Take a walk in your customer's shoes

Welcome to Spark, a newsletter from Vivace. We curate and publish the most interesting thinking and ideas from our community on themes ranging from business and finance to culture and creativity. Send pitches and feedback to [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you.

Hello Spark reader,

This week, we’re excited to be able to share some original thinking from first-time contributor but long-time collaborator, friend, and ex-colleague Rohan Shams. Rohan is a man who needs no introduction for many in our community, but for all others, he is an exceptional B2B marketing strategist, most recently at ICE (Intercontinental Exchange) and formerly at LSEG. Even more memorable than his great work is the lasting impact he has had on those he has worked with and the teams he has led.

Rohan also used to work with us at Thomson Reuters, an organization Vivace has been delighted to work with again as a client. We had a blast helping to shape and evolve the Thomson Reuters Institute’s podcast, now known as Clarity. (More on that here). 

Thanks as always for spending some of your attention with us today — onto Rohan’s great insights.

-joel

Where have all the cobblers gone?

Guest essay by Rohan Shams

The Shoe Service Institute of America reported that shoe repair shops have dwindled from 100,000 in the 1930s to 15,000 in 1997 to about 5,000 reported stores in 2019 (AP).

Or to put it in another perspective, while in 1930 there was one cobbler for every 60 people living in America, now there is only one cobbler for every 10,000 people.

So, what might be driving this change? Have our feet evolved enough for us to stop wearing shoes? Or has shoemaking technology evolved to the point where shoes no longer deteriorate over time?

The answer to the first question is probably unsurprising—it’s clear our feet haven’t evolved to the extent we can now go barefoot. In San Antonio, Texas, research indicates that every person is a proud owner of at least 12 pairs of shoes, the highest average for any city in the States. Meanwhile, Nevada takes the prize for the overall state with the most ownership, clocking in at 19 pairs per person. Across the pond: British women own a whopping 30-35 pairs of shoes on average, while British men own 18 (RunRepeat).

So perhaps the materials and quality of shoes have significantly improved? Well, not exactly. High-quality pure leather shoes that last a long time have decreased in production, replaced by synthetics and other materials over the years.

So why are the cobblers disappearing?

This is where I believe the role of shifting consumption patterns comes in.

The relationship between what we consume and how long we remain attached to it is changing due to the ever-evolving depreciation of our most limited resource: attention.

We tend to acquire, use, discard, and move on to things far more easily and quickly than ever before. Call it ‘attention economics’ as coined by John Beck and Thomas Davenport, or as per the famous Andy Warhol line: “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes”—our collective ability to focus on things is on the decline.

Making the effort to take worn-out shoes to a cobbler for a new lease of life simply doesn’t appeal as much anymore. It’s easier to walk into a store brimming with choices or browse an endless selection online than to wait for repairs.

By now, you may be wondering why you’re reading about cobblers in a newsletter known for great stories about content and marketing.

Well, as we all realize that value is not purely in the quantity of activities but in their impact, the more consciously we drive that message in our roles, the better—otherwise, the future of marketing may resemble that of cobblers.

The audience we are targeting is continually redefining the ‘contract’ of engagement—where one gives their attention in return for perceived value. The massive amount of choice, flexibility, and convenience that consumers now have means that whatever marketing product (content piece, event, offer, campaign, advert, etc.) we create is at risk of becoming disposable in the ‘consume and move on’ culture.

Videos are getting shorter (10 seconds is now the ‘optimal’ reel length, and 90 seconds is the best ‘thought leadership’ format, right?), written content is struggling for the attention it was created for, and those carefully crafted product brochures and fact sheets often feel more like internal vanity exercises than materials truly consumed by the intended audience.

Beyond activities, impressions, and metrics—numbers will admit to anything if tortured for long enough—what truly matters is the ability to think, feel, and experience marketing as a customer would. Only then can marketers create something that doesn’t just get consumed and discarded but builds lasting engagement over time. Those who can’t deliver on this may begin to go the way of the cobblers.

Rohan B. Shams is a marketing and communications strategist with over a decade of experience in financial markets, sustainable finance, data, and transformation. He has led major projects to drive market expansion and establish brand positioning for global firms. Passionate about bridging finance, sustainability and innovation with human-centred marketing, Rohan regularly shares insights on market trends, growth, and navigating emerging markets.

Thanks for joining us this week. Anything we missed? Something we should include next week? Send us your shout-outs and strong opinions to include in next week’s edition at [email protected]. 

Spark is a production of Vivace, a global B2B creative studio and consultancy that helps businesses drive meaningful brand and commercial impact. Get in touch if you’d like to chat with any of the team. Have a great week ahead.