The year in marketing: 2010
By Becky Lang
The marketing phrase of the year is ….
Join the conversation!
The image of the year is …
This year was all about talking. We were “abuzz” as a society, maybe because we were a bit too broke to be “ashop.” Nonetheless, we know each other a lot better now. Brands are listening. Brands are talking.
They’re also still involved in class-action lawsuits now and again, but hopefully they’ll wise up and tweet back at complainers before the lawyers get a call.
Exciting class-action suits this year:
-Apple sued when iPhone 4 upgrade downgraded iPhone 3 models
-Facebook sued for profiting off ads that show minors “liking” something
-Walmart sued for gender bias
-Wells Fargo sued for greedy overdraft policies
-Comcast sued for slowing down service on P2P downloads
It’s hard, making money, not getting sued.
Here are some of the least forgettable marketing memes this year:
DROID! That noise, so robotic, so iconic, but not as good as Play-stay-sion.
Chocolate people. Not appetizing. Chocolate man deodorant. Even worse.
Brands that excel at non-sequiturs on social media, and are worshipped for it.
Brands creating an experience.
iAds stick it to Flash.
Google becomes newsworthy, every day, several times a day.
A retreat from Americanized versions of foods in favor of their original, foreign schtick.
Diet soda is for boys too, and it’s masculine at that. Is SO.
QR codes on everthang.
What did I miss? What characterized the year, to you?