Thinking outside of the box is not thinking out side the box. It’s a cliché—a tired, dusty LP in an iPod world. Alas, it’s the war cry from boardrooms a nation across.
“We need to think outside of the box!” screams an all-too-tired-of-this-friggen-economy marketer. What ensues? Fire an agency. Hire an agency.
“Surely,” said marketer reasons, “this time we got it right.”
Another six months passes, and little to nothing changes—for the positive.
That’s because the message sound like a broken record: BUY ME! BUY ME NOW! HOW ‘BOUT NOW?
Ugh. Kill me. Kill me now. How ‘bout now?
Traditional campaigns can look a lot like Neanderthals on a rampage, do they not?
As the notorious saying goes, “I know that half of my marketing budget is wasted. The problem is, I don’t know which half.”
The problem is deeper rooted than better creative or greater saturation. If someone wants to ignore your message, they’ll ignore it—no matter whether they see it once (no big deal) or two hundred times (and now you’re starting to upset them).
I have actually sworn off many a brand due to poor advertising. Bad commercials and poorly conceived print ads really make me mad. If you, Mr. Brand, don’t value me enough to make a quality advert, then you don’t mind wasting my time. And if you don’t mind wasting my time, I will be certain not to waste any of yours with, say, orders or online reviews (well, positive ones, anyroad) or by joining your Facebook group page. Believe it or not, Ripley, I am actually insulted by those types of ads.
A while back, a few friends suggested eating at a local restaurant. I protested quite stubbornly, “I will not support (edit this portion; they don’t merit the promotion), they wasted my time with that silly commercial. You know, the one they must have shot for $15 on a 1986-issue VHS stadium-sized camcorder. No. We can eat at Fate, though.
We @ Blind Society would sooner be caught jobless than hypocritical. So what did we do when Arizona State University came aknockin’?
What resulted was a 20-year record in season ticket sales: 50,000+.
What resulted was a nomination for the 2009 National Sports Forum Best Alternative Campaign award.
What resulted was, well, results.
So, the question is: do you want to be a broken record or a record breaker?
Click below to download the full portfolio from the Arizona State University 2008 football campaign.
Arizona State University 2008 Football Campaign Portfolio
More from Blind Society
- You Oughta Know!
- The Marketing Funnel – Then Vs. Now
- Dorky – The Alternative To Being Cool
- DON’T VOTE!
- Connected.
