'[We're] making him think a huge ad campaign is live': Scorned marketing team dupes CEO into thinking he has his dream ad campaign

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
May 11, 2024 3:00 PM EDT

These people are marketing masterminds… or menaces, depending on who you ask. 

There's a long-running trope that people who work in marketing are duplicitous. If you've ever seen Mad Men or shows like it, you know the type of character we're talking about. The trope of the marketing exec who's out to fool everyone is hard to dispel. And stories like this certainly don't help that stereotype! 

U/DanAffid shared the story of what happened when they and their coworkers created the "CEO billboard." They seem pleased with the result: a billboard that caters to a single person. 

There are plenty of marketing strategies that work excellently. If you see an ad once, you might briefly notice it. If you see it a few times per week, you start to become familiar with the product, and possibly more inclined to buy it. And if you pass the same billboard every day as you're driving the kids to daycare or zipping along your daily commute, it'll probably stick in your head for some time. 

Check out this marketing person's malicious compliance story. Then, read about the first dates that went completely off the rails, like one first date who insisted that his date "order off the dollar menu." 

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  • 01
    'CEO billboard'
    via Kate Trysh on Unsplash
  • 02
    CEO Billboard "CEO Billboard" is a term we use for expensive marketing efforts that aims only to please the ego of the client.
    via u/DanAffid
  • 03
    For example, buying a billboard ad on the road between the Client CEO's house and his office + country club, making him think a huge ad campaign is live when actually only 2 ad placements were bought.
    via u/DanAffid
  • 04
    In this case, one of the owners of a company we worked with insisted we'll advertise on his favorite sites - very big and expensive to advertise on financial sites that would never be ROI-effective to advertise on this specific product.
    via u/DanAffid
  • 05
    We were committed to the company ROI due to our bonus structure, but the was the owner and he wanted ads on his stupid websites, so we had to comply.
    via u/DanAffid
  • 06
    Long story short, we've isolated his zip code (home + work), mobile device type and few additional unique identifying data and use the advertising platform targeting capabilities to target only users that matches this unique set of parameters. The got his ads every time he went to his favorite sites and couldn't be happier.
    via u/DanAffid
  • 07
    Qix213 Reminds me of the roommate that advertised on facebook with such a targeted/specific criteria it would only get to his other roommate. Then made the ads very specific.
    via u/Qix213
  • 08
    Mtthemt This... This is cruel. But I love it.
    via u/Mtthemt
  • 09
    TunTavern Patron Good clients get what they really need. Bad clients get. exactly what they ask for (aka demand).
    via u/TunTavern
  • 10
    arbivark A friend of mine in law school was running for state rep. We had no money and no chance, but I made a lucky call and got a billboard company to donate a billboard. It happened to be on the route the incumbent would drive to work every day, made it look like we had a real campaign going.
    via u/arbivark
  • 11
    Phobet Why leverage the extensive experience of your advertising agency when the client can leverage their limited experience while feeling like they're making a contribution...to the detriment of their business...
    via u/Phobet
  • 12
    Trainguyrom I'm not terribly familiar with this end of web advertising. By going with such narrow criteria for the ad campaign, and by extent, so few "impressions" (views/clicks) does that mean the ads cost less? or does it cost exactly the same and this is just a huge' || you" the the Big High Muckity Muck?
    via u/Trainguyrom
  • 13
    [deleted] This is lovely. Absolutely lovely.
    via u/[deleted]

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advertising boss advertisement workplace-stories jobs employee job malicious compliance bosses work coworkers malicious-compliance-reddit ceo workplace malicious compliance reddit
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