Timmy Cheung's Blog

After reading the article “A Marketing Lesson From The Most Depressing Magazine Ever” from the influential marketing blog, it got me thinking about new marketing techniques.

The article briefly explains how the writer was flipping through the Reader’s Digest magazine and felt ever-so depressed because of the repetitive ads targeting baby-boomers. From arthritis relief pills to senior homes, the magazine was flooded with similar, depressing ads. The writer notes that marketing should go beyond mainstream stereotypical target markets, like how the Nintendo Wii focused on family rather than teenage gamers.

The link is one of Audi’s many marketing campaigns to distinguish it’s brand. Audi, for many years, although a luxury German automaker, has been seen a step below Merecedes Benz and BMW. Instead of listing all the standard features, safety ratings, and technological equipment like many competitors (like Lexus) do, Audi simply emphasizes on the Audi unique design with their motto “unmistakeably Audi”.

This link is another commercial for the same car. The midsize luxury SUV has always deemed to me more feminine. Woman, specifically “soccer moms”, are stereotypically known to drive these types of cars. This commercial not only makes the Audi Q5 stand out compared to the other vehicles, but notice how a man is driving it to pick up what seems to be his son. Audi very cleverly went beyond the stereotype and targeted more than just soccer moms, but “soccer dads”, and possibly even “work dads” as the man inside the Audi Q5 seems to be well groomed.

An effective way to make a marketing campaign stand out is to not follow the trend. Target consumers that would not necessarily stereotypically use the product, but may actually benefit if they do. But, as soon as one marketer starts this, everyone will follow almost immediately.