I’m not sure how, but I’ve recently gained a new batch of European Twitter followers.  Most of them seem to be brand / marketing types.  And perhaps because they’re European, they appear a bit more critically appealing (at least online) than their American counterparts.  Anyway, I have historically made a point of not participating directly in this kind of dialogue, but that is changing (see forthcoming posts about the book I’m planning to write).  But, I found this letter on one of my new followers pages (trndmrkr.blogspot.com).  Then the comment post with a letter of response from “Advertising” on johnniemoore.com was about as nauseating as I can imagine - read it at your own risk.  But here you have two sides of the circle: a “consumer” acknowledging and engaging with a brand despite their stated indifference, and a marketer affirmed that their consumer research justifies a bullshit engagement opportunity.

August 23, 2010 19:27:

Dear Brian,

We are terribly sorry for the misunderstanding. It turns out you weren’t the target for our advert. We’re working on making our content more targeted through digital distribution tools, but for now you’re going to have to simply take what you can away from our messaging - which was clearly about sausage - and simply not participate in the microsite and video part.

See, there are people out there in the world who have a job that involves work they find particularly interesting, and it does more for them than paying their bills. Your attitude toward work and life suggest that you wouldn’t be the type to make a video even if it brought you definite rewards. This is called a psychographic, Brian.

Also, being 27, you’re right on the edge of a technological and behavioral shift. All the people younger than you have grown up with video editing software and the ability to dynamically use the Internet and technology in unprecedented ways. It is they who will go to our site and submit a video. And they will share, and comment, and take interest in the possibilities of their creativity and the creativity of others. (That is, if we do a good job providing them with a reason to be there and to contribute. Leave that up to us).

It’s a new culture, Brian - your having children in the past few years and working a job that likely doesn’t hinge on the latest developments of the social web has perhaps kept you a bit behind the curve. Don’t worry, though - you’ll eventually assimilate. And so will 100 million others just like you. In the bell curve graph you’re what we call the “late majority.” Maybe we can talk next year. Perhaps by then your kids will be sleeping in on Saturdays and you can use that time to explore the creative, social web. We’ll be there - feel free to look us up.

Sincerely,

Advertising

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 at 4:25 pm and is filed under Uncategorized, marketing.