Garth
September 26, 2007, 05:44 PM
Here's won mistake that Madison Avenue says you shouldn't do:
"Never Tell The Public That Your Product Sucks"
Of course today we have the proliferation of the perennial
'scratch & dent' sale but that's effective because it's
supposed to be a one time event.
So maybe Madison Avenue is right.
Well as we all know Madison Avenue just like
Politicans can flip & flop faster than
the latest Britney Spears' video.
Here's an interesting stat:
The Yugo, at its height of popularity sold
over 100,000 cars.
I was surprised the car even sold that many units!
According the Yugo wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugo)
Car & driver mags called the Yugo, The Disposable Car by Bic.
(By the way this is such a great descriptive that it makes me believe
that Car & Driver is a good source to build that swipe file.)
Anyway I imagine it (worked?) in part because they never hid
the fact that the car was a mess except for 1 thing...
"Yugo's are cheap as a MoFa"
Dramtically cheaper!
I think maybe by half the then cheapest US car.
It's a great exampe of how Sucks Sells.
I might add a caveat that I think you'll need one more ingredient to make it really work for you. And that is somehow make it hip to look cheap.
So is this the marketing mistake you might want replicate on purpose?
The Yugo's history certainly shows it has been done.
Funny.
The Yugo is actually still selling today in Europe.
So perhaps Sucks still sells in Europe at least.
If you are on nostalgia trip go check out the Yugo wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugo) and the Yugo trivia.
"Never Tell The Public That Your Product Sucks"
Of course today we have the proliferation of the perennial
'scratch & dent' sale but that's effective because it's
supposed to be a one time event.
So maybe Madison Avenue is right.
Well as we all know Madison Avenue just like
Politicans can flip & flop faster than
the latest Britney Spears' video.
Here's an interesting stat:
The Yugo, at its height of popularity sold
over 100,000 cars.
I was surprised the car even sold that many units!
According the Yugo wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugo)
Car & driver mags called the Yugo, The Disposable Car by Bic.
(By the way this is such a great descriptive that it makes me believe
that Car & Driver is a good source to build that swipe file.)
Anyway I imagine it (worked?) in part because they never hid
the fact that the car was a mess except for 1 thing...
"Yugo's are cheap as a MoFa"
Dramtically cheaper!
I think maybe by half the then cheapest US car.
It's a great exampe of how Sucks Sells.
I might add a caveat that I think you'll need one more ingredient to make it really work for you. And that is somehow make it hip to look cheap.
So is this the marketing mistake you might want replicate on purpose?
The Yugo's history certainly shows it has been done.
Funny.
The Yugo is actually still selling today in Europe.
So perhaps Sucks still sells in Europe at least.
If you are on nostalgia trip go check out the Yugo wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugo) and the Yugo trivia.
