Advertise your flaws!

Another intensive weekend unit has begun and it looks like we are in for a treat with Kate Charlton as our Integrated Marketing Communications lecturer. Her enthusiasm for the subject is almost contagious!

In class this weekend we discussed the process of creating media campaigns. Kate’s experience working for large advertising firms such as Saatchi Design and RedBox Digital (to name a couple) lead to many interesting stories about the process of creating a media campaign.

During the planning stages of a media campaign, disconnects can easily happen if the client is not honest and open with the advertising firm they are working with. These can and lead to expensive unsuccessful marketing.

Conversely, we discussed successful advertising campaigns that were the result of open communication between all parties. When customers can be honest about their weaknesses, and can let the advertising company design and deliver an advertising campaign based on their interpretation of the situation at hand, great things can happen.

A perfect example of this can be seen with the one star hotel, backpackers’ hotel, The Hans Brinker, in Amsterdam. Before the owners of the The Hans Brinker Hotel met with KesselsKramer, an advertising agency, the hotel was struggling to get a sufficient number of ‘heads on beds’. The owners didn’t have the funding nor the desire to upgrade the facilities of their hotel, so instead, they invested in the marketing of their hotel.

KesselsKramer devised an absolutely brilliant advertising campaign that promoted The Hans Brinker Hotel as “the best of the worst hotels”. At the time, the market was dominated by 3 star hotels which were too expensive for backpackers and didn’t necessarily meet their needs of cheap accommodation. The ads that KesselsKramer devised brilliantly embraced The Hans Brinker’s one star status and glorified itself in an uncluttered market space which eventually lead to outstanding results!

Currently, The Hans Brinker web site brags of what a disappointment the hotel has been for travellers, that the comfort guest should expect is at a low, and that occasionally the plumbing works. For those looking to backpack overseas, these qualities makes this hotel stand out, essentially adding to the customer experience. If you have had the ‘opportunity’ to stay at the Hans Brinker hotel, you truly have earned life long bragging rights for your experience.

Have you ever had the opportunity to promote a product based on what could be considered undesirable traits?