Marketing learned how to grab attention, but forgot what to do with it | MarTech

"To quote Basher from "Ocean's 13," "You don't run the same gag twice. You do the next gag." Marketers tried and failed because they learned the wrong lesson. Dollar Shave Club's ad worked because it used novelty to cut through the noise, letting a single, concrete claim hit the viewer. The comedy was just a delivery mechanism."

"They use the same stat in their pitch - that when you have "author" next to your name, it's easier to get attention from your target audience because the author title gives you credibility. That scares me. People hire ghostwriters to buy credibility with their good writing and clear thinking."

A viral, irreverent Dollar Shave Club commercial paired novelty and a single, concrete product claim to rapidly drive orders, revenue growth, and a billion-dollar acquisition. Many marketers copied the surface tactic of grabbing attention but failed because they lacked credible, valuable follow-through. Overemphasis on attention caused training, tools, and incentives to neglect the conversion half of the equation. Credibility and substantive value after initial attention determine sustained success. Contemporary signals of purchased credibility include hiring ghostwriters and using the author label to attract attention, which raises concerns about authenticity and trust.

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