‘Tis the season for rubbish holiday analogues, and as this is the last Tuesday 2¢ before the holidays, I have a warning about marketing baubles.
I’m not sure what you call them where you are reading this, but Christmas baubles, bulbs or balls are an essential colourful part of our Christmas tree decorations. They are fragile, made of glass, thin plastic, or metal, they are shiny, bright and attractive, and while they add something wonderful over the holidays, they are temporary and have limited value for the rest of the year.
Like the Christmas bauble, the marketing baubles are shiny and bright. They are the random marketing idea an executive has read about, a new social media channel, a digital marketing tactic, or that new piece of tech that someone in the team has their eye on. It is tempting to load more of them onto your marketing tree, but why? Just because you can, should you?
Like the Christmas bauble that only looks great during the holiday season and would look odd if hung up in summer, marketing baubles don’t really fit or seem relevant after a short time, adding nothing to your long-term marketing décor. How will this bauble look in the bigger scheme of your marketing strategy?
Like the Christmas bauble, marketing baubles are fragile, easily broken and need some care, which is often overlooked. OK, so maybe this is where the analogy falls down a bit, as a Christmas decoration doesn’t really need that much care, but our marketing bauble will. A new piece of tech, new social channel or digital marketing tactic could be like getting a puppy for Christmas, what are your plans for keeping it fed?
Like the Christmas bauble, the marketing bauble is often reached for at this time of year, when there is some final budget to spend. However, unlike the Christmas baubles that are safely packed away for 11 months when the holidays are over, the marketing bauble can appear anytime.
You get the idea, beware of the marketing bauble!
Thank you for reading and engaging with my blog. Unlike marketing baubles, I hope you load up with all of the shiny things you love about the holidays!
As a change from a picture of me, the featured image was created with the help of Artificial Intelligence using NightCafe Creator.
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I’m a 3xCMO, now a marketing strategy advisor and podcast host at Rockstar CMO. Although, I’m not a rock star, but a marketing leader, strategist, content marketer, columnist, speaker, industry watcher, and creator of ART (Awareness, Revenue, and Trust) for the companies I work with. But most of all, I am an enthusiastic tea drinker.
You can find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, or now Threads! – or listen to my weekly podcast at Rockstarcmo.com
The half-baked thoughts shared on this blog may not reflect those of my employer or clients, and if the topic of this article is interesting or you just want to say hello please get in touch.