Inspiration from an unlikely source

Something inspired me greatly recently. Not that I saw it for the first time or didn’t know about it, but I could draw inspiration this time. Paralympics. For me, this event is all you need to learn about resourcefulness. Even though being differently-abled, these athletes can climb summits that are otherwise stretch goals even for the gifted ones. Perfection is then a relative term indeed.

Another great reminder is the iconic painting of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. It’s famous for Mona’s natural smile than its imperfection – eyebrows missing! Some say it existed and later got erased due to weather and wear and tear. But they are theories. So, if Leonardo missed eyebrows in his impression of Mona, why did she not object? After all, vanity is our favorite sin.

Drawing energy from this and continuing; one can get marketing inspiration from campaign shortcomings (or a near-miss) too. Gives us milestones to achieve. Rolling out a product that is not fully tested or ready for the target market, an ad campaign that has a socially disturbing narration to it, tweet that incites negative reactions are some of the many instances. Not that we intend imperfection to exist in our work (not always that is), but it happens nevertheless. How can one use these instances to turn misfortune into an opportunity? Being resourceful. Here’s sharing a few interesting comebacks that saved the day for these brands.

The New York Times

To lure back its lost subscribers, on a fine Wednesday morning, the email marketing team at NY Times sent a discount offer over an email with 50% off for 16 weeks to all of its subscribers – > 8 Mil instead of 300! Crudely, the social media team fired a tweet stating that the subscribers should ignore it as it is not from them. It was sent thru their domain name.

Comeback: The same day in the afternoon, the Times sent an email to its subscribers explaining the situation in detail. The PR team also replied to the Tweet and accepted their boo-boo. The damage was done but by accepting the blunder, they were able to keep their existing subscribers on. In marketing, many channels are a one-way street. Like an arrow – once you fire, there is no way to get it back.

Tata Nano

Marred by controversies and hurdles, this project was already on its path to a being written off as “total loss”. In order to make the car affordable to every Indian, the marketing team went overboard by branding it as a “cheap car”. Not only did most Indians disliked the message, but the design also made it look awful.

Comeback: The Company went back to the drawing board and instead of changing the body design, they went for a change in aesthetic – colour and some change. New positioning; “smart city car”. That supported with an Ad focused on youth, sales picked up. Perhaps a good lesson is positioning then!?

Johnsons & Johnson (Tylenol – 1982)

Infamously known as Chicago Tylenol murders, this medicine was the bestselling OTC drug for killing pain. Instead, it ended up killing people. The drug came in small plastic bottles and while in the Chicago area, someone injected it with Cyanide. It took out 13 people.

Comeback: The Company acted swiftly by first making a public announcement to stop further consumption. Next, they recalled the entire shipment, across the country worth $100 mil. Then stopped further advertisements. Although it was not their fault, they fully took ownership of this catastrophe. The basis of this action was the company’s mission statement – responsibility to its consumers and medical professionals. This is not just a case of imperfection but a matter of life and death. Should mean a lot!

Perfection (if there is such a thing) may at times render us complacent. If invention and discovery stops, growth stops. We know; anything that is 6 sigma – 3.4 defects per million opportunities, is as good as perfect. Flaws lead us to strive hard to get to that elusive promised land. So mistakes should only lead us to learn more, correct what we can and move forward believing that where we’ve been, we may have left a few stones unturned.

Knowing we are imperfect builds humility and humility is winner’s virtue.

Are there such great inspiring moments in your work or daily life too? Please share and do not forget to write to me.