Everyone in marketing seems to be consumer ‘obsessed’. If corporate statements or LinkedIn bios are anything to go by, we’re all ‘obsessed’ with the what – and why – of human behaviour.

It’s one of those words that has become so common in marketing that we rarely stop to think about what it actually means. But perhaps we should.

Obsess comes from the Latin obsidere: to besiege or occupy. More literally, to sit opposite. It raises an interesting question: if we’re so obsessed with people, when did we last actually sit opposite one?

How often do we actually go and meet people where they are, face to face, rather than resorting to stats online?

It got me wondering whether there are other everyday marketing terms whose origins contain forgotten lessons.

Data means ‘things given’

We usually talk about data in terms of collecting, capturing and analysing – all words that position data as something there for us to take. Yet data is the plural of the Latin datum: ‘a thing given’.

Whether someone is completing a survey, agreeing to an interview or allowing us to track their behaviour, they’re giving us something. But the real question is what are we giving them in return? It doesn’t have to be money. It might be an interesting conversation, or the sense that their time wasn't wasted. But good data collection should feel less like extraction and more like exchange.

To respect someone is to ‘look again’

Respect comes from the Latin respicere: to look back at or take a second look.

I love this, because a classic mistake is assuming we understand people based on simple descriptions. Gen Z wants authenticity. Older people don’t use TikTok. People choose brands because they share their values.

But respecting people means resisting that first explanation. Look once. Then look again. This is essentially why I set up Uncommon Thread – because I think the interesting stuff appears when you go beyond the obvious.

Curiosity comes from ‘care’

Curiosity traces back through Latin curiosus – careful, diligent, inquisitive – to cura: care. That feels particularly relevant to research.

Curiosity isn’t endlessly asking ‘why?’ because a moderator’s guide tells you to – it’s caring enough about the answer to notice when something doesn’t quite fit.

I found it fascinating that both a Met Police detective and an investigative journalist told me this exact lesson – clearly it extends far beyond marketing.

To communicate is to ‘make common’

Communicate comes from Latin communicare: to share or make common. That’s quite different from the way we think about communication i.e. our job is to transmit a message.

Instead, the root of communication suggests it isn’t complete just because we said something. Something has to become shared.

So, perhaps a good test for an ad is: does it give people something they might repeat to someone else?

Advertising means ‘turn towards’

Advertise ultimately comes from Latin advertere: to turn toward. Not an impression served. Not two seconds of viewability. An actual human being deciding that something is worth turning towards.

This means that, rather than worrying about whether someone remembers our message, there’s a more fundamental question: Why would they turn towards us in the first place?

Finally, there’s ‘consumer’

Perhaps the strangest word is the one at the centre of everything. Consumer comes from Latin consumere: to use up, eat or exhaust.

In other words, we describe people by what they use, rather than who they are. That feels like a red flag for marketers – if we only study people through the lens of what they buy, we’re seeing a tiny part of their lives.

Sometimes the better place to start is with the person: what they care about, what frustrates them, what makes them laugh, etc. It’s the combination of person and behaviour that unlocks the best insight – one is no good without the other.

Words worth taking literally

I don’t think etymology should dictate how we practise marketing. But I like the idea that is a there is a forgotten instruction manual buried inside the language of our industry:

• Sit with people.
• Remember what they give you.
• Look again.
• Care enough to stay curious.
• Create something shared.
• Give people a reason to turn towards you.
• Forget about the consumer and look at the person instead.

Sam Salama is insights lead at the Metropolitan Police Service and an MRS board member