“Nothing will put a bad product out of business faster than a good advertising campaign.” Morris Hite
Marketing Fail: Floating World Email
As a marketer, you consider all odds, perform your market research, plan to the minute detail, yet once the campaign is live, it takes a life of its own.
The .1% rule.
Call it the unknown, the God factor, luck of draw, fate… call it whatever you like. Yes, you can control the timing of your campaign, but you can’t predict a natural disaster (appropriately named – happens Naturally!)
Here is hundred of thousands of dollars spent to hoist your own petard.
Airbnb launched their ‘floating world’ marketing campaign, which included an image of a water-themed house sitting on the surface of water.
The copy included, “Stay above water,” and “live the life aquatic with these floating homes.”
Harmless right?
Well this campaign launched on August 28th, 2017, when Hurricane Harvey was engulfing Houston.
The Takeaway: Campaigns are often planned out months in advance. It’s easy to overlook these slip ups. Consider all odds including what’s happening on earth before your campaign begins.
