What Are Your Favorite Marketing 'Oops!' and Why?

In a previous life, I designed wood windows and doors. We offered aluminum cladding as an option. Marketing decided that we should develop roll-formed copper cladding for our higher end products. So we did. During the development of this new product, we discovered that we could offer a roll-formed zinc cladding option at no extra cost and charge a premium because no one else had it. The same tooling and processes could be used for both metals. Marketing said no to zinc even though our dealers said there would be considerable demand for the product. Six months later, one of our competitors offered zinc. We lost that piece of the market and more.

You see, you don't know how to play the game.. its this way.

Even though you made the discovery, you did not construct the environment to make marketing think THEY discovered it.

It's so much easier when marketing thinks it was thier idea.

Everyone makes fun of marketing, but they drive design decisions. Predicting what the customer wants isn't easy, even with all those survey to back you up. Some of my projects were two years from conception to production; customers' tastes could change in that time.

We or I should say "I" make fun of marketing, just due to the pressure they can put on us to catch these niches or marketing gaps with unbelievable schedules..

From a customer request to me not marketing, I had designed a 6" sanitary valve for the dairy industry. Had made 6 of them and a 7th for a demonstration. Valve at this time the largest was 4".

(Took me a week to design and release the first one to fabrication of which was very successful and made the rest up the following week.)

We had the demo valve for over three years in the front foyer of the company. And not one push from marketing to sell it.

I believe in 1999 there was a world wide food show at the McCormick Place in Chicago (Huge) where manufacturers like us show our innovative wares and equipment and introduce it to the world market. We shared a booth with a import/export company and they wanted some of our items for display.

I thought "Hey, this is an excellent time to show this valve." But marketing firmly shot it down and wanted some of our established lines. Well I was in charge to put the items together and included this valve anyways. It was a hit.

Because a few booths from ours was Tri-Clover what is now Alfa Laval had a big launch on their "New, First of its kind in the Industry, 6" sanitary valve".

Needless to say, I took allot of wind out of their sails, for them to see our little company that had this valve on the market in production for well over (3) years.

Because of this exposure, then Marketing was all giddy about the response that we beat a large manufacturer to market........

How many valves did we sell prior to this. (6) Valves. Allot of good that did us.....due to the inaction of marketing.

But being an engineer, I could be bias on my view of marketing....... no not really.

I had interviewed at Tri-Clover or I should say Tri-Clover interviewed me. They did not know it was me who design this valve. As they where showing me the valve, I let them know, I also pointed out the problems they are having with it they were shock because that was a corporate secret, they asked how I knew. But with my experience it was obvious....

They tried to respond that they put a large effort of over two years in the design of their valve. When they asked me the time it took me, I told them I Talked to the customer on Monday, Met with them on a Thursday to show what I had to offer, received the P.O. from the customer, worked the rest of the week and weekend and released the working drawings that following Monday and had the Valve for the customer to look at that Friday. Needless to say, The look on their faces were pale with their mouths open. Definitely a Kodak moment.

Afterwards, they asked for the valve and studied it for over (2) months

btw, this was a Air-Actuated N.C. valve with a leak detect that normally goes on the curd tank. "Tank that makes cheese".

Leak detect, another option that Tri-clover did not have intergrated in their valve.

Six years ago, I was tasked with ordering a type of long extending sticks for turning on and off power switches at the ceiling elevation. This stick has a hook at the top end to hook onto the loop on the switch to turn it off or on. I googled the term I was used to using, which was "hot Stick". I am still getting hits from male enhancement products. I will never use that term on line again!

Wow, your in marketing and didn't even know it.

^{"Munster Hot Stick", get yours today!}

This entire thread confirms what I have believed for many years; that marketing is a science that sole purpose is to manipulate the dimwitted public into parting with their money. What we may think is an "error" in advertising is actually a very well thought out plan. When millions of dollars are spent to promote a product, every word, every implication is carefully chosen. These people are not stupid, they come from backgrounds in physiology, anthropology and sciences that deal with human behavior. I have no proof for this belief, but I figure if I can think up a way to scam the public, then I'm sure someone else has already thought the same.

WTF!!!

How cute! Baby's baby is pregnant too??

What about baby's baby's baby?

Is it pregnant too?

Recursively pregnant? Sure'd save a lot of time!

They're Tribbles in Human form. Born pregnant. Just feed 'em lots of quadro-triticale and pretty soon you'll have enough to stuff a Klingon engine room (where "they'll be no tribble at all" - Scotty).

Isn't Science (Fiction) wonderful?

Just look at engrish.com lots of interesting use of "engrish" in marketing, and i love this!

Another marketing ooops that I saw a picture of about keyboards for computers back in the 80's where they put the Delete Button right next to the Print button. It included the caption "What were they thinking."

I practically hate blue. My wife used blue on walls and I felt I am in some ghost Bungalow and after changing to lighter colors I felt much better. If you see the difference of black on white to white on black in terms of long term stress relief then the basic colors for normal use need to be of this nature.

Perhaps adds are to make you feel uncomfortable to stare at them unintentionally among the crowd of all comfortable looking not entering your brain easily. Each country has speciality in the look of advertisements and future of the marketing will also reflect in the products where they will go.

See why "Ambulance" is marked in mirror image.