Think: Frontline Strategies ... 
Explosive Marketing 101.

Back in February, on a quiet Saturday at noon, the building blew up!

It actually happened, with a force that tore out strong walls, threw projectiles through stucco, and hurled glass hundreds of feet in all directions. Doors were smashed open and the entire six-story building heaved from the immense pressure.

It all started in a vacant space, where gas slowly accumulated - unnoticed. After filling the area, the gas made its way to a source of ignition, and WHAM! It is a miracle that no one was killed or seriously injured.

For those who were near, the experience left a lasting impression. Two people were hurled to the ceiling. All the human emotions - from being thankful to fear - showed on their faces as the survivors watched the racing fire engines arrive. Many were simply overwhelmed!

Few had imagined their lives were to be changed by an unseen event in the making. A quiet, steady combination of three basic elements - air, natural gas and a spark - had lifted all off their feet and marked their mental calendars as the day they escaped death. The impression was dramatic, and lasting.

As a marketing professional, I thought how similar the "launch" of this catastrophic event was to great marketing campaigns - and also how different. Every business yearns for that moment when it creates such an overwhelming impact, no one is left unaffected. It is a wish too far!

In fact, the vermin terrorists - who used monstrous techniques to gain attention for their world-damned cause - used similar approaches. Combining three simple elements - fanaticism, jet liners, and huge buildings filled with people - these creatures from the darkest corner of hell created an impact that changed the world, and everyone in it. Yet, contrary to great marketing, they naively overwhelmed our universe, and the backlash doomed their fate. 

I hesitate to even make the comparison between harmful results and marketing, because some will conclude exactly the wrong things ... as they often do. But for those of you who are still reading this, there's a message here:
  • Great marketing does not overwhelm with its impact. It comes in the form of small, well targeted explosions.
  • Great marketing is formulated by correctly combining simple elements.
  • Great marketing takes lots of quiet preparation. Results are not immediately apparent. Small "explosions" are often tested along the road to slightly larger or more aptly targeted ones.
  • Great marketing delivers a carefully-timed series of small explosions. 
    Only the minds of your customers and prospects are targeted. These little impacts, arriving one after another, leave lasting positive impressions about your products or services, and about your company.
  • So the next time you want more "BANG" for your marketing investments, think smaller, more intelligently. It won't be a big BANG that gets you there!

That's our thought for this month. If you have your own thoughts, send them on. They'll be most appreciated. If you would like to share this message with a friend or business associate, feel free to do so. 

If you'd like to chat about great marketing, give us a call!

William H. Thompson
Principal

The Thompson Group