Marketing techniques: what not to do

Close your eyes and imagine this (you can peak to read it): you've created a product/service that you would sell to your mother, brother and neighbor.  You're probably thinking of lining some stalkings with it this Christmas.  You think you know your target market, you think they love it, and you think that marketing is going to be fun, successful and swift.  You go out on your first day, meet the mayor, Guy Fieri, and hundreds of others, which boosts your ego almost beyond capacity.  It's hard to change shirts because your head is getting so big.  You sign your autograph on your dogs chest when she greets you and you go to sleep dreaming of happy, sun-filled meadows with butterflies and ice cream scoops.

You wake up from your blissful dream world and listen to a voice mail detailing why your marketing plan is horrible, fear-based, and preventing someone from enjoying their Cheerios.  They are not going to ever use our services and think we are terrible, just terrible.

Okay.  You can open your eyes now.

I returned this call to find what I did to create such a negative reaction, and I must say, I was asking for it...

I handed this 'parking ticket' promotional flyer out to pedestrians at the Mpls farmers market.  Apparently, one of them thought it would be funny to put it under the windshield wiper of a marketer in St. Paul.  He apparently did not think it was as clever as me.  He mentioned his affinity towards old people as his main concern.  Sharing this concern, we stopped the marketing campaign shortly after....