They couldn't care less about bland pages full of sterile corporate happy talk. I produce Entropy Gradient Reversals, a satiric zine that delights in dissecting transparently clueless corporate Internet strategies. Though EGR subjects readers to bad language and a worse attitude, they cheer loudly when I bad-mouth the very companies for which many of them work. But EGR is gonzo in more than style. Reader feedback often informs my advice to clients.
People are sick of companies that are long on pitch but short on personality.
Steve Larsen, VP of marketing at Net Perceptions, regularly sends e-mail to a list of industry notables. His latest announced a major deal with Vignette, then pointed his contacts to my zine. They don't always share my tastes, but they end up knowing me better. Taking such chances represents a powerful new form of positioning. Gonzo marketing is about being part of the story, not loftily divorced from the everyday fray.