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Holiday Greetings Guile

12/26/2015

6 Comments

 
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by David Hagenbuch, Founder of Mindful Marketing

Imagine you open a holiday card from a friend that reads:  “Wishing you joy and peace during this special season.”  Also inside the card is a small flyer showing several types of cutlery and a hand-written note: “Carve-Co is having some great sales on knives for all of you holiday cooking needs.  Please call me to set-up a time to discuss.”
 
What would you think of your friend’s communication?  If you’re like most people, you’d probably have mixed feelings about the card.  On one hand, you appreciate your friend sending the holiday greeting.  On the other hand, you’re taken aback by his/her promotion of the knives.  You may not have minded the sales pitch in another context; in fact, you may have even appreciated it.  But you probably found the combination of commercial and personal messages off-putting.
 
The chance of you receiving a mixed holiday message like that one from a friend is pretty slim.  The probability that you’ve received such a message from a company is likely 100%, at least if your experience is like mine.  Here are some examples of communication, camouflaged as Christmas greetings, that have made their way to my email inbox:
  
  • Pier 1 Imports:  Merry Christmas!  Our Gift to You . . . today only FREE SHIPPING ON YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE
 
  • Dick’s Sporting Goods:  Merry Christmas from everyone at Dick’s Sporting Goods.   We’re Open Today Online!  Stores Open Tomorrow at 7 am.
 
  • Bon-Ton:  Merry Christmas!  TAKE UP TO AN EXTRA 30% OFF YOUR PURCHASE**
 
  • Kohl’s:  Merry Christmas from our family to yours.  With the warmest of wishes, All of us at Kohl’s.  P.S. Enjoy 25% OFF online today only (you know, just in case).
 
  • NordicTrack:  Merry Christmas from NordicTrack.  Free shipping on machines over $399.  See our Christmas specials.  Give the gift of good health.
 
In the spirit of some recent Geico commercials, you might be thinking that these types of messages are to be expected from companies, i.e., “If you’re a corporation, that’s what you do”—try to sell while wishing people well.  However, as with all ethical issues, just because people or organizations do something doesn’t mean that they should.  Here’s a pair of reasons why companies shouldn’t mix holiday greetings with commercial content, using two of the five societal values that Mindful Marketing often mentions:
 
1. Honesty:  When we receive a card in the mail that says “Seasons Greetings” on the front, or an email that has “Happy Holidays” as the subject line, we may begin to read it only because we think it’s a genuine expression of well-wishing.  Mixed holiday messages, however, fall short on honesty as they try to trick us into taking a first step (ready this email) with the hope that we’ll overlook the deception and continue to process the commercial content.
 
2. Respect:  Of course, it’s inherently disrespectful to deceive people; however, there’s more here being disrespected than just the message’s recipients.  The camouflaged communication also disregards the meaning and worth of the holiday.  Instead, it uses the holiday as a means to an end; for example, it implies “Our company doesn’t really care what Christmas means to you, but we know we can use it as a way of getting your attention and possibly making a sale.”
 
Lest we become cynical and think that all companies’ holiday greetings are duplicitous, here are a few other emails I recently received that are not infused with blatant commercial content:
 
  • Founders Inn and Spa:  The end of the year brings no greater joy than the opportunity to express to you season's greetings and good wishes.   May your holidays and New Year be filled with joy! [email included an outside photograph of trees covered in white lights]
 
  • American Marketing Association:  HAPPY HOLIDAYS from the American Marketing Association. [email also included a personalized note, appreciating me for being a member]
 
  • Michaels:  Merry Christmas [email did include a small link to the weekly ad, but that was all]
 
  • Align:  Happy Holidays from Align.  Season’s Greetings  [this first part of the message appeared on a picture of a snowy landscape with trees and two cardinals].  During this holiday season, Align is proud to support the Muscular Dystrophy Association on behalf of our clients and partners.
 
So, why do some companies choose to conceal their promotional messages as holiday greetings while others don’t?  The main reason is that the former group has a short-term outlook, i.e., “We need to sell product now.”  Of course, members of the latter group also want to secure sales; however, they have a proper perspective of marketing: “If you put the needs of people (namely your customers and employees) first, sales will follow.”
 
