When your marketing makes you look stupid

The smart, funny guy who runs Webpagesthatsuck.com got a piece of direct mail from the American Diabetes Association that made him scratch his head -- and then blog: Unclear on the Concept:

Most of you know that sugar is poison to a diabetic -- a wonderful tasting poison. So it seems a little strange to me that the address label and some of the "free" address labels inside the envelope show a CANDY CANE.

I can imagine how it went when they created this mailing. They'd been testing images for their mailing label packages. "Holiday images will work," someone said. It rang true. So they got some generic holiday designs. So far, so good.

Candy canes are high on almost anyone's list of holiday images, right?

And I'll bet dollars to donuts (Oops! More sugar!) that this was tested a long time ago, and has been mailing successfully ever since.

Except, now and then, when somebody gets the mailing and says, Candy on a mailing from the Diabetes Association? WTF? To that person, the Association looks like a bunch of blithering idiots.

The people at the Association would be fully justified in saying: Give us a break! It's just a pretty picture -- we aren't advocating a Candy Cane Diet! Or maybe, Only one in a jillion people even notices this, and only one in a jillion of those who do cares!

Still, they need to change that image. Because they need to seem (or better yet, actually be) totally and obsessively focused on their anti-diabetes mission. Even in the small and symbolic ways. That's how to demonstrate that they deserve their donors' dollars.

Update: It's been pointed out to me that sugar is not, in fact, "poison" to people with diabetes. See the comments for a good explanation.

Technorati Tags: fundraising, diabetes

Comments

[Tom]

Thank you for bringing such nice posts. Your blog is always fascinating to read.

[Ron Bell]

Actually, sugar is NOT a "poison" to individuals with diabetes, and most of them carry a small supply of sugar or candy in case of LOW blood sugar.

Diabetes is a condition in which a person cannot REGULATE their blood sugar (type 1 is caused by autoimmune destroying the islet cells in the pancreas that produce insulun, while type 2 is caused by the body becoming resistant to insulin).

Watching one's diet prevents swings in blood sugar -- obviously eating a pound of candy isn't good for anyone, and if you have diabetes, it can raise your blood sugar to dangerous levels. On the other hand, completely cutting out carbohydrates can lead to low blood sugar, fainting and coma.

You should check your facts before slamming the ADA -- they DO know their facts about diabetes.