Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Gas and Go

Oct

18

2016

Apparently some people followed the directions on the front of this box:

image of moto mini bike box that says to just add handlebars and gas

Just attach the handlebars, add gas, and you can start driving.

And I’m sure they did. And I’m sure it worked fine.

For one time.

After that, it was probably hard to start. And they probably started complaining to the manufacturer (and/or the store where they bought the product).

And, after some intensive customer service work, they probably had some satisfied customers.

And they probably had a lesson for their packaging/labelling/marketing group.

image of moto mini bike that says to add engine oil before using it

I counted three separate stickers – one on the seat (so you would see it before you sat down to drive it), one on the gas cap (so you would see it as you went to fill it with that initial gas), and one on the handlebar assembly.

Plus they included a container of engine oil, so that those who prepared for their purchase by reading the instructions on the outside of the box would not have to go buy it.

I am, of course, conjecturing about how those stickers came to be. But I bet it was not the original plan to place those stickers everywhere.

Command the sons of Israel that they bring to you clear oil from beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually.

Leviticus 24:2

Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

Toad Lily Perspective

Oct

13

2016

It’s fall, which means the toad lilies are in bloom. In case you’re not familiar with toad lilies, here is a photo:

close-up photo of toad lily blooms

I took that photo of our plants. But all the flower catalogs and websites show a similar photo. The toad lily blooms are colorful and intricate.

And since they are called “lilies”, one would picture them as with normal daylilies.

But no.

You’ll notice that no one who sells toad lilies shows the whole plant.

Here’s our flower garden with the toad lilies:

photo of toad lily plants in a garden

See any bright, colorful blooms?

Here, try a little closer:

photo of toad lily plants in a garden

Better?

I’ll circle them for you, in case you’re not sure.

photo of toad lily plants in a garden

The blooms are interesting, but they’re also tiny.

Caveat hortarius

I went down to the orchard of nut trees To see the blossoms of the valley, To see whether the vine had budded Or the pomegranates had bloomed.

Song of Solomon 6:11

Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

Disengenuous Corolla Ad

Oct

11

2016

I have noticed a certain ad that’s been on TV recently. It’s for a Toyota Corolla.

The ad features the song “You Don’t Own Me”, originally by Leslie Gore. The version of the song in the ad is not sung by her it seems, but rather by the group of active young adults portrayed in the commercial. There are people leaving (quitting?) work, people bicycling, people roller derbying, people going various places in their Toyotas. The activities shown somewhat match the feel and lyrics of the song. People are doing what they feel free to do – they are living their lives the way they want.

But then the car gets shown.

And it’s doing things opposite all that.

I think that’s not what the advertising agency was trying to do, which makes it amusing.

For example, right as the people are singing “Don’t tell me what to do”, the commercial is showing the car telling the driver what to do. Specifically, it shows the lane-departure warning telling the driver to get back in her lane.

So now I’m confused – do you want a car that tells you what to do, or don’t you?

All the safety and comfort features are about the car doing things for the driver. The song is ostensibly about empowerment, the car is about taking control away (depowerment?).

It certainly is a contrast.

If you really want a car that doesn’t tell you what to do and lets you be free from oversight, get one of the first or early second generation Dodge Vipers. Manual transmission, no stability or warning systems – you are in complete control.

They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, teaching again and again, they would not listen and receive instruction.

Jeremiah 32:33

Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

More – Bonus

Mar

29

2016

It looks like my highlighting of marketing mistakes is paying off. Some of you may recall a prior blog post in which I noted a bottle of something touted that it had “+25% more bonus” as if you wanted more bonus and not more product.

I noticed this can of stuff the other day:

image of a can of wasp spray that claims more - bonus

These people did it right: a hyphen separates the two expressions about the product. One expression is “20% more” and the other expression is “bonus!” It’s like having both Bill and Ted on the label.

Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.”

Luke 19:8

Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

Useless Ads

Mar

24

2016

What’s vaguely entertaining is watching the ads that appear after I’ve searched for something.

For example, I recently looked up a variety of hotels for our upcoming vacation. Sure enough, right after I booked the hotels for the trip, what do many of the Google ads show me? Hotels in those locations.

I know enough about how advertising and the internet work that I was not surprised that Google knew that information.

What did amuse me though was its uselessness. Why bother showing me ads after I’ve booked the hotels? I realize they might not know for sure that I booked the hotels, but it seems backwards to me.

Once I stop searching for hotels, the ads should show me things to do near those hotels.

Wouldn’t that make more sense?

Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird;

Proverbs 1:17

Posted in Marketing | 1 Comment »

First Churches

Feb

25

2016

In our town, we have a number of first churches – First Baptist, First Presbyterian, First Methodist, etc.

I understand the history of how that happened. Across the US, it’s a fairly common occurence.

But is it right?

I mean according to the Bible. In theory, these churches should want to follow the Bible, right?

And what does the Bible say about being first? Are Christians supposed to want to be first?

How about naming your church the Last Baptist Church? Wouldn’t that be more Christian?

Or maybe your church doesn’t care about that. Maybe it just wants to follow secular marketing principals. In that case, in order to stand out from the crowd of all the other First Presbyterian Churches, use the name Best Presbyterian Church. Not only is it different from the usual names, it is also promotional. And it is alphabetically earlier than all those First churches.

So the last shall be first, and the first last.

Matthew 20:16

Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

A Useless Ad

Feb

16

2016

I noticed an unusual ad on a website:

image of an online advertisement directing you to a 404 not found page

Why would you want to direct people to a page that doesn’t exist?

My guess is that some very popular site published a bad link. A bunch of people then tried to follow that link and got a 404 error. But the advertising algorithm saw a bunch of traffic for that page and, since it is probably programmed to push the more popular pages, thought it was popular enough that other people would want to see it.

I did not click on the link, but I bet enough people were curious enough to do so. And that only perpetuated the problem, because it continued the page’s popularity.

Here is how the ad appeared in mobile format:

image of an online advertisement directing you to a 404 not found page

Anyway, it provided me with a few minutes of entertainment.

Your strength will be spent uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit.

Leviticus 26:20

Posted in Marketing, Mishaps | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »