Still a lot of really bad marketing and advertising out there
03/07/10 06:24 AM Filed in: Marketing
1. Progressive Insurance- I recently spearheaded some market research for a media agency to get some insights on TV viewing habits of consumers. During the research we asked consumers to tell us which TV spots got them angry because they saw them too much and number one was Progressive Insurance. Everyone is promoting "low cost" auto insurance but there was a very good article recently via Nielsen that talked about "why lost cost is not always what consumers want". Progressive spends over $250 million a year on their "Flo" campaign and has gained less than 1% in market share in two years. Sorry but Flo has to go.
2. Free Credit Report.com- Another area that really bothered our consumer panel was the use of the word "free" only to require a trial enrollment that required someone to give their credit cards. Free credit report is just such a service and on top of that you can't cancel online you have to use the phone where an agent spends a lot of time trying to talk you into staying with free credit report.
3. Geico Insurance- OK, so how many different campaigns do you need ? More wasted dollars that don't get people to switch to Geico because they don't give you a reason that goes to the heart of why people would want to switch.
4. Microsoft Windows 7: For a company that is so dominant in operating systems and browsers how can they continue to put out so much really bad marketing ? What pisses people off about Microsoft ? Try going online for help with a Windows issue and navigating their website or call the toll free number to get to an endless phone tree. Are you really giving people a reason to trust you with Windows 7 after the Vista debacle ?
5. BMW Ultimate Driving Machine: In case you hadn't noticed BMW people have changed their buying behavior and the gap between luxury cars and other car brands is closing rapidly. A BMW 3 series could easily set you back $45K and the style and interior are boring. Cars like the Hyundai Genesis are closing the gap and are a lot better value. Status symbols are out and the maintenance free lease ? People are smart enough to know that the cost of maintenance is built into the price of the lease.
6. Burger King: To this day people still like McDonalds fries better than Burger King and they continue to lose share. Their burgers used to taste like "flame broiled" now they just taste like..well, an average burger that is really bad.
Forget all the bullshit talk about engagement marketing and social media for a moment and focus one aspect of marketing that hasn't changed for the last 50 years and that is :what is the reason to believe ? Why do I want to do business with you what is the unique sales position ?
I am in the BMW target demographics but why would I want a BMW? Because of the logo ? Because of the performance ? Maybe there was a time when that was important to some people but now saving money and making sure I get a good deal is more important to me.
There is a lot of really bad marketing out their because there are a lot of really bad marketers out. Until then their campaigns will continue to show success via manipulated Power Point presentations to senior people who get confused with marketing terminology.
