“I don’t have pet peeves. I have major psychotic fucking hatreds!” said Geroge Carlin in one of his performances. I would add that if you work in PR and marketing, you are bound to have them. No matter whether you work as an in-house specialist or on the agency side. Here are some of mine.
1) I don’t like it!
Sadly enough, there are marketing managers who use the phrase “You have to re-do this because I don’t like it,” when judging advertising visuals or press releases. They should be shot in a town square, while their families are watching. Let me condescendingly pose a question to them. When will you finally understand that your feelings have no place in the evaluation process? The only possible exception is you being a member of the target audience. The decision-making process must focus on how the customer thinks and how he feels, not how a marketer feels.
2) He calls me fifteen times a day
Ad space salesmen who call at least twice a day every day to find out that all our media space is planned out a year ahead are driving me crazy. Persistence is one thing but such behaviour gets you nowhere, except a blacklist on my phone.
3) You’re doing it too theoretically, our customers are idiots
Yeah, it’s a good campaign concept, but it looks too theoretic. I don’t think the customers will get it.
What is too theoretic about having a customer segmentation? Or creating a campaign that plays on associations and is a bit more sophisticated? Can we please stop treating our customers like morons? I am a customer too and hate being treated like a twerp.
I am planning on expanding this list, so if you have any additions, feel free to share them in the comments section!
