It’s All Marketing

Some is good. Some is bad. But it's all marketing. 
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January 24, 2010
 

I Hate Your Selling Point

I was watching TV the other day and saw a Bank of America commercial that almost made me fall off the couch.

Apparently, this new campaign is focused on extolling the ease and power of Bank of America's online Bill Payer. The thing about this is the online Bill Payer is, in my experience, one of the worst things about the Bank of America online service. My experience has been far different that the relaxed mom paying her power bill while sipping her coffee as the family runs chaotically around her.

The purpose of this post, however, isn't to rant about BoA. Rather, I wanted to point out that this is a good reminder that just because you think a feature of your product is great, you might want to check with your customers just to be sure. Especially if you plan on running an entire commercial highlighting the feature.

How about you. Have you ever seen a commercial highlighting the very aspect you hate about a product?

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January 17, 2010
 

My Son Watches Football

This is a brief discussion from our drive to church this morning. Note - my son is 5 years old.

Son: Hey, look. That sign says Bud Light. There are lots of commercials on TV about Bud Light... What is Bud Light?
Wife: It is a yucky beer.
Son: The guy on the commercial says it's not too light, not too heavy.
Wife (to me): Watch football much?

Yes, I watch football. More importantly, my son watches it with me. Since he's 5, football is probably the only time that he is exposed to non-age-appropriate TV commercials. Despite my best efforts to mute or fast forward through commercials, some have apparently slipped though the cracks. The result? At the young age of 5, he is now brand-aware of Bud Light.

While I'm not thrilled that Bud Light has infiltrated my son's head, I'm thankful that brand awareness alone isn't the magic bullet of marketing.

For one, there is product experience. In about 16 years, should he want, we'll crack open a Bud Light together and he'll discover for himself that it is not too light, not too heavy, and not too good! Brand awareness will never trump actual customer experience. Gross beer will always be gross beer.

Which leads to my second point, reputable testimony. As you can guess, I don't like Bud Light. I'm not anti-beer, I just think that Bud Light tastes... well, like bad yellow water. Over the years, it is undoubtedly that my son will hear me say anti-Bud Light comments (like my wife's "It is yucky beer" statement). Should he chose, at the legal age of 21, to responsibly drink beer, the odds are he'll be far more likely to have one of "dad's beers" than he is to drink the beer with the catchy commercial.

Granted, I could blow it and be a horrible dad that loses reputable authority in his life, but I'm aiming to not do that. So, Bud Light and other marketers after my kids, know that I'm after them too... and I'm in marketing.

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