Commerce is a good thing, but there are certain places and times when people need a break from business.  As such, they appreciate companies that care enough about them as people to put their commercial content on pause.  Organizations that choose to ignore this basic human need not only compromise important societal values, they ultimately jeopardize stakeholder value, which makes them merchants of “Mindless Marketing.”
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6 Comments
Jason Polansky
1/8/2016 05:34:10 pm

I agree with this. Many stores and businesses use the holidays as a means for advertisement of their sales. However, a customer may feel like the business is taking advantage of the holliday to persuade him to buy a product, rather than actually wishing them a happy holliday season. A better approach is for the business to promote the spirit of Christmas by donating to a charity or showing that they are helping others. Personally, I would be more motivated to be a customer of this type of business than one that is just persuading me to take advantage of their Christmas sale.

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Miriam Thurber
1/9/2016 03:26:21 pm

This is so true. And sadly, it extends beyond just the advertising campaigns of various companies. Because our culture so promotes self-individualization, we are all trained from the beginning to promote ourselves every chance we get. Mindless marketing is no longer limited to organizations using any means necessary to turn a profit, but also to the individual who disregards the ethics of relationships for self-promotion. From this post, many parallels to everyday life can be drawn. In regards to honesty, double-intent has become second nature. Media is riddled with manipulation and television shows praise the efforts of a double-edged sword. As you wrote, "camouflaged communication also disregards the meaning and worth of the holiday." This statement also extends the meaning of disrespect beyond the month of December. Our individualistic mindset accepts disrespect towards certain others in order to situate ourselves into positions of power. But this method of "success" completely disregards everyone but the individual, and it makes a statement that others have no worth. This was an excellent look at the failure of organizations to be mindful, and a great allusion to our society's similar problems.

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Jennifer Rusling
1/9/2016 05:49:20 pm

Instead of a way for businesses to take advantage of the holidays for sales purposes, I would like to see companies use the holiday season as an opportunity to show generosity and service to their community and meaningful charities. By a company taking the initiative of participating in goodwill, I believe it would challenge and encourage its customers to follow suit. This would set an example to their customers which would help instill respect, trust, and loyalty from their customer.
Like the blog stated, I am not surprised by the emails from the companies deceiving the consumer with a friendly subject line of holiday cheer. I do believe it is not necessarily a fair practice, but on the other side of the coin, the customer is receiving a deal for their next purchase. I wonder what percentage of consumers welcome that kind of email with open arms.

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Jake Curry
1/10/2016 03:53:36 pm

This article was very relevant to me, as I have received an innumerable amount of advertisements disguised as holiday greetings over the years. Strangely, I have never thought about the ethical aspects of a company's decision to send these advertisements. I completely agree with the article that these decisions are disrespectful and dishonest, as they deceive their recipients into believing that the company sending them actually cares how the recipient's holiday is going. On the other hand, this is exactly what I have come to expect from most businesses. I cannot think of one time when I have received a message from a company that showed me that they genuinely cared about me. Honestly, this doesn't really bother me much anyway. I don't give a company my business so that they become my friend. The reason I do business with them is because I want the product they are selling. If that business does anything more than provide me with the good or service I requested or send me messages in an attempt to make me aware of deals that could potentially lead to more business transactions, it feels to me like that business is trying too hard. In doing so, they are wasting both my time and their own. I would much prefer businesses to send me regular advertisements instead of manipulative holiday greetings that double as advertisements and have absolutely no genuine message behind them. They don’t need to disrespect a holiday- especially to send a message that most people won’t even look at anyway.

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Ashley Moschetti
3/17/2016 02:38:28 am

I really enjoyed reading this article. I have never really thought about how marketers take advantage of the holiday season to get the attention of customers. I have always loved getting Christmas cards from different retailers because it usually comes with a coupon or some sort of discount, so for me I have always seen these 'mindless marketers' as a positive thing. But this article was very informative and gave me new insight into how this type of advertising goes against honesty and respect.

Reply
Tim
10/24/2016 01:52:30 am

I enjoyed this article.
It's sad to think that people will just use Christmas as a way to sell things. I have zero issues with advertisements or companies selling me things, but sending me an ad disguised as a Christmas card? Really?
Just send me the ad as an advertisement, honest and straight-forward.
As for companies who in the latter group, those who don't send an add in the Christmas Card/Email, I am grateful for that. That actually is refreshing to see and will gain my respect.

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