Marketing Campaigns? What are they?
From Chipper’s “Bank on it, Bank on yourself” to Nike’s “Just do it” to Airtel’s “Data is Life,” marketing campaigns have a way of staying in our memories long after an impression or purchase. Why is that? Well, campaigns make companies memorable. They promote a focused effort that guides consumers toward the desired action. They also give brands an identity, personality, and emotion.
Your marketing campaigns serve as the means through which you interact with your target audience, produce leads and sales, and establish your brand as that particular “something.” Marketing campaigns can be created with a variety of objectives in mind, such as strengthening a brand’s reputation, introducing a new product, boosting sales of an existing product, or even lessening the impact of bad news. How much marketing is required and which media are most effective for targeting the campaign’s goals often determine a particular demographic. Poorly executed marketing campaigns can significantly impact a company’s sales and brand awareness
Marketing campaigns spread the word about items via a variety of media, including print, radio, television, and online platforms. Campaigns can use demos, video conferencing, and other interactive approaches in addition to traditional advertising.
Franchisees and businesses operating in fiercely competitive marketplaces may frequently launch marketing campaigns and invest significant resources in building brand awareness and sales.
Facts About Marketing Campaign
- Marketing campaigns spread the word about items via a variety of media, including print, radio, television, and online platforms.
- Setting a campaign’s objective usually determines how much marketing is required and which media are most useful for targeting a certain consumer group.
- Businesses that suffer sales declines as a result of severe unfavorable news frequently employ marketing campaigns to repair their reputation.
We will explore the following in this post;
- Types of marketing campaigns
- Good and Bad Marketing Campaigns
- Examples of bad marketing campaigns
- Effects of bad marketing campaigns on businesses
- Tips on how to organize a successful marketing campaign
Types of Marketing Campaigns
Marketing campaigns can help a firm raise its brand awareness, attract new clients, and increase sales. They are a crucial part of almost every company’s growth. There are various marketing campaign kinds, and the one you select should be unique to your business.
Some of the common marketing campaigns are;
- Email Marketing Campaign
- Brand Awareness Campaign
- Product Launch Campaign
- Brand Launch Campaign
- Rebranding Campaign
- Affiliate Marketing Campaign
- Sales Promotion Campaign
- Social Media Campaign
- Public relations campaign
- Paid Advertising Campaign
Good and Bad Marketing Campaigns
Marketing is all about communicating with consumers, and if you don’t understand their needs or wants, your company won’t last very long. No matter if the firm is a restaurant or a grocery shop, effective marketing is the secret to its success. Not only are sales important, but customer pleasure is as well. Even if you manage to close the deal without winning the client’s business, they won’t likely return.
The degree to which a marketing campaign affects the financial performance of the firm, good, or service being promoted determines whether it is successful or unsuccessful.
It is that simple. Effective marketing has a positive effect on business performance, while unsuccessful marketing has a negative or non-existent effect.
All other evaluations of the success of a marketing campaign, such as “we reached 3 million people,” “we truly stood out from the competition,” and “we raised awareness,” are secondary evaluations that only matter if they ultimately result in financial gains. If it doesn’t result in an improvement in the status of your business, it doesn’t matter how many people you reach or how many people know about you.
This means that you shouldn’t judge your marketing efforts based on how creative your ads are, how eye-catching your website is, or how intelligent your Facebook postings are. The only way to determine if your marketing is effective or ineffective is by how successfully it motivates clients to take actions that boost your company’s financial performance. You must accept the fact that your accounting department has performed better in terms of marketing than your marketing department if the accounting department develops a new payment policy that encourages customers to make more repeat purchases and the marketing department develops a new social media program that fails to generate business results.
Pushing products without necessarily knowing what the customer wants or needs is considered bad marketing. Customer satisfaction is not the goal; rather, products are pushed in the hopes that someone will purchase them even though they are not necessary.
Many distinct processes and actions must be taken in the challenging subject of marketing. The success of your business will increase in all areas if you know the difference between good and terrible marketing techniques.
