I’m still waffling about the title of this post, as I know the spam-catcher is going to have a hayday. However, there’s no way around this overwhelmingly obvious truth in Vegas: sex sells. And, quite frankly, that bothers me. Aside from my moral quandary about using sex as a selling tool, I feel like it’s bad marketing.

First, the moral issues. It’s disconcerting to walk down a street in broad daylight, and see people in t-shirts with a phone number and the slogan, “Girls Direct to YOU…… 24/7!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” They stand on the corners slapping trading cards of provocative pictures on their hands, and thrust them at you as you walk by. There’s trucks that drive down the street, with the sole purpose of carrying a giant billboard to advertise these women, and huge signs on every hotel boast some kind of topless review or burlesque show. I’m sorry, but I don’t think our society needs any more encouragement to have promiscuous sex, and I find it disgusting that in 2011, we still degrade women to nothing more than sex objects. I literally heard a man and a woman negotiating for women on the street. NEGOTIATING for women! Being from a conservative, Christian family in the South, I haven’t been exposed to such blatant, overt, sexual advertising. Sure, we see it in everyday innuendo and less-than-clothed advertisements, but open price discussions are unheard of where I’m from. People may disagree that promiscuous sex is immoral, but I would wager most would agree that negotiating the sale of another human’s most private possession is morally deplorable. We see stories about rape, abuse, and trafficking all over the world, but we’ve got a thriving market right here at home. We send aid and workers and police to fight the problem abroad, but pour money into billboards to advertise it in Vegas. Does anyone else find this to be a contradiction?

Second, I think it’s bad marketing to use sex to sell. What do sushi and sex have to do with each other? Why would you need to go topless to sing songs from the 1950s? Are your food and voice sub-par without that extra little umph of a naked woman? There’s plenty of places that serve great food, and put on a great show, without resorting to catering to man’s (well, humans’, but particularly man’s) basest instinct. The argument that people like good scenery while they dine or listen to music rings true… and there’s plenty of marble, paint, gold, fountains, and greenery to enhance your experience. It’s a cheap shot to make everything about sex, since it’s a strong biological imperative. People get up-in-arms about marketing to children, as they’re susceptible to all manner of suggestion. But, where’s the outrage at using sex to sell? And don’t tell me it’s because adults “know better”. Look at Axe, the company that sells men’s body products on the premise that you’ll have women throwing themselves at you after incorporating Axe into your daily routine. One story talks about a lawsuit from a disgruntled customer, who claims that he’s seen no “effect” after using the products. Cars, phones, shoes, and the list goes on, tell you that you’ll get more sex if you buy their product. We all know we’re not going to get rich quick, we’re not going to lose weight fast, and we’re not going to stay young forever, but for some reason, we all think we’ll be sexier or get more sex! These claims are equally ridiculous, but people are less likely to dismiss them. Again, let your product stand on its own merit. Am I the only one that questions the quality of the ACTUAL product when they feel they must use sex to sell?

Las Vegas knows how to sell sex. In fact, part of me wonders if they ONLY know how to sell sex, as food, shows, and other attractions are all paired with random sexy images.  The advertisement for Celine Dion features a picture of her back, in an extremely low-cut gown, with the slogan “Celine’s back”. Clever turn of a phrase, I suppose, but what does her bare back have to do with her ability to sing? Vegas has some great attractions, but I, for one, can do without the sale of sex.

I’ve just returned from my trip to Las Vegas, and I was struck by the level of beauty and detail in each of the many hotels and shows! I’d say Vegas has one of the most successful marketing strategies in the world, and I’m going to give you a look at my trip over the next few posts.

I’m starting out with my surprise at the beauty and detail shown in the hotels. I’ve been to Trevi Fountain and the Arc de Triumph, and the Vegas replicas rival the real thing to a T. Further, the painting on the ceilings, marble-like statues, and gilt columns really give the tourist a sense of the old cathedrals and museums on the other side of the world. It’s amazing what we can do with technology today. You can literally walk down a street and see Italy, France, and New York in an hour!

As a marketer, giving people the “real thing” is a cornerstone for many campaigns… it’s one of Coke’s taglines! People return to Vegas again and again to try to find the new details that they missed on countless other trips. Many car companies, clothing retailers, and restaurants sell entire concepts and product lines based solely on their ability to provide beauty and detail to their customers.

