Cutting edge technology doesn’t always mean great marketing

I’m the first to admit that there are some truly fascinating and exciting marketing opportunities popping up as technology advances. As a marketer, I am delighted to be working in a time of automated messaging, social media, and interactive marketing. However, when I encounter bad marketing that is the result of blatant abuse of technology I find it intrusive, annoying, and the true sign of a lazy marketer.

 

For instance, something that has bothered me lately is the automated voice messaging with political campaigns…I start thinking that this is just another way to annoy us. However, when the school system uses it to tell me there is no school, I think it is brilliant.

 

I received my first mobile spam text message the other day and wondered to myself how any marketer could ever think that mobile spam is a good idea. On the flip side, shipping company DHL did this mobile campaign using a Tetris-style game with branded game pieces. The user was able to forward the game on to friends via their cell phone, which resulted in 10% of users forwarding the branded messaging to their friends. Now that is awesome!

 

Even an episode of The Office recently made fun of the abuse of technology in marketing. When Dunder Mifflin launched the social networking portion of its online shopping website, it was a complete flop with hysterical consequences as certain characters started using the site to get dates. Social networking just doesn’t fit all companies with any marketing strategy. It has to fit into the community of consumers for a brand and acquiesce to the ways they choose to communicate and share information. For instance, I think social networking fits really well in Netflix’s marketing strategy. When I need a great movie recommendation, all I have to do is check out what my friends have rated recently.

 

Using new technology in marketing is neither good nor bad, it is how it is used that determines success. The one-to-one marketing opportunity afforded to businesses as technology evolves is key. If all of those hot new media are not used right, it is the same old marketing – just sent differently. It’s disappointing. It’s annoying. It breaks valuable relationships with consumers at worst. It all ties back to sending messages that people want and treating customers as individuals – not abusing technology to blast your message to people who aren’t interested or sending them something that is not relevant.

 

Any other thoughts on marketing and technology? I’d love to hear them! Email me at april@fortheloveofmarketing.com.