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And this is how you do NOT market to customers…

31 January 2007 1 views 6 Comments

… by causing a national security alert.

This device, shown right, is a product of a guerrilla marketing campaign done by Turner Broadcasting to promote some show that I can’t watch because I don’t own a television. It can, however, foul up my evening commute by shutting down half the city of Boston while bomb squads assess a potential threat.

I’m glad to see Boston’s police department responding quickly and efficiently to what could have been a dangerous situation.

CNN reports:

The devices displayed one of the “Mooninites,” outer-space delinquents who make frequent appearances on the cartoon, greeting passersby with a raised middle finger. Nine were reported around Boston on Wednesday, sending police bomb squads scrambling and snarling traffic and mass transit in one of the largest U.S. cities.

I’ve got a great marketing idea for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the city of Boston! Let’s send Turner Broadcasting a nice bill for the expense incurred by the city. Even better, let’s send them a bill for our time. Dear Turner Broadcasting: your recent marketing campaign caused my commute to be approximately an hour and a half longer than normal. As we both value time as money, I am invoicing you for $472.11 for the additional time and travel expenses incurred as a participant in your marketing campaign.

Please send the amount, paid in full, to: Christopher Penn, the Financial Aid Podcast, 15 Cottage Avenue, Suite 501, Quincy, MA. This invoice is Net 15 days, with a 1% fee for every day past 15 due. Thank you. Hey CC, send them a bill, too!

Update: some people are confused about what the fuss was. Compare the following photos:



The top image is the digital advertising gear. The remaining two images are IEDs, commonly used in Iraq to attack US troops.

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6 Comments »

  • links for 2007-02-01 at Bryper.com said:

    [...] And this is how you do NOT market to customers… Christopher Penn’s brilliant suggestion: Bill Turner Broadcasting over OUR time lost over their guerilla marketing campaign that sent Boston into chaos. (tags: Boston TurnerBroadcasting BostonBombScare) [...]

    # 2 February 2007 at 10:38 pm
  • A Bite of Sanity » Blog Archive » Enough Stupidity To Go Around said:

    [...] kids up to your stunt was not real smart. It’s also not the a really smart idea to upset and disrupt the lives of the very people you’re marketing [...]

    # 1 February 2007 at 5:35 pm
  • John Jones said:

    I don’t get it … we here in NYC got it … watch some AdultSwim tonight Boston: [url removed]

    # 1 February 2007 at 4:03 pm
  • Dave LaMorte said:

    Aqua Teen Hunger Force is the bomb.

    # 1 February 2007 at 11:50 am
  • Lee Hopkins: Better Communication Results - business communication, online, blog and podcast consultant said:

    Bomb scares are stupid publicity stunt…

    Thanks to a heads-up from colleague and friend C.C. Chapman, this defies belief and is currently breaking news in Boston : “The ‘packages’ in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger. They are part of an outdoor marketing campaign in 10 cit…

    # 31 January 2007 at 11:09 pm
  • Bomb scare in Boston result of Turner Brodcasting marketing campaign at Bryper.com said:

    [...] Christopher Penn, who’s commented below, has a brilliant suggestion: the City of Boston, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and its citizens should all bill Turner [...]

    # 31 January 2007 at 11:08 pm

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