Dogs and Advertising
One thing you learn very quickly as a blogger, especially if you ever get to be part of a social media team at a conference or event, is that you quickly start getting pitches from marketers about stuff to talk about on your blog. At first, it can be flattering. People are paying attention to you! Isn’t that like totally the point of blogging?
And they want you to do things like review books for free, or talk about their products… for free. Or share a picture of Wil Wheaton collating paper… And the pitches all start sounding formulaic; almost like they aren’t even reading your blog. Like you are just another email on a mailing list. Heck, most of the time they don’t even get your name right.
And soon you just stop reading the pitches altogether. The few times I do share something on this blog, it is because it is for someone I know, something I think is cool, some conference I want to support either just cause or because it’s part of what I do when I am part of a conference social media team. But I always try to be clear on how I am involved. A blog is worthless if it is inauthentic.
But we all have a weakness and a marketing agency finally find mine: Cute. Animals. Specifically dogs. I swear you can put a puppy on anything and I’ll buy it. I don’t care what it is, does, or costs, just shut up and take my money. So when Rachel of the Kindling Media Group sent me an email you can just imagine my will power slowly draining away from me as soon as I saw the subject line: Dogs Take Over Office.
Crap. I was physically unable to do anything but read the email about how they created a video to promote National Take your Dog to Work Day, which incidentally happened to be June 20th. And then I absolutely had no choice but to watch the video. I mean, PUPPIES! And after watching the absolute cuteness I did the only thing I was capable of doing which is to send Rachel back the note below:
Wow, you got me on this one. I never respond or even look at all the marketing emails I get but I am powerless in the face of puppies. POWERLESS. Consider your will to be done, I have to share the cuteness.
Thanks, Shauna
So if you too have no will power when it comes to puppies, check out the video below. (Slow Clap) Well done marketers, you’ve won this round…
