Lady Landfill - A Lesson in Advertising

By Vince Samios

"Google Lady Landfill" it said...

A field of rubbish flashed across the TV, a smiling face, a lady sitting on landfill... Lady landfill they called her.

This is a story about a marketing department which tried to be a little too clever, without understanding exactly what they were doing.

What did you do on Sunday 19th Oct 2008? I was presenting at an internet marketing seminar for businesses. I was teaching people how to target phrases such as "lady landfill", expand their business and to cope with this "recession" - I was instructing business owners on protecting their online presence. Protecting their online presence in this particular case would be something like protecting their positioning for phrases such as "lady landfill".

So back to our clever little marketing departing, in fairness they had a great little idea. In the internet marketing industry we call it a product launch. They caught my interest and they instilled in me a desire to actively look for more information. They intrigued me and they provoked an action. Specifically they told me "if you want to know more about lady landfill, go to Google and search for her!"

GREAT IDEA! Really, it is a good idea! The only problem is that this specific phrase hadn't been rigidly secured, the lady landfill castle didn't have a moat, nor any walls, nor an army. The "lady landfill" campaign was just a single little boy sitting on the top of a mound of dirt (or maybe landfill) in his parent's back yard with a sling shot...

When it comes to landfill, waste management and waste removal, this is my domain. I am working on the SEO campaign for Top Triangle, a total waste management company in the UK. Being interested in both SEO and Waste Management, I did a little bit of research.

A single youtube video titled "Lady Landfill: Safe Trip Home" sat on the top of the mound of dirt, with a little sling shot. As a responsible parent I feel it is important to teach children a lesson when they go wrong. If you play with fire you are going to get burnt. It's a similar concept here, if you play with something you don't fully understand, expect the unexpected.

I've lived in a third world country for over 3 years myself. I've seen the main landfill in Phnom Penh and I've seen the scavengers who make a living digging through that landfill. I have personally met more than one lady landfill, and maybe this was all just bad luck for the marketing monkeys who came up with this campaign. I have met many a lady landfill, I work with waste management companies, and I lecture to businesses on SEO and Internet marketing. What a coincidence!

So what has been the result of this slip up? A free advert on TV advertising the UK's leading internet marketing team. That's us by the way...

A wise move for the advertising and marketing department in question would be to seek consultative services from people who can both advise on future campaigns, as well as clean up the mess they have got themselves into. TV Advertising time is hellishly expensive, and it would be a shame to have paid for advertising one's own embarrassment.

Put the words "Lady Landfill" up on your wall and forever remember this lesson. Lady Landfill is watching you!

Vince Samios - SEO Consultant and Lecturer working with Top Triangle Total Waste Management If you want to work with the best, I'm sure you can find our contact details.