How to Duck Career-Killers like Pearl Izumi’s Dying Dog



Why in the world would Pearl Izumi’s creatives develop and release a campaign showing a dying yellow lab? “Sure, not everyone will appreciate your increased efficiency…” it states.

Yes, It Could Have Been You

Sure it’s easy to throw dirt at Geoff Shaffer of Pearl Izumi and his team. How could they possibly have made such an obvious mistake? Well, if you’re honest with yourself, it could have been you.

You and the team brainstorm and come up with some boring ideas and some zany ones. There is so much creativity flowing that you don’t notice how insular you’ve become.

Mike Johansson, a lecturer at the Rochester Institute of Technology summed it up: “Corporations get so caught up in their messaging they forget to run it by some regular folks and get a gut reaction,” he said.

But is a “gut reaction” enough? No way. People, especially when they’re caught up in “creative hubris”, need one thing: data.

Get the Data. Anticipate the Reaction

Or more accurately, “Get the Data; Create Content Your Targets will Love.” But doing this requires focus groups. Lots of time and money, right?

Not anymore.

Our next release, in private beta starting September 16th, will detect the personality of the people you want to engage with, along with regular demographics. You’ll discover the right words and images to use to avoid campaigns like Pearl Izumi’s.

Now there’s an app for that, and it’s just for you.

 


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