Snarketing

There are many factors that can be gauged and weighed when determining the influence of a marketing campaign. The obvious factors include the amount of sales generated and whether or not the campaign is memorable. One emerging factor I’ve seen pertains a campaign’s “offensive” qualities.

I’ve been intrigued by a technique some marketers apply to adapt their campaign’s message to go over well within snarky Internet communities.

This “ad” from DHL is a good example of the technique that’s caught my attention:


Although I can easily see the appeal for some audiences, I guess I’m not a big fan of “snarketing”. To me, if you ridicule your competitors (or their employees as in this case) in your ads, you run a high risk of self-inflicted brand damage. You also subject yourself to retaliation from your competitor, which you may not want - especially if your marketing dollars don’t match up.

Again, I get how this sort of approach would succeed in today’s snarky world but I’m old fashioned, I suppose.