Seven Examples of Bad Marketing Campaigns by Companies
Audi: Chinese Wedding Commercial
It’s always important to check out a car before you purchase it. Audi turned this idea on its head. In the commercial, the groom’s mother walks up to the altar and starts checking out her soon-to-be daughter-in-law. She pinches her lip, pulls on her ears, and looks at her teeth and tongue, before giving a nod of approval to her son.
Then, the tagline reads, “An important decision must be made carefully.”
Unfortunately, this commercial misses the mark by objectifying women and reducing their value to that of a vehicle. It was far more offensive than it was humorous.
TIP: Just because you know the message behind your ad, this doesn’t mean everyone else will. Always run your content by a diverse group of people to make sure it’s 100% appropriate. And it goes without saying at this point, but do not use controversial or potentially sensitive topics in your marketing campaigns. If you have even a shadow of a doubt, don’t risk it.
Kendall Jenner's Pepsi ad
This long commercial from 2017 follows along with a marching protest and features popular model Kendall Jenner watching and then joining it. In the end, she walks to the front of the protest line and hands a can of Pepsi to a police officer as a peace offering. He takes the Pepsi and everyone cheers.
According to Pepsi, the ad was a move to promote global unity, peace, and understanding, but it achieved exactly the opposite. As soon as the ad came out, it received a storm of backlash and criticism. People found the ad insensitive and tone-deaf. Further, the ad supposedly trivialized the Black Lives Matter movement and made the protest seem like a fun party. Pepsi pulled the ad from the air and YouTube within 24 hours and apologized saying the company “missed the mark.”
TIP: Never use controversial topics or social issues to promote your products or services. If you want to capitalize on a trending topic, do your research to make sure there is no risk of polarizing your audience and losing customers.
Gillette - “The best a man can be” campaign - 2019
The razor brand released a new campaign, replacing their original tagline, “The best a man can get”, with “The best men can be”.
The new campaign advert was watched 2 million times on YouTube in the first 48 hours and sparked a major debate.
Whilst some praised the company for its new forward-thinking, others have referred to the company as now being “dead”.
The ad it shows images of bullying, sexual harassment, sexist behavior, and aggressive male behavior. It then displays these acts being stopped and prevented, for example, a friend stopping his other friend from harassing a woman in the street. Many of the comments on the video are negative, with viewers and consumers saying they will never buy Gillette products again and that the company had fallen into “feminist propaganda”.
Snapchat: Would You Rather Ad
The social app has experienced a dramatic and consistent decline in use after a layout update that upset pretty much all of its users. And as if the disastrous change wasn’t enough, Snapchat’s introduction to ads led to a PR nightmare after insulting one of the world’s most popular celebrities.
An ad for a game called “Would You Rather?” presented the user with a question: Would you rather slap Rihanna or punch Chris Brown?
Even though it was some time ago, people haven’t forgotten Rihanna and Chris Brown’s domestic violence case. And, naturally, neither has the pop star business mogul.
She responded to Snapchat’s public apology for the ad on Instagram (their competitor by the way) sharing her disappointment in the company and how a marketing stunt like that has let down not only her but other domestic violence victims, both past and present, as well.
Nivea: Purity Post
In Nivea’s Middle East division, the company posted an ad for their “Invisible for Black and White” deodorant. The image depicted the back of a woman’s head with long, dark hair covering her white outfit.
The tagline read, “White Is Purity.”
Obviously, this was interpreted as racially insensitive. In fact, white supremacist groups jumped at the opportunity to applaud Nivea for their messaging.
Burger King’s Women’s Day tweet
On International Women’s Day in 2021, Burger King’s UK division published a Twitter thread where the first tweet said: “Women belong in the kitchen” and was followed by two more tweets, one that said “If they want to, of course” and another that announced their new scholarship program to help women get a degree in culinary arts and reduce the gender gap in the restaurant sector.
Though the first tweet was intended to capture attention and the following two tweets were progressive, many Twitter users never got past the first tweet, resulting in a wave of backlash for the seemingly sexist statement. And those who saw all three tweets still saw it as a tone-deaf attempt to honor Women’s Day.
