Today is the ultimate day of practical jokes. April Fool’s Day is one of our oldest traditions. Some date it all the way back to April 1, 1582, in France. This is the year that the Council of Trent decreed the new Gregorian calendar would be used in place of the old Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar made January 1 New Year’s Day, not April 1 as it had been on the Julian calendar. Some people either forgot about the new calendar or were just ignorant "fools.” They went ahead with New Year’s celebrations on April 1 and were mocked and ridiculed by their neighbors. As a prank, paper fish were attached to the fools’ backsides, which was a sign of a person who was gullible in medieval France. These people were called "April Fish,” comparing them to a fish that would swallow any bait that was dropped in the water and be easily caught. This apparently went on for every April 1st subsequent to 1582, giving the French a day to make fun of the fools who had not caught on to the new calendar.

Not to be outdone by the French, the British came up with an event on April 1^st called Hunting the Gowk and Tailie Day. The Gowk is a cuckoo bird. As a joke, a person called the Gowk is sent on a door-to-door search for a list of items written on a paper. The Gowk doesn’t know what is written on the paper, but is instructed to hand it to whoever answers the door. When they read the letter, it tells them to instruct the Gowk that you don’t have what he or she needs, but you know someone who does, thus sending them in another direction. This goes on all day long. Tailie Day follows Gowk Day. This is when people put messages on the backside of people that will say things like "kick me” or are fashioned to look like tails.

Somewhere along the way, April Fool’s Day made its way around the world and is recognized in many countries, including the U.S.A.

So how does April Fool’s Day relate to marketing? Just as the roots of April 1^st tapped into the gullibility of people, so there are common foolhardy thoughts about marketing that are commonly expressed in business. They would include the following:

· I don’t need marketing to succeed in business. Most of the time that I hear this argument it is from a person who is actually marketing the business, but doesn’t recognize that he is doing so. Marketing is the air that effective businesses breathe. It is essential to success.

· Marketing is all about a good-looking website. Great graphic design is what makes your website look good, but let’s not foolishly think that design is all there is to marketing. Great creative execution might catch the attention of your customers, but it is only a small part of the larger strategy. Marketing is the culmination of all the efforts that help drive a customer to a sale.

· Marketing is a waste of time and money. If it isn’t working correctly, that may be a true statement, but all that means is you need to switch your marketing efforts to meet the needs of your customers. If I try to get my dog to eat a salad, he rejects it. It doesn’t mean my dog isn’t hungry, it means I need to give him what he wants to eat – dog food!

· Marketing means I don’t need a sales rep. Marketing and sales work hand-in-hand. Marketing is the effort to attract people to your brand and generate interest in it, but sales is what makes the offer and closes the deal. When someone expects marketing to take the place of sales efforts, they will be sorely disappointed.

· I don’t get any response from my marketing, but we’ve always done it this way. If your marketing is not generating interest in your brand in a tangible way, you need to make a change in your approach. Likely you are throwing good money away. Good marketing should make you money.