I get a lot of junk email.
Admitedlly not as much as when I was at cynic when Andy stupidly signed up at some ‘free porn password’ site that then inundated our inboxes with all manner of questionable material, but a lot all the same.
Many of the junk messages I get nowadays are marketing related, which is even more depressing than waking up each morning to an email box bursting with offers of dick extenders or sex with ‘hot and horny grandmas’.
What makes it even worse, is all of them are just shit.
Here’s a perfect example of what I get …
Rubbish isn’t it?
What makes me angry is they way they try and sound like they’re doing me a favour when all they’re actually trying to do is drum up some support for their conference, magazine or – in this case – webcast.
But there is one issue they have failed to take into account …
I DIDN’T ask for it.
I’d NEVER ask for it.
I have NO desire to know about it.
Maybe I’m biting my nose to spite my face. Maybe it will be super-interesting and informative … but if they don’t even know how to market to someone who is in marketing, I’ll take my chances.
Which leads to the point of this post.
Many people think marketing and advertising is about conning the audience into action.
Maybe that was once the case.
Maybe that’s what some companies still try and do.
But in my experience – and as one of the few ‘rules’ Wieden lives by – you don’t get anywhere unless it is founded on fundamental truth and so trying to engage me on a subject that I didn’t ask to know about and to not express it in a way that makes me see the personal advantage I’d gain from knowing about it … they’ve failed in every way.
EVERY. SINGLE. WAY.
Another example where people confuse alienating for marketing.