I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but playing the Lotto has always been a good longterm financial decision. Sure, it’s a lot of fun to spend a few bucks for the childlike wonder of waiting for someone to tell you that you have just made a non-tax-deductible donation to your local education system but after the novelty wears off, it’s probably much healthier to put your money somewhere a little safer (like a bank or an index fund).

Most people would agree that the above is pretty obviously true, but some of these are the same people who day in and day out play the Lottery with their companies money on obviously ridiculous projects.

Lets pull an example from a hat, shall we?

Taking Vegas Odds

Lets say that I run a company that makes bowling balls. I am pretty good at what I do, so good in fact that around December I find myself flush with cash. What is a Entrepreneur to do? I decide that I want to maximize my exposure, so instead of putting out flyers in bowling alleys like I would usually do, I decide to do something spectacular and get my companies name plastered on the side of a blimp that will be flying over the Citrus Bowl.

What great exposure! So many people will learn about my company. This is a great idea.

Now, I am sure you see the problem here. While I am sure many people who watch Football games like to Bowl, it seems like it might be a little more intuitive for a bowling ball company to sponsor a Bowling tournament — wouldn’t it?

If this Entrepreneur had been thinking clearly he would have recognized the fact that it’s not how many people you expose to your brand, it’s who those people are. Furthermore, for a company on a budget, it’s not just who you are exposing yourself too it’s how much it costs you per conversion — how many Football fans are really going to buy Bowling balls because of a blimp.

The answer that a lot of people give when you start throwing numbers at them in an effort to dissuade them from bad Marketing decisions is that, “It’s worked before,” or more often, “But I think this really could work.” This is usually followed by a rambling explanation of some kind. The problem is, just because you got lucky once, doesn’t mean that a bad idea suddenly makes sense. No matter how much lipstick you put on a pig, it’s still a pig.

As a Marketer, Entrepreneur or business person your job is to mitigate risk and take good bets. Just because something is flashy and seems right, doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea. If the numbers seem off or the opportunity for conversion seems too low, you have to be willing to throw out the idea — even if the alternative doesn’t have the sex appeal.

Web 2.0 Roundup

Next time you are deciding on a Marketing expense, make sure that you aren’t playing Lottery with your companies money. I’d give you Vegas odds that you’re going to lose.

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