To promote its own agency merits, The Gate Worldwide produced a Hit List of Sacred Cows (pdf) it will happily execute on your behalf.
Irksome ethical heifers include “Marketing should be judged by sales,” “Teams create the best solutions,” “Success breeds success,” and — our personal favourite — “The customer is always right.” (We’d kill that shit ourselves. With a rusty scimitar.*)
The Hit List is going out to CMOs, along with the following message: “If any of these sacred cows are roaming your office, don’t worry. The Gate Worldwide will help you kill them” — followed by a name and a direct line you can call. Nice touch.
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* That’s not to say you shouldn’t keep a close ear on customer sentiments, because these people are your front line. Listen to them. But remember their emotions are volatile, and like any herd, they may insist something is personally important to them and go do something else.
Acknowledge your customers, but learn from the Skittles.com fiasco: draw some lines, don’t let them take the reins entirely. A good ad man doesn’t just bend over; s/he manipulates agreeably. Cult of Apple, anyone?
