Make Marketing History

The views of a marketing deviant.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Marketing By Numbers.


Many people are commenting about the staggering innumeracy that features on today's cover of the UK's largest free newspaper.

Now, they could be suggesting that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and that the more you eat the more delicious it becomes, but that sort of counting only works in effectiveness awards papers.

But it is important and not just because it will get passed around the internet. It's important because the people who usually are numerate i.e the finance department will yet again use it to diminish the credibility of those expensive arty marketers.

Marketing is not just about selling. It's about understanding business. If you don't understand numbers, you cant understand business and you should get your coat.

9 Comments:

Blogger Willem said...

Given you blog and don't tweet, I'll comment. I'm still smiling every time I see the ad. I agree numbers are important, generally and even more so when you invest in a front page ad. That said, I'd still be happy to get two bars (or three!) instead of one.

But I also don't care as I can't find these tasty treats in Malaysia right now, so zero bars for me, so zero deliciousness too..? See, numbers are important.

2:42 AM, August 24, 2011  
Blogger john dodds said...

I imagine you're smiling because you're blissed out on some island beach.

3:13 AM, August 24, 2011  
Anonymous Simon said...

Would't an extra bar "increase tastiness" by 100%? Unless they're suggesting non-liner growth...

5:01 AM, August 24, 2011  
Blogger john dodds said...

It's a veritable can of granola bars they've opened up.

7:24 AM, August 24, 2011  
Blogger Willem said...

You're right on that one John, the beach makes me smile - even more so when I'm on my laptop reading ads about Granola bars published in London.

7:35 PM, August 24, 2011  
Blogger a from l said...

Even though it was a mistake, it achieved the objective of any ad which is to get noticed and talked about.

It makes me wonder whether there might be some mileage here in putting some stupendously awful mistakes in big headlines, knowing that everyone is going to talk about the ad.

I suppose it is too much to expect that this is the result of a fiendishly clever ad agency deliberately provoking the nation's pedants?

1:17 AM, August 26, 2011  
Blogger john dodds said...

They talked about the mistake but not the product - I still have no idea what the brand was.

12:55 PM, August 27, 2011  
Anonymous northern said...

Maybe the strategy is penetration and they mean 200% for people that had none before.
I question the 0% deliciousness of not eating brand x though, air can taste very nice

9:34 AM, September 06, 2011  
Anonymous fredrik sarnblad said...

This made me chuckle.

5:47 PM, November 28, 2011  

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