Friendly Fire: What does that mean to you?
We live in a more connected world than we did 20 years ago. That means that it’s easier to offend. It also means that we have less excuse to offend.
It’s tough not to offend someone when you take a stand. Don’t worry about offending those who aren’t your market. But be sensitive to the feelings of your target market. You don’t want to tick them off – unless you are planning on changing your marketing.
The point is - are you aware of who you might be offending and are you comfortable with that?
This is a reminder that certain words and phrases trigger emotional responses.
Most of those connections are about race, religion, wars,
Humber College recently held a contest for entrepreneurs to receive money.
It’s an adaptation of the Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank TV shows. I applaud the college for encouraging entrepreneuership.
But, what caught my attention for the wrong reasons was the title of their program – Friendly Fire.
I know that title was meant to sound cute with the illiteration but it offended me. Perhaps someone thought that was a clever title.
Friendly Fire was a military propaganda phrase that was meant to soften the reality of allies killing allies.
Instead of telling family that we killed your son by mistake – they announced that your son was the victim of Friendly fire. That means that some idiot killed your son because of incompetence.
To me the use of the term "Friendly Fire" feels disrespectful and offensive.
Do these words offend you? What other phrases have marketers used that offended you?
Add your comments below
George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter
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