Web Marketing gone awry

French riot over free cash

[grandpa]

This must be a marketers nightmare, to see what appears a good idea gone to hell in a handbasket.

Promotional Event Leads to Violence in Paris [nytimes.com]

Mailorama.fr, the Web marketing company that planned the event, initially wanted its “Bus of Fortune” to make several stops around the city, distributing a total of 5,000 envelopes, each containing €5 to €500 — $7.50 to $750. The locations were to be communicated via promotional “buzz” on the Web.

Who would have though the intended market would change when the prospect of an envelope of money was involved.

Instead of the middle-class Parisians the organizers had hoped for, witnesses said the crowd, overwhelmingly young, male and poor, appeared to be made up mostly of residents of the tough suburbs that ring the French capital, as well as poor students and homeless men.

[weeks]

Who would have though the intended market would change when the prospect of an envelope of money was involved.

Yeah, really. What a surprise.

[Leosghost]

What was absolutely certain to trigger the riots ..was the cancelling of the "event" ..large groups of disillusioned ,poor youths from the banlieu ghettos showed up for promised "free money" only to be told

.."Sorry it's not for the likes of you"

The politicians of all sides here said it would end in tears ..and it did ..

and BTW .giving away money as a promotion is illegal in France ..( special rules for lotto etc )

the problem is some fool at the prefecture ignored that and authorised it anyway ..and the word spread before anyone could stop it ..

The banlieu and old city centres of many french cities are like powder kegs witness the riots in Marseille this same weekend between rival groups of football supporters ..all of them arab youths ..

Supporters of Algeria or the other team ..Egypt ..the Algerian team supporters ( who are in the main french citizens ..trashed their own area ..the old port area of Marseille is mainly small arab shops and restaurants ) and attacked mainly their own people as they broke into shops and businesses again in their own area close to the old port ) ..attacking women and kids ..our TV here was full of the shocked victims mainly of arab origin ..

all it took was a football result that they didnt like at a match a couple of thousand klicks from their city ..

BTW these youths are in the main over 50% unemployed ..and lots of employers dont hire people with "non french" sounding names ..even with degrees ....not to excuse what happened ..but to put it in context ..