In addition to the beauty in the hotels, many of the tradeshow booths featured gorgeous art and sleek marketing collateral. Aviation is often perceived as boring, technical, and ugly, which many companies proved wrong at the show. You can find artistic shots of engines, wings, and aircraft parts, all woven perfectly with the company tagline and benefits. I’ve been inspired to work on a new booth for one of our companies, insisting that there’s no reason to do things the ugly way when a beautiful way exists! Artistic shots of the details of an engine draw attendees in, and can make the difference between an empty booth and a busy booth.

Once again, I saw how beauty and detail bring people in by the thousands, literally! Part of the Vegas appeal is the ability to experience so many forms of beauty and detail in one small space. The desire for beauty extends beyond our entertainment, and straight into the corporate world, as the booths and marketing pieces demonstrate. Have you ever longed for a car just because it’s a work of art? Purchased a pair of shoes because they looked beautiful in the window? Marveled at the presentation of your food at an expensive steakhouse?

My husband and I enjoyed a backpacking trip over Labor Day weekend on the Lone Star Hiking Trail. Even in the middle of the woods, I couldn’t help thinking about marketing and the corporate world! So, I’ve got a quick 3-part series of posts with some of my thoughts from the backpacking trip.

When trekking through the woods for a few days, you either pack all your water, or find water sources along the trail. The water sources along the trail need to be purified, so we used chlorine drops to make the trail water safe. It struck me that most bottled water companies advertise their bottled water as some variation of the message “pure, straight from the source.” There’s usually a picture of a rushing stream, or a lake surrounded by mountains. They sell this water at a premium, and people swear that “pure stream water” tastes much better than “fresh mountain water”. But here I am, LITERALLY getting water directly from the source, and I can’t sell it at a premium… in fact, it’s basically free (I suppose we can count the pennies worth of drops used to purify the water in the cost, but that’s trivial). I think most people would agree that my drops-induced creek water tastes a little funny, and isn’t worth paying top dollar.

On the flip side, if you’re without water in a desert, you’ll pay top dollar for ANY water, not just the fresh, purified stream water. At the point of dehydration, you might not even care if the water is purified at all, figuring a stomach ache is worth the risk to avoid the possibly fatal effects of going for days without water. We weren’t in dire need of water, but we were glad to find this little creek on our route. This creek water was much more satisfying than the lake water (confession: I couldn’t drink the lake water… it was just too gross-looking!).

Thus, my water in the woods is ironically not a “premium” product, even though it lives up to the “straight from the source” marketing, but it would become a premium product if it were more scarce. This was a fun realization in nature, and I look forward to sharing my other insights from the weekend!

I don’t know much about guns, but I know this: shotguns use bullets that explode everywhere, and rifles use bullets that go precisely into a single target. Marketers use these tactics as well. The shotgun marketer throws a ton of strategies, commercials, and messages to every customer in every market. The rifle marketer takes careful aim, and takes one single, pivotal shot at one single, pivotal customer. Neither tactic is better or worse in general, but they should be used in different situations.

The shotgun approach works well when you have a product that most people use. “Most people” could be included in a certain industry or demographic. For example, most people across all age groups and industries use some type of computer, with some type of browser and software. I’ve really enjoyed the last few campaigns by Microsoft to sell their different products and services to the market. Their “I’m a PC” campaign and “Make It Great” campaign showcase customers of all ages, from all walks of life, from business owners, to students, and everything in between. Their “Bing and Decide” campaign touches on all the different subjects and information people are searching for, and offers a variety of ways that their search engine, Bing, can help them make better decisions. Since most of the population can use at least one of Microsoft’s products, the shotgun approach makes sense. Their campaigns don’t focus on single features or single user characteristics, but rather the overall picture of a great product to meet everyone’s needs.

The rifle approach works well when you are in a very niche market. I’m currently working in the aviation industry, and the rifle approach is our best bet. We do have some subtle differences between customers, but our niche is pretty defined, with a certain type, size, value, and use of an aircraft. It makes no sense for us to put out a radio ad promoting our services, as a majority of radio listeners don’t need our services. Instead, we focus on industry trade shows that cater to our market, and industry magazines that cater to our demographic. Sure, some of these publications only have 10,000 readers, vs. mainstream publications with hundreds of thousands, or even millions of subscribers. But if the 10,000 readers are actually viable customers, we get more bang for the buck by targeting them with a specific message. We go to our customers, instead of making the customer come to us, or adding to the clutter and noise of the advertisements they see every day.

These are simplified examples, but the sentiment is the same: do you use the shotgun or the rifle? Once you pick the type of strategy, you can make your message much more effective.