TIP: Every social media platform works differently. What works on Instagram, where the user can see the big picture straight away, may not work over Twitter via a single tweet. And what looks right on a desktop could look entirely different on mobile. So test everything out before you hit publish, and as mentioned in the first example, don’t use something controversial to grab attention. Customers might misinterpret your words. So, choose and present them wisely.
Dove’s ‘racist’ campaign
In 2017, Dove posted a three-second video on Facebook of three women of different ethnicities, each removing a t-shirt to reveal the next woman. The intention was to celebrate diversity and convey that its body wash is for every woman. However, it was perceived as a black woman transforming into a white woman after using the body wash, implying that the black woman was less clean than the white woman. The ad was called inappropriate and racist, and many consumers responded by boycotting Dove products altogether.
Dove quickly removed the post and tweeted an immediate apology, saying it “missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully.”
It later published a more thorough statement that explained the intent of the ad, reaffirmed Dove’s core beliefs, and ensured it would be re-evaluating its internal processes to prevent this mistake in the future.
TIP: While diversity is a sensitive topic, it is one we are held responsible to demonstrate and celebrate through our marketing. This should just be a standard for all of our content, but if you are going to make an extra push, make sure to run it by as many people as possible before you go live. Better yet, make sure to hire people of diverse backgrounds so you can have a built-in, multi-perspective review team.
Four Effects of Bad Marketing Campaigns on Businesses
Successful marketing campaigns may be wonderful for brands or businesses. However, if they go wrong, it could harm a brand’s reputation as well as reduce sales.
We will explore some effects of bad marketing campaigns.
1. Negative View of Brand
Branding is critical to organizations, which is why the world’s most successful companies invest huge amounts of money in it. It is no less critical for small firms. Your brand symbolizes your interaction with customers. It is how you make them feel that determines whether or not they will purchase your goods or service. From advertising and product design to communication and customer service, managing your brand is a critical component of your marketing activities. For example, if your website is full of irrelevant content or has typos and grammatical errors, your clients may perceive you as sloppy, negligent, and unprofessional. Your business will develop if you create a strong brand and keep your commitments. If you get it wrong, your clients will rapidly create an unfavorable opinion and go elsewhere.
2. Inability to Achieve Business Goals
The greatest marketing plans are developed to meet the needs of your target audience while also taking into account your company’s objectives and available resources. If you don’t know who your target is, conduct some research on them and tailor your message to them. If you don’t get in front of the people you need to reach with your message, a non-targeted marketing plan will be entirely ineffective. Your marketing initiatives should be organized as a single, comprehensive strategy. Each component functions as a cog in a larger machine. You will have a difficult time accomplishing your business objectives if your marketing is made up of a collection of unrelated components. Recognize your market, your target market, and your rivals. Then choose your channels, establish your budget, and decide on your messaging. Ensure that every communication is consistent.
3. Waste of Money
If your marketing is aimless, it will cost you money to do what you’re doing. This is true even if the channel initially seems to be of low quality. Return on investment is crucial; if your efforts are fragmented or lack research or understanding of your audience, you are wasting money. You’re wasting money that could be utilized elsewhere if you’re employing the wrong marketing channels or people to target. Make the proper choices when it comes to your advertising, and your company will expand as you engage your market, drive traffic, gain an advantage over your rivals, and do well. If you do it incorrectly, you’re not simply wasting money. You are, at best, disregarded. In the worst-case scenario, you are losing customers.
4. Low Customer Acquisition
Many of your audience members will never use you if they dislike your marketing. Poorly targeted, pointless advertising is only annoying. You have little chance of selling anything to potential clients if you’re irritating them. One example is online advertising. When used properly, it is a stunningly affordable method of engaging your audience and gaining consumers. Without a tailored approach, however, you risk hitting the incorrect audience, who might find your advertisement annoying and irrelevant. According to recent research, 30% of internet users will avoid visiting websites where online advertisements conflict with the information they want to read. People don’t hate commercials; they just dislike the incorrect ones, despite the fact that it is a cliché.
