I’ve ranted and warned and cited other experts regarding focus groups before. But now, I can play the “Don Draper said so” card when the idea of focus groups come up (and don’t think I won’t!).
In episode 404, “The Rejected,” of Mad Men, the season finally makes a little progress. Pete’s gonna be a daddy, and he’s finding ways to fully leverage his account with the dad-in-law. Don finally has to face some consequences of sleeping with his secretary. Peggy’s found a new lesbian friend who’s introducing her to all kinds of new things.
All good stuff, but not exactly the kind of meat I’m looking for in terms of what we marketers can actually put into play today.
In summary, EVERYTHING. The similarities between a presidential campaign and a marketing campaign are staggeringly abundant, mainly because they are both marketing campaigns at the end of the day. As we’ve entered caucus season for the ’08 election, the first glaring commonality is too easy to see: Caucuses are just focus groups with a more [...]
