Ancient Mayan belief has it that humans were shaped and placed on this earth to create beauty, and history tells us that Mayan gods revered eloquence above all else. In this indigenous spirituality the deliciousness of words keeps the gods fed, keeps us alive and wrestles death into abeyance.

Now Mayan spirituality is worlds away from modern business and the right to life may not be enough to convince industrialists to bring poetry into commerce. To be more convincing let me offer a few bottom line truths that may motivate the mixing of the language of metaphor, with the language of money.

The first is that poetry is fast becoming the staple of young, urban South African consumers who are giving form to their experience of life through the spoken word. In shabeens, schools, universities, coffee shops, galleries and dimly lit venues you'll find spoken word poets who speak about their experience with life. Need to know who your consumer is? Go to a poetry club and meet them.

As consumer brands and advertising become a pervasive part of modern living and as people become disenchanted with brands that don't deliver, the watch dogs of society mirror this dissatisfaction. The media is not the only third estate in South Africa. Poets have always been the voice of the people, so brands are finding their way into poetry which reflects the disgruntled majority speaking out against monopolies, bad labour practices, poor service and under-delivery.

• Spirituality of Companies
• Intuition in Business