Marketing Fails Not Limited to Small Businesses

By Erin Quinlan

We’ve all seen them – the marketing fails.

And it’s not just from small businesses, big brand marketing decisions sometimes lack logic or grace.

Want someone to help you with your marketing strategy to make sure that you don’t fall into one of those categories? TheSilent Partner Marketing can help.

Not sure what we mean by marketing fails? Here are a few examples.

One time, Belvedere Vodka referenced rape in an ad. After the fact, Belvedere did make a donation to RAINN, an anti-sexual violence organization, but it is an example of a judgment error that deviates from the typically clever, engaging social graphics.

Making light of mental illness? McDonald’s learned that this is not a good strategy and pulled this ad after intense criticism. 

Huggies once ran a campaign making fun of dads. People have always joked about women being great moms and men being fumbling fathers. It’s old, demeaning, sexist – and not true. Huggies found this out the hard way, when they launched a campaign poking fun at dads as being fumbling fools that didn't know how to take care of their babies. It didn’t go well. There's a fine line between parody and just plain making fun of people.

Social media is a great tool when it comes to marketing, but when used incorrectly, it can fail miserably. Take for example, when Susan Boyle released an album and announced she would be taking questions during an exclusive album listening party. She used the hashtag #susanalbumparty. It’s supposed to say “Susan Album Party,” but that’s not really what it looks like, is it?

Ouch.

These are just a few examples of where marketing strategies have failed and people have fallen on their faces.

Ready to make sure that isn’t you or your business?

Give The Silent Partner Marketing a call at 866-432-6456 or e-mail Kyle Reyes at kyle@thesilentpartnermarketing.com and we can help you out.


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Erin Quinlan is the Content Marketing Manager of The Silent Partner Marketing, a boutique marketing firm focused on helping businesses grow in an age of exploding technology. You can find The Silent Partner Marketing on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter.