One of the core reasons to have product marketing managers (PMMs) is to translate what a business does in a way that speaks to the needs of users.

As a prerequisite to doing that well, one must know their audience.

And the ones who do it best, don’t just know but, embrace their audience.

St. Patrick, although not Irish, had a deep understanding of Ireland.

This was in part due to the remarkable fact that he was held in captivity by a group of Irish raiders for six years.

When he moved to Ireland to minister to both Christian’s and non Christian’s he incorporated traditional rituals into his lessons of history to make it more appealing to the locals.

This was a dramatic turn from previous approaches that had attempted to eradicate native Irish beliefs.

Two interesting examples of this are:

• The use of bonfires to celebrate Easter. Fires were commonly built to honor other gods.
• Added a sun to the cross, a common symbol, now known as the Celtic cross.

By embracing not eradicating, St. Patrick was able to speak the language of his audience, changing hearts and minds.