Love is in the air? No, just marketing

By: Eric Edwards (KRT)
Posted In: Opinion

When single people think of dating, such words as romance, love and passion spring to mind.

While those intangibles can be the foundation of any lasting relationship, in order to get there, one must embrace the rather unromantic notion of marketing.

It’s sad to say, but a person’s singleness is a marketable commodity merely waiting for the right buyer.

People looking for relationships aren’t terribly different from people looking for cars. No matter how much you might want a new ride, you aren’t going to go out and invest time or resources into getting one that doesn’t appeal to you.

The same is true for relationships, so we take stock of our attributes and try to sell prospective buyers on what makes us a top-of-the-line selection.

We market ourselves in many ways. From the clothing we wear to the music we listen to, we’re sending messages to the dating pool about who we are and what we’re about. We douse ourselves in cologne; we gunk up our hair with sloppy goo; we spend an entire paycheck on one very fancy outfit that we know makes us look our best.

That is basic packaging. A company might sell the best product in the world, but if the consumer is turned off by the label and never gives it a chance, that company is going to fail. Otherwise, Chanel perfume would be sold in plastic baggies rather than eye-catching bottles.

There are many different approaches a person can take when trying to attract a suitable mate. Some spend their time at clubs bobbing their heads as if to rhythmically attract a lover. Some join church singles’ groups, hoping their spirituality will divinely interfere with their lonely nights.

Those are both good ideas, but Dave from Orlando, Fla., uses another method that may be a more honest approach. Dave has placed yellow fliers on telephone poles at various locations in downtown Orlando in hopes of attracting a downtown dweller such as himself.

“I was tired of meeting women who live in Kissimmee or Sanford, or worse. I live downtown, and so I decided to use the `direct’ solicitation approach,” Dave tells me.

“I have met a couple of women and have actually gone out on a date with a fellow Delaney Park woman, so I guess I would have to say the effort has been only mildly successful.”

Whether or not Dave has experienced a resounding success, though, is not the point.

The point is that he has decided to treat his personal dating aspirations as a business model and market to the audience with whom he feels compatible: downtown women who read fliers on telephone poles.

And while it’s easy to jest at such methodology, Dave is able to spell out his needs and get the word out without the expense of the personal ads.

His flier reads:

SINGLE … ELIGIBLE … MAN … DOWNTOWN DWELLER … SEEKS DOWNTOWN WOMAN FOR DATING & POSSIBLE RELATIONSHIP.

He goes on to say he is a fun, affectionate, Florida native in his mid-50s who is looking for an attractive, creative, willing woman in her 30s or 40s.

Of course, it’s possible Dave is shooting for the stars, but then again, if you were looking to sell your car, you wouldn’t lowball on the advertised price either.

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(Eric Edwards, who imagines the next step in dating is personal Internet pop-ups, writes for The Orlando Sentinel. He can be reached at The Orlando Sentinel, 633 N. Orange Ave., MP 240, Orlando, Fla., 32801. Send e-mail to eedwards@orlandosentinel.com.)

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c 2004, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.