Whatever you do, don’t make these marketing mistakes
Instead, learn from the mistakes that have already been made
Every now and then, news gets around of yet another PR nightmare caused by something some company said online. Whenever this happens, the marketing community is quick to mull over the lessons that can be learned from the situation, in order to avoid causing a scandalous disaster of our own.
No need to learn from your own mistakes when you can learn from mistakes that have already been made, right? We did a little research for you and lined up some examples of marketing efforts that utterly flopped, in order to pull some lessons to be learned out of them. Grab a pen and paper, and let’s dive right in.
Woke-washing and jumping on the social justice bandwagon
Particularly now amidst the resurgence of activism surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement, it’s not the time to be aimlessly jumping on the social justice bandwagon and posting about it just for the clout. But wait, doesn’t taking a stand on social issues show that your company cares? Well, yes. But only if the issue is truly relevant to you and your target audience. You see, the authenticity of your stance is the deciding factor in whether your campaign is seen as a genuine stand for social justice or just another case of woke-washing. Let’s look at an example.
Surely none of us have forgotten Pepsi’s Live for Now ad featuring Kendall Jenner, which sparked outrage amidst the already-heated Black Lives Matter movement back in 2017. While the point of the campaign was to market their product as a cultural unifier, the advertisement was perceived as offensive and tone-deaf, as it seemed to suggest that structural racism and racial inequality could be solved if we all just drank more Pepsi. Where this ad also went wrong is that the Black Lives Matter movement doesn’t have a lot to do with the Pepsi brand. This lack of relevancy and sensitivity to the actual problem made it seem as though Pepsi was just seizing the opportunity to benefit themselves.
The take-away
Don’t get carried away with what’s trending right now — stop and reflect on whether it is something your company truly stands for at its core. The authenticity of your statement and the relevance of the social issue to your brand and target audience is paramount in ensuring your campaign’s success. It’s not enough to just slap your logo onto a movement — you’ve got to show that you’re actually working towards the cause and that your statement comes from someplace genuine.
Failing to do background research
Countless marketing campaigns with clever concepts have received backlash simply because they failed to do a little background research. Take, for example, Snapchat’s Would You Rather ad, in which the user was asked the question ‘Would you rather slap Rihanna or punch Chris Brown?’ The Would You Rather format itself is rather brilliant, as the user is invited to engage with the advertisement — rather than passively view it — and it shows off the app’s interactive capabilities. Nonetheless, it got a public ousting by Rihanna, who criticized the ad for its insensitivity to domestic violence victims. A bit of background research would have revealed that a question alluding to domestic violence isn’t appropriate, especially considering Chris Brown and Rihanna’s infamous domestic violence case.
In another example, Wendy’s posted a Pepe the Frog meme on Twitter amongst a low-profile tweet battle with consumers about whether they use real beef. Up until they posted the meme, the Twitter exchange was no big deal. In fact, Wendy’s is known to be active, engaging, and sometimes a little provoking with their audience on Twitter. So how did a simple meme turn into a major scandal? What Wendy’s didn’t realize was that Pepe the Frog was used as a mascot by white supremacists in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Needless to say, it wasn’t a cause they wanted to be associated with. Although the meme was quickly removed, the damage had already been done.
The take-away
The lesson to be learned here is that you should always do a little background research before publishing something — whether it’s a quick Tweet or a paid advertisement. Think about the implications of your message, consider how it may appear from all perspectives, and bear in mind the current social context. We know it seems obvious, but considering that it was still overlooked by two of the world’s most known companies (which means they should have their stuff together, right?), we think it’s worth mentioning.
Overlooking current events
Timing is everything. It doesn’t matter if you’ve prepared the greatest campaign in the world, if you release it at the wrong moment, you’ll have yourself a big embarrassing mess to deal with. Take the notorious email Adidas sent to all the finishers of the Boston Marathon, which read ‘Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon!’ For any regular sporting event, this wording would have been completely fine — a little comical, even. However, considering that the email was sent after the deadly Boston Marathon bombing killed three people and injured more than 250 others, the message seemed tasteless.
Another example of a poorly-timed campaign is AirBnB’s Floating World email, which they sent out to promote their floating homes category. Sounds harmless, right? Well, it just so happened that Hurricane Harvey was washing away homes in Houston at the moment they launched the campaign. While nothing was wrong with the email content itself, it came off as insensitive considering the current events.
The take-away
Always stay abreast of current situations, and keep an eye out for anything that could result in a poorly timed campaign. Of course, campaigns are often planned out months in advance, and it’s impossible to predict whether something’s going to throw your entire plan off the rails. Nonetheless, that’s exactly why it’s important to stay aware of your surroundings and adapt your marketing efforts accordingly.
Let’s do a little recap:
- Don’t woke-wash and jump on the social justice bandwagon — even if that’s what’s trending.
- Don’t forget to do your background research — or your audience will do it for you, and it won’t be pretty.
- Don’t overlook current events — unexpected stuff happens, but don’t let it take you by surprise.
That’s a lot of don’ts, isn’t it? We know, we’re craving something a little more motivating now too. Not to worry though — to get a little positive inspiration going, a blog about some marketing campaigns that fantastically succeeded is in the works! So stay tuned.
In the meantime, if you feel like you could use some new ideas, or perhaps a second set of eyes to review your upcoming campaign before it goes live, get in touch with us using the contact form below. Together we’ll make sure your next campaign will go down on the better side of marketing history.
