I interviewed Jon Cropper for the Real Vision series called “Real Visionaries”. Jon is the sort of person we rarely get to hear from because he is too busy advising the most influential brands and visionaries of our time. Jon was at MTV when Quincey Jones became his mentor and had him run his music companies. From there he has become a futurist and was named the top Marketer in America under the age of 40 by Brandweek when he ran the Infinity brand. He founded The Future of Storytelling and Futurlogic Advanced Concepts, a highly confidential business development, design, and branding studio. He has designed strategies for Aston Martin and the new Aston Martin Building in Miami was his brainchild. He helped launch Estee Lauder’s "Unforgivable" fragrance that became the #1 men's fragrance in the U.S. and did the re-launch of Ciroc Vodka with P Diddy in one of the biggest successes in the history of the spirits industry. He’s worked with the greats: Ferrari, Bugatti, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Credit Suisse Private Bank, Airbus, Feadship, Sir David Adjaye, Four Seasons (Private Jet Program), BIG Architects, S3, ITV, Hearst, Zaha Hadid Architects, and Ralph Lauren.
His greatest skill? Detecting zeitgeist and seeing around the corner of the world economy. So, what does he think now? See the teaser tweet and our whole conversation here on Real Vision. It’s called The Power of Seduction and is based on Jon’s work and writing on seduction.
In short, he says, watch the luxury world because that’s where we find the early adopters, experimenters and innovators. Remember that a candle was once advanced technology. We may have moved on but it’s still better to have dinner by candelight. The point is to remind ourselves that the economy is driven by emotion and seduction, not numbers and data points. Jon’s reminds us that brands and shopping are about a feeling. They are about seduction. You love an Aston Martin because of the feeling the machine gives you. A brand is an emotion. Ask yourself which brands you adore. Remember that brands have pricing power and can open new markets. I cannot explain how Cartier, F1 and particular brands of surfboards and bikinis got a hold of my psyche. When did they seduce me? How? I don’t know, but they did.
His Seduction definition:
S Self-awareness. Self-definition. When asked “what do you stand for?” you MUST have an answer. A real answer.
E Environment. You must understand the cultural context. That means being a great listener.
D Design. Everything needs to be packaged well. That includes yourself.
C Communications. Nobody ever bought anything based on numbers. They buy based on narrative. The quality of storytelling is everything. Find the poetry in your story.
T Trust. Do what you say. Don’t go back on your word. Word gets around when you lie, when you cheat, when you are duplicitous. Trust creates value and is invaluable.
I Inspiration. You must be inspiring to seduce.
O Openness. This means generosity. Give until it hurts. This generosity will always come back to reward you.
N New and Network. Only the new moves us forward. Only a network, a community, can amplify and expand our new ideas.
He also drops a few bombs in the interview. He says banks and financial institutions are about to “have their brain matter splattered on the boardroom walls” because they are not getting Defi and digital.
For those in geopolitics, he sees In-Q-Tel buying and running a social media network. Think abouddit. National Security meets Media. If WWIII is already underway, it’s clear that it’s a narrative and social media war more than a boots-on-the-ground war.
Psychoacoustics is going to be a new sector in the economy. If sonic weapons exist then sonic healing should too. The sound of a baby in a womb actually makes our blood pressure fall. Listen for this new economic sector.
There is so much more. Enjoy!
Thank you to Raoul Pal and Real Vision for filming this Real Visionary Series.
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Most interesting and thought provoking.
You forgot the U.