Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

It’s that time of year when we all recalibrate and (I hope) start fresh. So, for the remainder of this short week, I’m going to talk a bit about about resolutions. If you have some you’d like to share, please add to the conversation!

Robert Wagner, with whom I’ve been in love/lust since I was - like - five, is the spokesperson for a reverse mortgage group targeting seniors. Now, for all I know, it’s a great deal, but it sure sounds like a sucker scam and the commercials are cheesy (Robert, Robert - Al Mundy wouldn’t be caught dead doing this!)

The “tell” for me is the tagline, “Over One Million People Have Already Called!”…for their “free” video/DVD “answering all your questions!” Nothing about happy customers, number of deals already closed or amount of money paid out to seniors. Seems to me the company’s marketers were really stretching here, “We’ve got to make it look good! Hey, what about number of people who have called us for the free stuff?” This is one of those smoke and mirror tricks that give marketing a really bad name. I admit, I’ve been ordered to spin numbers before. That’s one reason I no longer work in Big, Bad Corporate America - a little something called self-respect. But, marketing doesn’t have to be this way.

So, here’s a 2007 resolution for your consideration: Whenever you hear, see, or are asked to do something reprehensible - stop and think, “It doesn’t have to be this way.” Then, start the change.

A little something more to get you started: The Paradoxical Commandments

Related Posts:
It’s A Slippery Slope
The Last Words for Friday
Make A Deal with the Universe
The Fossil Perspective
Open Skies, Open Minds
People Eat All Year Long
Is It Going to Be More of the Same in 2007?

Tags: advertising, marketing, marketing troubleshooting, 2007 resolutions