How can ‘boring marketing’ possibly be effective for my company?

Published August 23, 2013 at 10:37 am

Bigger is always better, right? Not necessarily, especially when it comes to marketing campaigns. Often, a targeted, focused advertisement will have more persuasive, long-lasting effects on customers.

M.P. Mueller wrote a contribution piece in the Austin Business Journal about the importance of companies building brand consistency. While some critics might claim that “consistent” is just a synonym for “boring,” Mueller was adamant that customers need to remember a product and which company is selling it.

According to Mueller, sometimes companies will find that there is miscommunication between the different elements of their advertising and marketing campaigns.

“The company’s voice and messaging are like a drawer of mismatched socks,” Mueller wrote. “In some instances, the logo has had work done on it by unskilled nip-and-tuckers, and sometimes the typeface is Goudy-like and other times it’s Times-Roman so heavily bolded that it screams at the reader. This leads to brand dilution and confusion and can telegraph that the company is confused.”

This is an ideal situation for a company to invest in a local marketing automation system. With this, businesses can create targeted campaigns for customers in a variety of markets. When entrepreneurs become too restless, or try to do too much with slightly different ads, they could inadvertently muddle their message and create brand inconsistency.

It’s critical to develop campaigns that will speak to customers, regardless of their demographic. Mueller’s article used Tiffany & Co. as an example. The jewelry store has turned its pale blue box into an icon that is recognized across the nation. Some might consider it “boring,” but customers remember the item and associate it with the business.