pearls", she uses industry-related terms and comments on them with a personal touch, from a linguistic perspective - as well as with a precise view of developments in the industry. Pally is a partner in the Partner & Partner agency in Winterthur. She has been working in the fields of content marketing, text/concept and storytelling in the communications and marketing sector for 15 years.
