Bulldogs & Bad Marketing

When it comes to marketing, even Bulldogs can get involved. Check it out.

What do Bulldogs & Bad Marketing have in common?

While my wife and I love our dogs, the English Bulldog we bought about 10 years ago was an adorable, fat, messy disaster. Don't get me wrong, Saggy (our English Bulldog) was one of the dogs I loved the most. However, I loved her because she was so ugly that I thought she was cute. Some of the characteristics and behaviors of Saggy reminded me of bad marketing.

First, lets look at a few areas where bulldogs and great marketing stand out. According to the American Kennell Club, The English Bulldog is known for being calm, courageous, friendly, dignified but amusing. Outstanding marketing tactics should trigger some of these same traits in your audience. Just last night, I paused and then fast forwarded through every single TV commercial that interrupted the program I was watching. Interruptive advertising has it's place; however, more and more consumers are turning this off. What I felt was not a sense of calm, or friendship. Brands that are able to trigger a sense of calm, courage, friendship, dignity, and amusement tend to be brands that win at the marketing game. 

Now for a look at the areas that I disliked the most about our English Bulldog, Saggy. Saggy gave us grief as the result of her stubborn attitude. This was probably the most problematic; however, here is my list of other challenges I found: 

• Possessive

• Shedding

• Loud Snoring

• Slobber & Drooling

• Gassiness - Yep, you read that right.

• High Cost

Bad marketing tends to leave a buyer with many of these negative feelings. How many times have you looked for a product or service, only to find out the marketing didn't really tell the full story of features, advantages, and benefits? The campaign instead delivered a message that reminded you of all that slobber. Ugh! Just one quick example I found recently. My wife and I had our 19th wedding anniversary just a couple of weeks ago. I decided I wanted to buy her a nice "rose gold" ring. As I started my journey as a buyer, I was astonished by the amount of ads with "discounts" and "sales" (or shedding, drooling, and gas) rather than a jeweler giving me information about the quality of the gold, warranty of the ring. I eventually bought a ring; however, only after my personal experience with the jeweler who was loyal. Finally, one thing I must admit is that Saggy was very loyal.

Effective marketing should never leave your audience feeling like they need a bath. Provide information and content that can help the buyer. Information that is relevant and timely. Always, consider where your customers are in the buying process and don't over do your marketing to speed up the process. If you do, you'll be thought of as that loud snoring English Bulldog.