There are different types of marketing. Some of them are mild, unoffensive, and other marketing strategies are more aggressive and asserting. Creating awareness and attracting attention are the main goals of marketing. All means are good when it comes to advertising and promoting your products. This is why controversial marketing gets so much attention and praise. Even though controversy will surely attract a lot of attention rather than simple marketing strategies, sometimes, controversial marketing can backfire and give absolutely opposite outcomes. In this article, I will tell you about the main pros and cons of controversial marketing.
Controversial Marketing Attracts Attention
Nowadays, there is almost nothing in this world and life that can somehow surprise or shock us. We are already used to all types of news, photos, videos, and events. In this overcrowded world of social networks such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and others, it is almost impossible to grab someone's attention with simple marketing and advertising. Over imagination is already saturated to its full extent. Thus, we need to be more creative to catch more curious eyes.
Controversial marketing creates controversy. It is scandalous and almost on the edge of legal and illegal. The controversy is something that makes people speak, discuss, agree, and disagree. Hence, controversial marketing grabs attention due to its emotional power. One of the main advantages of controversial marketing is its attention-grabbing potential.
Controversial Marketing Makes You Unique
Let's agree, today's visual ads are very boring and banal. Every day, we see hundreds of different ads on the Internet, TV, on the streets, and everywhere where advertisements are allowed. We treat these ads as empty walls. They are meaningless for us. What is more, all the visual ads are very similar to each other.
With controversial marketing, your business positioning and product can be viewed as unique. When you use controversial marketing in your business strategy, you automatically stand out in your business field. You don't resemble hundreds or even thousands of other businesses that use banal and primitive marketing strategies.
Controversial Marketing Makes You Remembered
Tom Ford is one of those fashion designers who successfully used controversy in creating visual ads for Gucci and YSL in 90ies. These ads are still remembered and discussed even though almost 30 years have already passed. Controversies make history. Hence, if you want your business to be remembered for centuries, controversial marketing might be the best strategy.
Controversial Marketing Can Create Problems
While running controversial marketing campaigns, you are kind of playing with fire. If you somehow overdo in your controversies, it can bring you a lot of problems. These might be legal problems with governments, lawsuits, hatred, accusations in sexism, racism, nationalism, heresy, and so on. Sometimes, controversial marketing can give you total disasters without you being able to achieve any business goals.
While playing in controversial marketing, be very careful. Controversy will usually touch people's emotions. You should use controversy in a way that doesn't offend anyone. Otherwise, you are creating problems for yourself and your business.
Controversial Marketing Might Look Primitive
Controversial marketing is not a secret anymore. At the beginning of 90ies, controversial ad campaigns might look like a novelty and something interesting. Nowadays, everyone knows about different psychological techniques in advertisements. For example, the use of sexual stimuli in visual advertisements is not a secret. Everyone knows about it. People who are far from professional marketing know that marketers intentionally feature sexually attractive women and men in their ads.
Controversial marketing is good if it is unique. Nonetheless, if you are planning to use primitive marketing techniques in your controversial marketing strategies, it can be viewed as primitive and banal. Be aware of this fact. You will surely need professional marketers in your team to create specialized controversial marketing ads.
If you have a business, products you need to market and sell, and you think that controversial marketing will help to boost your sales, then, I can surely help you to create, customize, and run some powerful marketing strategies with high controversy. I am a professional marketer with almost 10 years of experience in the field of marketing.
Contact me via email or WhatsApp. Let me take a look at your business. I will analyze your business, and then, suggest to you some cool controversial marketing ideas that will surely create awareness and attention around your business. Feel free to contact me whenever you want.
