Epic Marketing Failures

Sometimes a marketing strategy can do wonders for a business and help increase your market share. In other cases it can severely harm your company’s reputation, and even cause you to file for bankruptcy. These are just a few examples of spectacular marketing failures:

• Blockbuster Video commits suicide

In 2003, Blockbuster Video announced what they thought would be something revolutionary: no late fees on late returns of DVDs. Most people thought, ‘Great! I’ll return the DVD when I feel like it.’ And so it went that most people never returned them. Those who returned the DVDs after too long were then charged with the entire price of the DVD. As you can imagine, not many people would rent a movie from a place that does idiotic stuff like that.

Tags: marketing, marketing disasters

Experiential advertising: what’s the deal?

A good relationship between the brand and its customers is key.

The world of advertising has developed many new levels with the advent of mobile technology and the internet. Before the gizmos and gadgets ruled our lives advertising meant an A4 spread in a magazine, often cheap-looking flyers handed out on street corners or even a big billboard at the airport. Today there are many more ways to promote an idea, product or service and the advertising agencies cotton-on quickly.

It’s called experiential marketing and it’s all about the interconnectivity and dialogue. Charisse White of The Media Online comments that it’s about “forging an exciting, relevant and meaningful relationship between a brand and its consumer across a multitude of touchpoints that involve and engage the five senses.”

Tags: experiential advertising, marketing, relationship marketing

Nando’s new “CEO”

Nandos has always impressed customers with their inventive and contemporary ad campaigns, and this year has been no different. In a bold marketing move, the fast-food giant copied cell phone service provider Cell C’s clever use of the acronym CEO. Cell C recently appointed Trevor Noah as its new “CEO” – customer experience officer.

Following this trend, Nandos has appointed its first Chicken Excellence Officer, Kagiso Lediga. Lediga is onboard to help promote its new 5Gs offering of five great sauces. The new “CEO” is in all the new Nandos ads, which poke a bit of fun at Cell C.

Tags: advertising, cell c, CEO, marketing, nandos chicken