Pink Slime. This foul concoction has all the ingredients, food groups, if you will, for a media and attentional firestorm; it has a catchy name, a manufacturing process that makes “like watching sausage being made” sound wholesome, is an apparent threat to our children, and illustrates bureaucratic indifference or stupidity.
(OK, now this is really too funny, but hey who am I to frown on PR ploys; see this article Governors to Eat ‘Pink Slime’ Burgers in Push Back Against Outcry over Additive).
We have a small school and it does not serve hot lunches, so there is less of a concern in my town – but it does seem scary, the stuff that schools consider good menu items for growing minds and bodies.
Reading these news reports made me think about the types of things that some marketers try to pass off as nourishing content for unsuspecting customers and prospects.
We know the type when we see it:
- White papers that are thinly veiled sell sheets
- Case studies that flog features using cryptic jargon, and are less about benefits, in language that is easy for customers to understand
- Press releases that are jargon-laden and all about chest beating
OK, it is maybe a too cute and convenient analogy but I could not resist it, and urge marketers to take the time to ensure quality materials, that are educational, have real information value, are easy-to-read and understand, and are not just marketing slime.
