About…
Today’s Top Posts
-
Subscribe via Email
Categories
- Cultural hotpot (34)
- Market research (9)
- Marketing mishaps (63)
- MBA Notes (271)
- 4Ps (82)
- AIDA (41)
- Branding (33)
- BtB (4)
- Buying behaviour (16)
- Managing portfolios (13)
- Market growth (19)
- Ansoff (12)
- New product devpt (6)
- NPOs (10)
- PEST (42)
- Economic (2)
- Political/Legal (22)
- Social (8)
- Technological (7)
- Product life cycle (4)
- Segmentation (7)
- Testimonials (10)
- Winners of case study (26)
- Next please (6)
- Nicely done (57)
- Ponderings (55)
- Watch and wait (30)
Brands / Companies
ABB Abercrombie & Fitch ACORN Actimell adidas Aero After Eight Alberto Aldi Always Amicelli AOL Apple Arnotts Astra Audi Aveda Avinci Avis Axe Bahlsen Base Bauer Baur Bavaria Becks Bertolli Bird's Eye Black & Decker Blackberry Blendtec BMW Bonduelle Bosch Brigitte Brio British Airways Brot für die Welt Brother Budweiser Burger King BW-Bank Cadburys Camel Campari Charmin Chenet Citibank Coca-Cola Crocs Cup cakes Dacia Daihatsu Datsun demeter Deutsche Post Develey Dick Smith Dinkel Acker Disney DM Dolby Dove Du Darfst Duracell Dyson Easyjet Economist Edeka engov Erdinger Ericsson Esprit Facebook FCUK Fiat Ficken Ford Fortis Frolic Frosch Fujitsu Fur real Fürstenberg g-star Gap Geberit Germany GfK Greenpeace Grolsch Grüner Punkt Haka Hanuta Haribo Hasseröder HDI Head & Shoulders Heineken Heinz Helly Hansen Henkel Hertz Hofstede Holsten Honda Hugo IBM Iglo Intel iPhone IWC Jacobs Jägermeister Jif John Deere John West Johnsons Karlsberg Karstadt Kaufhof Kelloggs Kinder Kinella KitKat Knorr Kraft Krombacher L'Oréal L'Tur Lacoste Landliebe Langnese Lätta Lays Lego Levis Lidl Lindt Lotto Löwenbräu Lucky Strike Lucozade Lynx Macbook Maggi Magnum Malteser Marks & Spencers Marlboro Marmite Mars Mastercard Masterfoods Mattel McDonalds McFit McPaper Media Markt Meggle Melitta Memorex Mercedes Michelin Microsoft Milka Miller Mini Misereor Mr Kipling Müller National Geographic Nestlé NHBC Nike Nivea Nixdorf NSPCC Nutella NYC o2 Ocean Spray Oettinger Omega Onken Opel Oracle Orange Otto P&G Pedigree Penaten Penguin Pepsi Pepsico Persil Philadelphia Philip Morris PIN Group Pirelli Pixi Pons Porsche Pringles Pritt Pro7 PSD Red Bull Renault Rexona Ryanair Sainsbury's Samsonite Sanwald Saturn SCA Schauma Schlecker Schneekoppe Schöller Schwarzkopf Seba Seiko Seriously Strong Shell Siemens Sierra Mist Silk Cut Sixt SL3 SlimFast Smart Smoodoo Snickers Somat Sony Soreen Sparks Spee Spillers Sprite Steiff Stern Storck Stuttgart Subaru Sure Suzuki Taft Tamaris Targo Bank Tchibo TDK Teflon Telekom Tempo Tesco ThyssenKrupp Timotei Timtam Toblerone Triumph Trumpf TÜV Twix Unilever UPS Vaseline Vegemite Virgin Vodafone Volvo VW Walkers Wella Weru Westaff Whiskas Wick Wrigleys Yello Zeppelin Zott
Category Archives: Marketing mishaps
So … not new
This year’s thumbs-down for a trend that perplexes me goes to the slogan writers. Some time ago another Brit pointed out to me that if you’re stuck and uninspired and can’t think of a catchy slogan in German, the simplest solution is to take the product or benefit and slap “Faszination” in front of it. Cars: Faszination Auto. Pets: Faszination … Continue reading
Not hot
Each generation finds new ways to say something is amazing – far out, cool, phat, hot or these days among young people awesome. Everything in the US and now in the UK seems to be: awesome (best pronounced with a slight nasal twang and a long awwwwwwwesome). In Germany everything seems to be geil. Geil actually means
Helping screenagers
A golden rule in marketing is KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER. In some markets, especially B2B, this can be difficult as a number of decision-makers may be involved. In consumer markets it’s usually easier, but not necessarily obvious… One thing parents struggle with is which products the children may decide to buy, which ones to buy together, or which ones to buy … Continue reading
Transporting the wrong message
I’m used to seeing companies putting their foot in it with a brand name that translates badly into another language or with a coincidental bad meaning (see posts on Doggy Style or Boring) but this is usually in an international context. When I spotted this unfortunate example on a lorry last year, it immediately struck me as an example of … Continue reading
Posted in Marketing mishaps
One we rue, Weru?
I’m really struggling to say something positive about this press ad I found tucked away in an obscure publication tucked away in a hotel tucked away outside Manchester. Considering it’s for Germany’s leading brand (mentioning that was a plus point), it’s appalling. Who wrote it? Where? Who approved it? Ok, good practice (all right, one more plus point): a reference … Continue reading
Hard cheese
A local supermarket has introduced a Cheddar cheese that it claims is a real favourite in the UK. If that’s so, what do they think about “Seriously Strong” Cheddar’s claim that it’s the UK’s favourite? Or is “most popular” not the same as “favourite”? In fact how do you define FAVOURITE? Through omnibus research or questionnaires? By assessing ratings such … Continue reading
The big message
I’ve criticised the use of QR codes on posters before, and have to do it again. This ad is from the sunny island of Ibiza. It’s for a restaurant, apparently: Foster’s Hollywood (already challenging enough for me – the brand name sounds like Crocodile Dundee stuck on Sunset Boulevard). Anyway, what do I do when I see this ad? Stop … Continue reading
Posted in Marketing mishaps
Web hijacking
I’ve written a number of posts recently about Web 2.0 and marketing’s attempts to involve the online community in campaigns. We’ve had customers overruling marketing departments and getting them to reverse a logo redesign – Gap. Then we had the web communities basically mocking marketeers by suggesting weird product ideas and names: Barbie and Marmite. The problem with these online … Continue reading
Proclaiming your weakness
This latest marketing mishap is, frankly, embarrassing. The company concerned sells posters for retail outlets. It’s a clever idea. If you’re a small bakery and need a poster, log in to plakatshop.de and order one online. As a bakery I visited did. Only I don’t think they spotted the typo. Any student of German will tell you, it’s spelt “Gibt’s” … Continue reading
Posted in Marketing mishaps
Painful pricing
Holidays always uncover marketing mishaps for me, probably because I can never switch off in a world brimming with unexpected marketing treats. But I find so many, I’m still catching up on the painful examples from last year. Here’s an unfortunate menu translation I discovered last July in Germany. I guess the restaurant wants you to want its food so … Continue reading
Posted in Marketing mishaps
Please explain
I frequently criticise logos, though it’s harder when people explain their rationale, as with memorex. With this confusing logo, I didn’t bother walking into the shop in a wet and unusually cold town in Bavaria, the logo was enough warning to steer well clear. But I would like to know what it means/says/symbolises… Success? Succession? Success on 1? Who knows. … Continue reading
Posted in Marketing mishaps
