Who is this for?

I'm driving downtown last night and I see a billboard for a jeweler. It has a shot of the outside of the building, and larger than life, a photo of Mike Ditka. They're using him as a testimonial.
I found that interesting. Because I know that buying jewelry is an emotional purchase. We don't do it because we need it. We do it because we want it, and because of what it represents. And while I understand that perhaps in this particular store, at this location, that the majority of purchasers might be middle aged men (it was on Wabash in Jeweler's Row) I can't help but thinking of all the woman who would also see this advertising. Not in a million years do I want to go to a store whose biggest draw is a football coach from the 80's. I want to go someplace that sells romance, and beauty, and love. The aspirational idea of what getting a piece of jewelry represents. And that's part of marketing luxury goods. These are emotional purchases, and you want to connect with an emotion. Remember DeBeers campaign A diamond is forever? That's how we like to think of love. Engagement rings. Marriage. Not Mike Ditka. Sorry Coach.

That's not appropriate

The other day I'm in Lakeview, a section of Chicago. As I'm driving, I see a sign for Emergency Happiness. It's the marketing campaign for the new Emergency Room at a hosptial.
I don't know about you, but there is nothing happy about going to the E.R. It's about being in a bad situation, and getting the care you need. It does not make you happy in any way.
There are a lot of words that could have been used to describe the new facility. As someone who has worked in health and wellness marketing, I know I would not have chosen the word happy.
And that's part of any marketing strategy. When you position your services, of course you want to have a value proposition. But in this case, the value that they bring should be one of care and comfort. I doubt anyone ever feels happy going or coming back from the emergency room.

Get rid of your Facebook page

The last couple of days it's been brutally cold here in the Midwest. Lots of school closings, some businesses. I've received some emails about closings, as well as some posts on Facebook that a business is closed due to the weather. I think that's fantastic. A great way to communicate to your customers what's going on.

Then they are the other businesses, who I've "liked" in the past, and went to their page to see what's going on. Only to find some haven't been updated in years. Years! What a waste. You probably did a big roll out when you first set up the page. Expecting your friends, their friends, and anyone else to like your business. You had great hopes to engage, promote, and maybe get some new clients. Then someone dropped the ball. Whether you're a small business, or a large one, in order to be active on social media, someone actually needs to be on social media. Seems easy. Seems a no-brainer. But how many inactive pages are you part of? So next time you say, "We're going to be active on social media." remember this: Someone actually has to do it. Or get off.