{"id":155,"date":"2009-04-24T07:45:19","date_gmt":"2009-04-24T14:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.showcasemarketing.com\/ideablog\/?p=155"},"modified":"2023-11-29T07:20:10","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T15:20:10","slug":"why-i-dislike-marketing-gimmicks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.showcasemarketing.com\/ideablog\/why-i-dislike-marketing-gimmicks\/","title":{"rendered":"Say NO to Marketing Gimmicks"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a consumer\u00a0and marketing professional, I’m not a fan of marketing gimmicks. In my opinion, they are the pornography of marketing: hard to define, but you know them when you see them. Teaser offers on credit cards, no money down home purchases, ROI studies that promise 400% returns.<\/p>\n

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Do you remember Joe Isuzu?<\/p><\/div>\n

If you’re like me, you make a mental accounting<\/a> of businesses that overuse marketing gimmicks and think twice about doing business with those companies and brands.<\/p>\n

Before continuing my rant against gimmicks, let me acknowledge something important: sometimes gimmicks drive results. And because they can work, they deserve a place in the marketing toolbox.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, too many of us marketers lack the discipline to reserve gimmicks for the rare occasions when they might be effective. They are such a large part of marketing folklore that they overshadow the important long term efforts behind building sustainable brands and companies. As a result, I council my clients to take gimmicks out of the everyday toolbox and put them in the dark and dank storage room of once-in-a-blue-moon tactics.<\/p>\n

Protect Your Brand from Marketing Gimmicks<\/h3>\n

Here’s why gimmicks can hurt more then help:<\/p>\n