Do you know about Bowser, the Miniature Schnauzer?

Meet Bowser.

Bowser came into my life when he was seven weeks old. I was fresh out of college, adjusting to living on my own and the 40-hour workweek. He fit in the palm of my hand and looked more like a rat than a puppy.

Anyway, I was looking at Bowser the other night (he’s now almost three years old and gets fatter every day), and I was thinking that Bowser knows the secrets to all anyone really needs to know about marketing. After the jump, allow me to explain.

1. It’s all about image. When I’m out with Bowser, people love him! They want to run up and pet him. And he looks super cute. He looks cuddly and friendly. But the truth is that he’s a really mean guy. He’s always trying to bully me out of my bed, and he really doesn’t like strangers. He loves bossing other dogs around. In fact, Bowser’s kind of a jerk. But that doesn’t stop people who should know better from trying to get on his good side every time they see him. My one friend is always bringing him cookies while my grandmother plies him with toys. Bowser knows his image is very important, so he is always just nice enough to keep people coming back for more.
2. It’s all about looking for innovative ways to solve a problem. When his tennis ball rolled under my bed the other night, he first tried to solve the problem by pulling my sheets off of the bed. When that didn’t work, he tried to crawl under the bed but found he was too fat to fit. Finally, he tossed another toy under the bed to knock the tennis ball closer to the side so he could grab it with his paw. Instead of leaving the problem or waiting for me to fix it for him, he took matters into his own paws and came up with a method that worked for him.
3. It’s all about planning …
4. … and it’s all about going with the flow. Bowser is a creature of habit; he gets his dinner on time every night. He goes on his walk at the same time. If I’m five minutes off, he’s very vocal about letting me know. But he also knows when to just roll with things – I’ve moved around a lot in the past three years, and he always handles that well. So while he is accountable for sticking to a schedule, he can also adapt to challenges thrown his way. An important lesson for marketing!
5. It’s all about relationships with key people. This relates to #1. As I’ve mentioned, Bowser is not really that “Norman Rockwell” dog – he’s talkative and a bully. But he knows who the main people are – and he knows how to butter them up. He knows my mom will give him treats from the table and he knows my dad will roughhouse with him. He knows my one friend will always scratch his belly. With these people, he builds on his positive image and continues to cultivate those key relationships. (Maybe you could call those people his target markets.)

Bowser also understands the value of an online presence – he currently blogs and tweets.

Is Bowser a marketing genius? I don’t know – but I think he’s on to something. Even if you don’t think you can learn much about marketing from him, you can learn how to pilfer off as many cookies as possible before people realize just how many you’ve had.

And that information is priceless.

What marketing information is Bowser missing? Do you think his marketing strategies are decent or do they need some improvement? What’s your favorite kind of cookie?

Marketing genius?