They Crossed the Line

Now I’m not usually one to jump into the middle of the shark tank that is local radio, but something needs to be said about this one…

KCIX/Mix 106 put together what can be described as a “creative” promotion with Nampa Kia to give away a black Kia Sportage. Okay, that’s all fine and good, but this promotion got taken entirely too far. Don at Idaho Radio News has a good commentary on the whole event. Give it a read and feel free to add your own comments.

Did the promotion generate attention and buzz for the radio station and the car dealership? Yes. But at what cost? Mix 106 and Kate McGwire’s brands will likely both suffer in the long run. Was the sales revenue from a promotional stunt worth the potential drop in audience and ratings? Time will tell.

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8 Replies to “They Crossed the Line”

  1. The measure of effectiveness of marketing is the measure of how well it manipulates the emotions of its audience. That’s not new, and it’s not unique to this campaign. Those moaning about a “betrayal” of feelings over this one marketing stunt must be very dense indeed.

  2. hmmm…I thought the measure of effectiveness is how well it sells. Seems like it’d be hard to sell to pissed off buyers.

    The fact the danielo uses words like “manipulate” pretty much proves the point of what is wrong with so much of our world of marketing today.

  3. If advertising weren’t about affecting emotions (“I want this, I want that”), there would be one single commercial for every product on the shelves: “Go to the store and buy what you need.”

    I’m unclear as to what my use of the word “manipulate” proves about “what is wrong with so much of our world of marketing today,” but I’d be interested to hear. It’s exciting to have tapped into something so fundamental with one single word!

  4. Personally, I’d rather think of what we do as a seduction rather than a coercion.

  5. I would agree with Chris and anonymous #1 on this one. Not to say there isn’t a place for publicity stunts. In fact, if this were a start-up trying to get noticed perhaps this strategy makes sense.

    But for an established brand, it seems like a silly way to cash-in your “trust points” that you’ve earned with your audience. And when you compare it to what Keke was doing at Kiss at the same time this makes Kate and the gang come off as small.

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