A Pink Goldfish marketing lesson from the Autobahn. Last summer our family went on vacation to visit relatives in Holland. Summoning the adventurous spirit of Clark Griswold, we decided to rent a car and tour some neighboring countries. The first was Germany.
Driving on the autobahn (highway) was an experience in itself. Contrary to popular belief, there are speed limits. But for long stretches between cities, there are none. I routinely would keep up with traffic at about 170 kilometers per hour. That’s just over 100 mph. Every so often we’d get passed by an Audi, BMW, or Mercedes. They’d fly by going in excess of 200 km per hour.
There is a lesson here. In normal times, it is hard to stand out when everyone is cruising along at a similar speed. Ramping up slightly is hardly noticeable. You’d really need to floor it to be memorable.
But during a pandemic, when everyone is pulling over or throttling down, turning up your spending and lopsiding in some areas can be extremely effective.
Takeaway – Reexamine your marketing mix. Find areas to lopside and also find areas to withhold. In some areas turn the dial all the way up to 11. In other areas, especially where all of your competitors are, you might want to turn the dial all the way down to 0.
