Want to hear one of the worst marketing and PR stunt ever in modern history?
Fiat sent love letters to 50,000 women in Spain in 1994.
Fiat sells cars, and they were hoping to target more women for the new campaign.
They sent out 50,000 letters addressed personally to each recipient and written on pink paper.
The letter literally wrote: “Yesterday we saw each other again. We met on the street and I noticed how you glanced interestedly in my direction.”
“I only have to be with you a few minutes and, even if it doesn’t work between us, I promise you won’t forget our experience together.”
It was meant to be a marketing campaign to get the attention of women.
They were launching the Fiat 500 and wanted more women to drive it.
So the marketing geniuses at the marketing department thought it would be “sexy” and intriguing to send anonymous love letters to random women living in Spain.
To be honest, it was quite brilliant.
Women received the letters, newspapers were talking about it and everyone was fascinated.
But the women felt stalked and threatened by the letters.
It created panic, unease and confusion more than anything.
Needless to say, it was a negative PR stunt gone horribly wrong.
A few days later, Fiat sent a second letter with an invitation to the closet Fiat store to go view the car.
The culprit has been exposed.
Some decided to sue Fiat.
They won.
Fiat had to pay up, but it was an insignificant amount of around USD $1100.
What was supposed to be a campaign playing on romanticism, passion and love, ended up with a court cases, fearful customers and negative PR.
So there you go.
Fiat, in 1994, experimented on a risky marketing campaign and sent love letters to random girls in Spain.
So why would you be afraid to do anything?
Forget random, modern marketing is all about customisation and tailoring to the needs of your customers.
That being said, I am pretty sure with social media and the openness of modern society, this experiment might be more positive if done today.
Would you try this to promote your business in 2021?
Do you think marketing today should be provocative?
-
#startups #business #startupx #fiat #success #socialmedia #fiat500 #marketingcampaign #cars #publicity #entrepreneurship #strategy
