It’ no surprise that the diverse plays that were awarded Tony awards last night all share one thing: a context that people today can relate to. In accepting the award for best musical revival for “Hair,” Oskar Eustis, the N.Y. Public Theater’s creative director, summed it up:

“If the theater is going to matter, it has to talk about things that matter to the people.”

Whether marketing art or widgets, the need for context and relevancy is huge, but often overlooked. On Friday a firm called me to discuss their marketing needs.  As they explained their business, I realized that what they do is in the collaborative innovation and enterprise 2.0 space, concepts they were aware of but hadn’t really given much thought to.

Because the firm isn’t marketing within the context of today’s corporate decision makers, their sales and marketing messages just aren’t resonating. Nor are they in the right marketing conversations that can result in leads, nor are they getting invited into big deals for which they’re qualified.

For people to find your company and consider your services, you need to market within their context.  Of course, this isn’t essential, but you’ll spend far more on marketing and sales if you try to create a new category or context of understanding.