BARNUM'S 3-RING HITS THE WEB WITH SCHLOCKING NO NOS!
by Julie Anne Phillipps
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Maybe
it’s a
gene gone wrong or some kind of heredity frailty that keeps me in a
constant state of disbelief about what the human race is capable of
doing to make a few paltry dollars. But here I am, on the web, a newbie
in the marketplace of international fame and fortune. Remembering that
the first marketplace sold a lot of snake oil, I’ve looked to
the
web for inspirational advertising only to find the same old tired
methods P.T. Barnum employed.
Seriously, who writes this schlock!
A
web marketing strategy is composed of marketing tactics drawn from the
marketing plan. In Laura Patterson’s article, “Five
Serious
Considerations (and a Checklist) for Your Next Marketing
Plan”
she explains, “The plan should include market research to
understand the customer, defensible positioning to own a space in the
customers' mind, strategies and tactics to meet the company's marketing
goals, and metrics to track progress toward those goals.”
Assaulting potential customers with promises of getting richer, better,
bigger, or greater are not a marketing strategy; however, it is a great
slap and tickle reenactment of that good old snake oil campaign.
Remember
P.T. Barnum's quip, “there is a sucker born every
minute,” today’s advertising ignores that
truth;
however, Barnum never made that statement. This fact hasn’t
stopped shysters around the globe from selling with the same weak
premise in mind. As the grandfather of modern advertising, Barnum
exploited photography, printed media, and celebrity endorsements to
create demand where none previously existed. His superlative
terminology has saturated American language with terms like
‘Jumbo.’ Barnum, dead for over one hundred and
fifty years,
brought customers in by the truckload, ah cartload, to events created
from nothing. Jerry Seinfeld had nothing on him when it came to a lack
of profundity. Unfortunately, few of the marketplace mavericks of today
will finish at the head of the race using Barnum’s dated
advertising practices. Fewer still will bother to follow Patterson
advice to write a marketing plan that aligns “with the
company's
business plan.”
Pitching religion with computer viruses seems an ill-fated advertising scheme but it too has been around since the mid-nineteenth century. Unethical marketers are on familiar terms with our diverse culture, and nimbly stoop to any level of depravity in order to capture the attention of a mass buying audience. To give them credit, they are simply adhering to the advertising law that, “you sell the need.” Barnum was adept at recognizing the buying public’s need for the sensational, which we now find succor for by watching reality television shows. However, there is no proof that marketing to the sensational works for business. In her article, Patterson asks, “What are their needs and priorities? What is a meaningful value proposition and brand promise?” If you aren’t responding to your customers needs with a valuable commodity, what are you offering?
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Stringing the web or climbing into solid bricks and mortar, if your business goal is to create wealth, you need a sound business and marketing plan. Patterson advises, “Properly created, the marketing plan is a living document; it is anchored to the overall business goals and focuses on customer value, growth and profitability. “ That’s the goal of a marketing plan - all wrapped up in one of Jumbo's leftover nutshells. Show the world that you have something valuable to offer, today and in the future.
So is it a gene gone wrong or some kind of heredity frailty or am I like you? A new face in a global marketplace full of snake oil charmers, who's hanging onto the belief that your company’s performance depends on how well it projects your values and ethics as a business person and as a consumer.