The Most Famous Marketing Mistakes Made by Major Companies and How The Public Dealt With Them

The science of marketing is a double-edged sword, as there is only a fine line that keeps it from expanding your audience and advancing your trade, and between incurring huge losses that you cannot compensate for, so between this and that lies the risk. If you want to benefit from the experiences of others, and avoid what they have been exposed to, all you have to do is beware of the following practices.

Don't overuse suspense

The element of suspense is one of the most important basics of marketing advertising, as it helps push the customer to anticipate and wonder while waiting. But what if this strategy is used inappropriately?

Well, this mistake - which you might think was simple - cost Cartoon Network $ 2 million, and caused the dismissal of its CEO in 2007.

It started when Cartoon Network International prepared luminous shapes inspired by one of its upcoming programs, and in order to increase the elements of excitement and suspense, it distributed these shapes in separate places in Boston, so that these objects are prepared for lighting at night and attracting attention.

These objects were really able to achieve their goal, but in an unfortunate way, as one of the residents, who was surprised by the presence of a strange object in front of his house, suspected that it might be a bomb. So hurry up and call the police and report the matter.

Within hours, the media and the press were covering the matter, talking about the alleged bomb, or at least the UFO. Until it turned out in the end that it was part of the propaganda of the World Cartoon Network, which made the police rush to calm the residents of the neighborhood and reopen the road again. In compensation for the damage caused by the company to both citizens and emergency police, Cartoon Network was fined $2 million and its CEO was fired at the time.

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Do not use humor in political matters

Trend Hijacking is one of the most used strategies in social media. Its idea revolves around exploiting the most popular hashtags among the audience and linking them to the advertised product. But does this strategy always work?

Often not, despite the success of this strategy in attracting more customers, and adding an atmosphere of humor and fun to the audience, it is not suitable in many cases, such as companies that target the upper classes of society, with the presence of political cases and controversial situations in the scene.

For example, the brand Kenneth Cole tried to take advantage of the Arab Spring revolutions to promote its Spring 2011 collection, as the brand's Twitter account posted a tweet stating that millions of people were meeting in Cairo after rumors spread about the approaching spring collection, which was met by many. He is a fan of anger, especially since the matter cannot bear humor in light of the many injuries and deaths in the squares. The brand quickly rectified its mistake and deleted its tweet, posting an official apology to everyone.

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Don't underestimate the audience

“It was the most traumatic experience of my career,” said Brad Jackman, former CEO of PepsiCo

Calling for good concepts such as peace and reconciliation is - no doubt - good, but using them in promotional ads in a naive way is not in anyone's interest. Pepsi Company made one of its most famous marketing mistakes, when it used Kendall  Jenner to resolve clashes between blacks and the police by offering them a Pepsi drink, which many described as naive and superficial, not to mention the anger that the advertisement sparked in some, because of the references it contained. multiple racism.

As a result of the outrage that Pepsi faced on social media platforms, and the fierce attack launched by the famous American program SNL to ridicule the content of the advertisement, the company withdrew its advertisement, and announced that its CEO, Brad Jakeman, had stepped down from his position.

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Review your messages more than once before hitting the send button

The New York Times faced a major crisis with its customers in 2011, when the company tried to communicate with some of its customers who had recently canceled their subscriptions, asking them to reconsider again, while giving them a special discount to appease. So far it seems normal. Until the person in charge of electronic correspondence sent the message to 8 million subscribers instead of just 300 people.

As soon as the subscribers received the message, some thought that the New York Times mail had been controlled, but after the newspaper denied this matter, the matter got worse as customers were angry at the discount rate offered to others and that they were more deserving of this treatment than others.

Don't let the product contradict your message

Over the years, Dove has succeeded in portraying itself as a positive image of its products. Where she has always made her motto in dealing with women's products, which includes encouraging the inner beauty and self-love of women in all weights. Therefore, the impact of its major fall in 2017 AD was a great resounding in the field, as the Dove brand issued a limited edition group of special packages designed in the form of different bodies for women.

This was met by many of those concerned about women with anger and aversion, as Dove contradicted its message of caring for the inner essence and designed packages that show women's full bodies in an inconsistent and repulsive way.

Soon, the brand withdrew its product from the market and announced an official apology to everyone, but this did not prevent it from being exposed to many attacks and boycott calls for a long time.

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This wasn't the only time Dove got it wrong, as it did it again the same year with its famously racist ad. Where she published a post on Facebook showing a brunette girl removing her shirt in three stages after using Dove lotion to turn into a white version at the end, which some interpreted as having hints that include referring to everything that is black as it is dirty and must be removed.

Dove immediately repeated her apology, and dismissed her CEO, but this did not help her either, as the advertisement is still topping the search platforms under the name “Dove’s racist advertisement.”

There are many ways to express your message..don't use the worst of them

Timing plays an important element in building marketing strategies. If this element fails, the entire marketing process may fail, but what if the timing is bad and the advertisement is too?

The Ford Motor Company advertisement is one of the most important marketing mistakes that it is not understood why it was made in the first place? Whereas, in the year when the #METOO hashtag dominated all electronic platforms, and calls to advocate for women's rights and prevent their exploitation increased, Ford launched its own advertisement, which includes the presence of three women tied to the trunk of its new cars as evidence of its expansion.

The advertisement was considered as propaganda for violence against women , and the company received many complaints and angry calls, which made it withdraw the advertisement and issue an official apology immediately.

Be careful.. words may contain more than one meaning

One of the most famous marketing mistakes made by Sony International was in 2006, when it published its advertising banner for the new PlayStation, which is distinguished by its advanced ability to highlight the contrast between different colors compared to its predecessors.

So far it looks good, but the use of words and images has betrayed the company in expression, as Sony used the slogan “White is coming” while in the background a submissive black woman dominated by a strong white girl appears.

The advertisement carried a lot of racist contents, which made Sony quickly withdraw it from the market, with an official apology, but its apology was not taken seriously, especially since the company had many similar racist positions.

These examples and more show you with brain evidence why many companies should integrate good marketing ideas with great caution, and good deduction, to anticipate the expected reactions from the audience. In the business world, marketing is nothing more than a time bomb that you carry in your hand. If you do not deal with it carefully and professionally, it will explode, and you will be the first to be harmed by it