Every morning I get to work and turn on my computer and the Answers daily highlights (which I have opted in to receive) pops up. It tells me whose birthday it may happen to be, a few “words of the day” and it gives me a quote.

Today’s quote was by the composer Carl Orff (I had the pleasure of seeing the Carmina Burana a few years ago at
Lincoln center so, I am a fan!).

The quote was this:

“Tell me, I forget; show me, I remember; involve me, I understand.” – Carl Orff

What exactly was he talking about? Is it possible that Carl Orff foresaw the 21^st century advertising/marketing shift?

Lets look at the sentence more closely:

Tell me, I forget; show me, I remember: This sounds a bit like broadcast radio and television advertising although, these days, you can show me and I will still forget.

…involve me, I understand: The Web, Blogging, Podcasting, Tivo, Mobile etc.

One point I want to make is, involvement does not equal conversion but, an engaged consumer is far more likely to be receptive to marketing messages so, Carl Orff, you were a 20^th century advertising genius!