I recently wrote about companies who give out cheap shit under the guise of caring about their customers [the photo of the mouse mat was deleted by my Flickr hackers] … however I’ve just come across the World’s greatest piece of tat and want to share it with you.
Ladies and Gentlemen … allow me to introduce you to the CitiBank ‘Business Card Holder’.
Look how cute it is … it’s just like a briefcase – except it’s the size of a box of matches and has ‘CitiBank’ written on the side.
Marvel at how the locking mechanism really works.
Gasp at the ingenious way it transforms into a business card holder. Or a briefcase for midget business rabbits.
I kid you not, this is a real giveaway. For the financial representatives of CitiBank!!!
I cannot imagine how embarrassed you would be if you met a new client and had to reach into your cheap polyester suit to pull out a miniature briefcase containing all your uber-professional business cards.
Lets be honest … would you buy ANY financial product from a person who used this item?
Do you think it conveys professionalism? Do you think it represents success? Do you think it is the item of someone ‘in the know’?
Someone … somewhere … thought this was a good idea because I have been led to believe they ordered thousands to be given away at some internal conference. Let me tell you, if I worked for CitiBank and was given one of these, I’d either resign on the spot or just find a quiet corner to cry/slash my wrists.
Companies go on and on about conveying the right image … ordering their ad agencies to instil cliché-driven images of professional, successful and suave men and women into all their communication … and then they go and order some of the most cheap, nasty and embarrassing shit ever created, without a second thought as to what it could be conveying to their clients and staff.
I’ve said it many, many times that it’s the little things that make all the difference and this is a perfect example of it.
Despite CitiBank spending literally billions on their communication every single year, this stupid little item has the power to undermine all they supposedly stand for in an instant.
Sure, someone in the company thought it was probably a ‘cute’ idea, but then some people think Austin Allegro’s, Crossroads and George Clothing are cool … which leads to my point, who has the responsibility for the development of these sort of things?
At cynic, we have a philosophy that says if it has any direct interaction with consumers, we want to be involved with it … which is why apart from ads, we’ve been involved in things as varied as Jumbo Jet interior design, consumer packaging, sales kits, content creation, [none harmful] military hardware development, new distribution opportunities, NPD, brochures, on-hold messages, clothing etc etc … however in many big organisations, it would seem the marketing department relinquishes responsibility when it comes to areas they believe are ‘unimportant’ … often things like internal/external ‘leave behinds’.
Why is this?
As I said … it’s these little things that can really reinforce a brand and its values to employees and customers. Sure they may seem inconsequential, but as the crappy business card briefcase shows, they also have massive power to ruin a brands carefully constructed image.
I appreciate some companies like giving other departments a chance to ‘express their own creativity and choices’ … but what I find interesting is that this only tends to happen where marketing is concerned – if someone suggested a brand manager could ‘have a go’ at R&D, I’m sure it would be met with outrage.
Why is marketing given so little credit? Why is it something that is seen as a ‘treat’ for people to do rather than a specially crafted discipline?
Sure, by the standards adopted by a lot of companies, you’d never guess there was any skill or discipline in the creation of consumer communication [whatever channel it may utilise] … however in the right hands, it’s role in helping forge a particular image is vitally important and yet it is so often just passed over to someone who sees it as a ‘bit of fun‘.
Don’t get me wrong … I am not saying marketing and communication is a science – sure, there are some elements to it – but in essence it’s a pretty simple job. The skill is knowing what makes consumers tick, what’s really on their mind – not just in terms of the category, but interms of their life and culture … so with this in mind, handing it over to someone who thinks marketing and communication is just pictures, logos, templates, promotions and giveaways is probably one of the most daft business decisions you can make.
Actually there is another daft business decision made quite often … and that is employing mediocrity in the Marketing Department.
Too many of today’s marketers are either ego maniacs [driven by the insecurity there job is not respected within their company], process managers [where they just ‘follow orders’ and offer no influence/direction to moving the company forward] or simply underqualified in terms of real, practical marketing practices [they know all the marketing books, but don’t appreciate that many of them are based on 1950’s philosophies and not as relevant for the modern age as they would think]
When you combine these 2 issues … the general standard of marketer and their ability to relinquish anything they deem not really important enough to even less qualified individuals … is it any wonder that brands, marketing and communication are so ignored by the masses?
It’s time to get real … treat consumers with the respect they deserve and not continually undermine your brand via tacky giveaways and/or misguided communication campaigns because in the right hands, marketing can help you truly be a force to be reckoned with, however in the wrong, it not only screws you over but makes your competition happier, healthier and richer.
Bring consumer needs back into business considerations … because when you do – not only can real creativity, imagination and expression come to the fore, but you actually achieve results that gets you respected again.
Now wouldn’t that make for a nice change?