Anti-Marketing and public relation campaigns have always interested me. I remember a friend in college saying, "How fun would it be using all these things we are learning (In the PR field) and use them for evil?" Now an anti-campaign is not evil but can be a very fun and interesting. This industry already exists and is thriving right under our noses. Before I get ahead of myself though let me explain what it is in the words of saleswings.com. "...It is (an) alternative way of looking at marketing. Sometimes customers just want a break from the constant barrage of positive selling tactics. Seeing one after another, they all start to seem the same and, eventually, the consumer just tunes out. Cue anti-marketing. It is a breath of fresh air in an oversaturated marketing environment. And this guerrilla marketing tactic comes in various forms."
Ryan Holiday is the hero of this. His book, "Trust Me, I'm Lying," was such an eye-opening and amazing read. This guy defaced his own billboard, lied his way onto network television as an "expert", created fake personas to rally woman's rights groups against his own clients to raise their awareness, posted racy ads on family friendly websites knowing they would be taken down and even leaked photos he knew were copyright protected just so they would get views. Here is a better list of his awesome work.
Some other awesome examples would be car companies paying to have the cool main character to drive their car and everyone else has outdated versions of their competitors which end with a malfunctioning demise. Companies reportedly sending their competitors apparel, and accessories to not so loved reality stars so that brand is associated with a lower class. (Think Snooki) Even alternative marketing can be considered like Wu-Tang Clan's plan of selling only one album which sold for 2 million dollars. Math shows they would have had to sell over 1 million copies to make that, and when was the last time anyone bought a CD from an aging rap group? You could even think of Trump's campaign, or Mr. and Mrs. Kanye West and some of their antics. All super effective as we have seen.
With cyberbullying rules being so relaxed there may be even a market for doing this on a personal scale for profit. Being online destroyers of brands, people, or anything really. Staying on the right side of the law of course. (A little grey area wondering never hurt, though.) I strongly encourage anyone with an interest in marketing, public relations, branding, or any field similar to look into this and hopefully get excited about the opportunities. Traditional marketing campaigns are failing, and unless you can create an amazing Youtube ad you may find this as a perfect, and fun, alternative. Plus trying to come up with ideas that Darth Vader, Frank Underwood, Ari Gold, and Leslie Chow would like is just an added benefit.