Four lessons learned from these bad marketing campaigns?
This is unquestionably one of those instances where you should make a note of someone else’s errors. Analyzing an unsuccessful marketing effort can teach you a lot.
1. Always Proofread Your Work.
Create a procedure for the creation and publication of your content to make sure that it is seen by many people. Before you press “publish,” that procedure should involve an editor or a proofreader for your text.
2. Refrain from losing touch.
Because they were essentially just tone-deaf, the majority of these marketing tactics failed, correct? Always take the ramifications of your message into account. Look at your gags from all possible angles and viewpoints.
Keep the fun continuing when there is a light-hearted, entertaining conversation going on! Use it to increase brand recognition, but refrain from making crude jokes. Do your homework before using pop culture allusions in your marketing. Make sure you are aware of the reference’s context.
Funny often succeeds greatly, but don’t compromise your brand’s principles and ideals for a few giggles. Comedy is subjective, keep that in mind. Even though you may not have intended to upset your audience, if you’re talking about a sensitive subject, you risk offending people and damaging your reputation.
When you’re running a campaign in a particular area, keep in mind that your message may be shared with markets in other areas of the world (and, in certain situations, it almost surely will be).
3. Keep up with Current Affairs
Some of these examples merely got off to the incorrect start. When nature speaks, it’s difficult to hold one person responsible, but a company should always pause when a catastrophe strikes. If you think that your campaign may end up feeling misguided, it can be to your advantage to wait before releasing it.
If you’re writing about such incidents, do so with a sincere desire to inform your readers about the gravity of the situation. Consumers aren’t naive, keep that in mind. They will be able to tell right through your attempts what you are really aiming for, which is to take advantage of a PR opportunity at the expense of genuine people.
Many times, campaigns are prepared months in advance. It’s simple to overlook these errors, but before launching your campaign, you should take into account local, national, and international affairs.
4. Strive for an Outstanding Customer Experience.
Plan for the worst when developing a campaign that uses user-generated content (such as Wikipedia edits or selfie submissions).
Trolls do, unfortunately, exist, and they will try to undermine your efforts. Build your plan to defend against these troll assaults.
Tips on how to Create a Successful Marketing Campaign
It’s simple to criticize those who have made mistakes in the past, but it must be realized that a successful marketing plan cannot just be copied and pasted. There is a lot of creative work and research that has to be done.
A successful marketing campaign is comprised of:
- Clear objectives and goals
- A defined target audience
- Attention-grabbing content
- Monitoring of results for optimization
Although it’s crucial to make an impression with your marketing, it’s simple for a good idea to go awry when using cutting-edge or even conventional means.
The bottom line is to carefully review your message before you publish, post, or print. Review your copy and give your campaign a close examination in light of the present social environment. Get a second, knowledgeable view before publishing or launching any campaign.
What we can learn from all of the marketing fails, is that when planning campaigns, they need to be thoroughly thought about. In your campaigns you need to be clear about what your intended message is and that it is coming across clearly.
FINALLY!
Marketing is becoming a more complicated endeavor. You will expand if you present your company, goods, and services to the appropriate audiences at the appropriate times in the greatest possible light. But there are numerous juggling acts to be done, and a lot may go wrong. Unsuccessful marketing can certainly harm your company. The results can be terrible, and it is frequently challenging to identify your mistakes. Small business owners frequently lack the knowledge and time necessary to properly market their operations. Any company or brand can benefit greatly from going viral or becoming a meme, but only if you do it for the correct reasons.
The greatest approach to ensure the success of your marketing strategy is with careful planning and innovative concepts. We can help with all these! Let JMT do your marketing campaigns!! If you want to avoid becoming a marketing failure, speak with us today. We are here to help you plan and execute the strategy you need to grow while increasing your brand’s overall awareness and attracting new prospects and customers. Contact us today to arrange a free consultation call.
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