For me, the fundamental underlying issue when it comes to evil marketing tactics involves to permission versus interruption. If you interrupt me as a consumer I’m likely to be less enamoured with your product or services. You should be smart enough to engineer my permission to engage with me in an interesting way.
If you don’t, perhaps you’ll make it on the next list! Here goes.
1. “Hi, We’re just doing a crime-prevention survey in your area.”
Please do not patronise me by calling me and pretending you could care less about crime in my area. Certainly not when I’m in the middle of a particularly tense episode of Corrie.
All you want to do is shift as many burglar alarms – on the back of a government grant which effectively discounts your services – as possible. This is insincerity and deception of the lowest variety. And my perception of your business will plummet even lower than that!
2. Double glazing sales people in supermarkets.
If I am in a supermarket – I’m there for one of three reasons: (1) Shopping, (2) To eat one of those five-item breakfasts, or (3) sneak into the toilet when I’m caught short.
I have certainly never said: “We need some double glazing – I’ll just pop into the supermarket foyer and see what offers I can rustle up.” This is classic interruption marketing. Sampling food by the food counter is fine. I’m shopping for food so at that moment in time – I’m interested in food.
Eddie Izzard does a great routine lampooning the guy by the checkouts aimlessly asking shoppers: “Are you happy with your wash?” Unfortunately, I couldn’t find that clip (let me know if you find it) but this one (off subject) will have to do for now:
3. Radio Station advertising sales PowerPoint presentations.
I swear the last time I sat through one of these things it made my eyes bleed. At least they go to the trouble of copy and pasting your company logo on the first page. Demographic shemographic ya di yah. ‘Reach’ this, ‘statistically proven’ that. Oh here’s a pie chart.
4. Hijacking Twitter Accounts.
How creatively bankrupt is this?
5 “Dear colleague/valued customer “emails.
Even worse, CC-ing the whole world so they can see who else is receiving it. If you do not know the person’s name and you cannot master an email marketing service that enables you to address each person by their first name, do not bother.
Have I missed any out?
Further reading
