Joy for the win.

All hail President Elizabeth Warren! Oh wait. She ran for President based on detailed policy – as in she had a plan for everything. The problem is… nobody votes for plans.

But people are at a point where they may vote for joy. Not folly. Not looking haphazard because you were busy laughing all the way to the bank. Real, subconscious, in every cell of your being JOY.

Because look at the world. We are lucky to be Americans. Curiously, gratitude as a communications trend hasn’t yet hit politics as hard as it has therapy.

“What keeps you up at night?” “What is the cause of the pain?” “Let me tell you what’s wrong so we can fix it.” Let’s talk about the dopamine of these.

There is none. No dope.

Marketing has been built on the strategy of pain. Problem/solution. Overcoming weaknesses. Shared complaints. Salvation from some hell caused by an underperforming or unfulfilling product or service.

Look at the numbers. Since the pandemic, every year there has been double digit increases in dollars spent on “entertainment.” We are past pre-pandemic levels. Entertainment – to include partying and celebration as an excuse to mark life – has the best CAGR ever.

Not all of marketing is tripping and face planting in this way. Retail/e-commerce marketing has known about the state of Joy for a while now. That’s why we go shopping rather than go buying. The same way we go fishing rather than go catching. The joy is in the tasks. The process. Because the process makes us feel better subconsciously than the actual outcome of the purchase does. The outcome is fleeting.

We’ve all heard that being positive is a choice we make every day. It is all about getting your head right. Finding wonder and awe in life as you live it. Changing your vibe to a higher frequency, in the mindful present. It represents growth and revenue rather than closure and containment. It’s why we buy a $5 coffee every day rather than put that money in a 401K.

It’s the powerful state of experiencing Joy.