The Perils of Hype

In the early part of the 20th Century, a new technology was struggling to become established. A plethora of new manufacturers, some operating on a shoestring, were clamouring for public attention. Overall adoption of the new technology was modest. This modest adoption rate arose because, whilst the target market was often convinced of the merits, the whole product was not fully developed to the point where it became a practical proposition for people of modest means. Vehicles were often expensive, servicing was troublesome, fuel availability was patchy. And the early cars frightened the horses.

The new technology was the Motor Car. There were lots of examples of extravagant claims and marketing hype for motor cars in the first 20-25 years of the 20th Century. However, many manufacturers adopted a more robust approach to publicity. Their process was:

• Find a challenge (usually a sporting event)
• Complete the challenge
• Promote the results

It still took an enormous change in the mechanical aptitude of the average consumer (soldiers returning from WW1 able to drive and to conduct basic maintenance procedures) before the masses became mobile.

The 21st Century approach to the marketing of new technologies seems to be:

• Find a band-waggon
• Create tenuous connections from my product to that band-waggon
• Confuse the market by claiming membership of a hype trend

Net Result
Target customers become confused, and analysts get frustrated. Products which were previously being promoted as the best possible exponent of the previous band-waggon are mysteriously upgraded (sometimes with minimal changes) to become fully hyped members of the new hype trend.

Marketing Caution

• Make sure that your marketing messages are based on substance
• Use style to embellish if you must - but never at the expense of hiding elderly substance under a cloud of hype
• Avoid being suckered into joining the next hype trend with last year's products
• Listen to customers and analysts to be sure that you are not over-communicating the hype solely because that is what your competitors are doing