Chances are you either strongly agree or strongly disagree with this statement because, well, now you’re actually reading this post. If the headline had said, “Ad Agencies are Changing,” you wouldn’t be so intrigued. But, instead, my headline grabbed your attention because it sparked a certain emotional reaction from you (whether good or bad), and now you’re hanging onto my every word to see why I would make such an awesome or outrageous claim...
Well, sorry to let you down, but I’m not here to make an argument against ad agencies’ future existence. I’d rather show how you’ve just proved marketing works, especially when it’s controversial. You’ve always heard, ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity.’ And, certainly, bad publicity can turn a brand into something better. There’s something to be said for the power of controversy. It forces the audience to take sides, to get involved and to be engaged with the message. And this engagement is the industry buzz word that many marketers hold in their hands about as well as running water.
Let’s take a look at a current controversy-based marketing campaign that launched just this month. If you follow faith-based marketing at all, you’re certainly already aware of Rob Bell’s new book “Love Wins.” Earlier this month, Rob announced via his website that he would be publishing this new book, and he made this video [seen above] to spark some interest.
By the way, the subtitle is: A Book About Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. If you search on Amazon for ‘Heaven and Hell’, you’ll get almost 2,300 other book results. The subject matter of Rob’s new book is nothing new. People have been debating it since the beginning of religion’s existence. But what Rob has been able to do is bottle up the centuries of controversy into one artful video and a blog post. One that could be shared, argued and hyped throughout the internet by everyone from his most avid supporters to his biggest rivals. The controversy has consumed the Christian faith interwebs for a month now, driving his book sales through the roof. Amazon shows that the book has been in the top 100 (at #3 currently) for 26 days now. Did I mention it was only released a week ago? The controversy engaged people, and the preorders were massive. From those who agree, but just as strongly from those who disagree. That’s the power of controversy marketing, and surely Rob Bell knows well how to use controversy to build his own brand.
