Have a sale, sure. Just not a Covid-19 sale.
Don’t mention it...
We’ve seen the old ‘Hail Sale’ tactic before but this feels next level ridiculous… I was stunned to open a personally addressed envelope containing, of all things, a glossy ‘Covid-19 Clearance Sale’ flyer from a Brisbane car dealership.
“Never before seen prices” they declare…
…during a never before seen crisis.
In case you missed it, the designer did us the favour of highlighting the single most infectious source of fear and uncertainty in society today… using bold font, bright red in colour, complete with yellow outline no less.
After buying a house, your car is often the next most expensive purchase you will make in life, so highlighting uncertainty like this doesn’t feel… err, smart.
It’s not like it’s untrodden territory to use misfortune as the ‘raison d’être’ for a sale, but in the context of Covid-19, it feels different… predatory… using an infectious disease that the average Toowong Mitsubishi & Kia customer hasn’t truly been effected by, but that has taken hundreds of thousands of lives around the world not to mention crippled world economies, isn’t tasteful marketing in my opinion.
Three months ago, our inboxes were bursting with statements from CEOs and Founders falling over each other to communicate their Covid response… how it would impact their services, delivery, and end consumers. Sure, it got repetitive after a while, but there didn’t seem to be a hidden sales agenda (for the most part) and if anything, corporate responsibility is something to be encouraged… so good on everyone.
As we emerge from lockdown, and businesses try to entice customers out of hibernation, how many more will make the mistake of jumping on the Covid-19 bandwagon? Or SUV for that matter.
Have a sale, sure. Just not a Covid-19 sale.
‘Swine Flu Bonanzas’ were never a thing. I’ve never seen a ‘Mid-Flu Season Sale’ nor an ‘Ebola Sale.’ For good reason. Talk about opportunistic, tasteless, dumb marketing.
