17:32.

I started a SWOT Analysis and 4 Ps report on the ministry yesterday afternoon and am about just all marketed out right now at pg 6 of everything. Finished the SWOT this morning and am about half way through the 4Ps. Spent lots of time and typing space on the Publicity bit. Tomorrow, there's a committee meeting at 10.30am with the Sg WorldTeach director who is also the Asia-Pac director. I'm supposed to shoot off a list of questions at the guy so we can learn how they run the ministry there so I've been polishing up the agenda a bit more today while acting like a big sponge, absorbing every thing I can about the ministry and our products. Then, hopefully, I can go out to a bookshop and conduct some field research to finish up the 4Ps proper.

Like I said, I'm about all marketted out right now but even as the eyes glazes over and goes all beary, it's pretty good beary, heh.

But I'm quite glad I didn't take up the offer to accompany a pastor to drive 5 hours to JB on Sat to observe him conduct a seminar. Though I do have to settle a change of dates in my visit back.

Heh, beautiful irony that I am all checking out marketing sites, reminding myself to bring Intro To Marketing, my textbook from poly the next time I go back, and all mind racing furiously and fingers flying producing a marketing plan four years after I graduated and hoped never to do marketing related matters.

Interestingly, Dad has a sense of humour and better grasp of situations than yours truly.

On Monday, as I sat on the chair where I now sit in the office, waiting for the only other full-time staff to come in, God helped me see something I never did.

See, my beef with advertising has always been that they often create needs in order to sell their products. Thus, life becomes like product centered with imaginary needs we subscribed to due to good advertising efforts.

But now, this, marketing a ministry, helping a God-thing get to its feet the best humanly possible (and God does every thing else we can't even as He helps us do what we can), it's not about creating a need.

It's about making yourself known so you can plug that very real need.

Nothing imaginary. Not creating a need so you can sell a product but selling your product so that people can use it to plug their need and improve their lives.

If that's not worth marketing, I don't know what is.

And if for this, I cross over from journalist to marketeer, then heck, here I am, use me.

Please. amen