Sorry that this post is not more technical but I have been thinking a little about marketing lately. It started after the last Utah County .NET User Group meeting where I asked for suggestions on how to improve and was told that maybe we should look at marketing the group a little more. The idea being if we could get discussions on the forums or something else to create a little buzz we could get more attendance at the meetings and also more support from sponsors. I am still working on what the “right” way to do that is. I realize how hard it is to do correctly and how easy it is to pick out other’s mistakes. Here are a few items that I would consider “bad” marketing that I have discovered or that have been pointed out to me in the last week or so.

The company that I work, Keane Inc. for just launched a new slogan complete with a new web design and everything else. The new slogan is “Making Global Work Work”. I know that they mean that with the help of Keane you can reap the benefits of globalization. I also realize that you could twist the slogan to mean that if you hire us it will be a lot of work on your part to get globalization done correctly.

Another example is the e-mail I got from MSD2D on SharePoint 2007. At the top of the newsletter was the title and right under it a section on what happened today in history. It happened to be the ratification of the Constitutional amendment ending slavery. I guess I just wasn’t paying enough attention to the headings but I skipped over the heading for “Today in History:” and started reading expecting it to be an article on development. When I saw stuff about forced servitude and the like I was thinking to myself that they were taking the whole Microsoft is going to rule the world scenario a little too far. Then when I got down to the real start of the article I was again confused at the context switch into something seeming to praise Microsoft. When I re-read the newsletter it make sense to me but for a second I was reaching for the delete button and would have been left with the impression that the editors of the newsletter were not doing a good job.

I guess it comes down to making sure that whatever your message is, it is clear, concise, and very hard to misinterpret. I have gained a little more respect for the people who do this day in and day out.