Would Your Marketing Survive The Jumbotron?
🔥 Are You Echoing?
🧠Are You Being Heard?
🌋 Real World Consequences
🏷️ Marketing Tips
Contents
Introduction
The Anatomy of an Echo Chamber
Over the weekend, Coldplay’s Chris Martin poked fun at the now-infamous “CEO Kiss Scandal” , a viral jumbotron moment where a high-profile exec was caught on camera smooching someone not their spouse. Cue the internet chaos.
Let’s be clear: these are real people, and the fallout of moments like this should be handled behind closed doors. Public shame cycles aren’t our business.
But as marketers?
We’d be lying if we said we weren’t taking notes.
When something hits the cultural bloodstream like this, it becomes more than gossip, it becomes a mirror. The jumbotron doesn’t just catch people off guard, it exposes how ready or not they are for the spotlight. And the same goes for your marketing.
So let’s play this out:
If your marketing strategy got put on the jumbotron unfiltered, full screen, thousands watching in real time, would it hold up? Or would it buckle under the pressure like a cringeworthy stadium kiss?
Let’s look at five classic jumbotron tropes and what they reveal about the marketing missteps you might be making.
1. The Kiss Cam: Forcing Affection Where There Is None
We’ve all seen the awkwardness of a couple caught on the Kiss Cam. One leans in, the other recoils. Oof. That’s what it feels like when a brand forces a “relationship” with its audience that hasn’t been earned.
Marketing Mistake:
Desperate personalisation or trying to be “relatable” without understanding your audience.
Example:
Emails that start with “Hey [First Name]!” but then pitch completely irrelevant products. Social campaigns jumping on memes they don’t understand. It’s forced affection and audiences can smell it a mile away.
Fix It:
Build authentic rapport. Understand your customer before trying to kiss them (metaphorically).
Consent, context, and connection matter – just like on the Kiss Cam.
2. The Lookalike Cam: Getting It Almost Right
The Lookalike Cam shows a split screen of a fan and their celebrity doppelgänger. Sometimes it’s spot-on. Other times, it’s… generously inaccurate. In marketing, this is your “close enough” targeting strategy.
Marketing Mistake:
Over-relying on lookalike audiences or broad segmentation without refining the actual data.
Example:
You create a campaign for “fitness enthusiasts” and end up targeting everyone from marathon runners to people who just bought a yoga mat once. Technically similar. Functionally irrelevant.
Fix It:
Segment smarter. Use real behavioural data, not assumptions. Lookalike audiences are a starting point, not the final pitch. Test, learn, narrow in.
3. The Dance Cam: Performing Without a Strategy
Dance Cam captures the enthusiastic and sometimes wildly off-beat moves of unsuspecting fans. It’s fun. It’s chaotic. And it perfectly represents brands that post content just for attention, without a clear message or intent.
Marketing Mistake:
Jumping on trends without alignment to your brand voice or values.
Example:
That time a B2B SaaS company tried to go viral with a TikTok dance… why? Who’s it for?
Fix It:
You don’t need to be everywhere. You need to be on-brand wherever you show up. Let your strategy lead, not your FOMO.
4. The Proposal Gone Wrong: Betting Big Without Testing
Ah, the big public proposal. It’s either magical or mortifying, and there’s no middle ground. The marketing equivalent? Launching a major campaign without validating the message or offer.
Marketing Mistake:
Skipping testing in favour of a dramatic reveal.
Example:
Spending six figures on a product launch that lands flat because nobody wanted what you were selling in the first place.
Fix It:
Test the waters. Get feedback. Run small-scale pilots before you go full stadium-mode. Confidence is good. Blind faith? Not so much.
5. The Crowd Shot: Thinking You’re the Star
When the jumbotron pans to the crowd, some fans wave, some cheer, but a few jump up and hog the camera like it’s their show. That’s the brand that forgets it’s not the hero the customer is.
Marketing Mistake:
Brand-centric storytelling instead of customer-centric messaging.
Example:
Websites filled with “We’re the best!” and “Our mission is…” instead of “Here’s how we help you.”
Fix It:
Step off the stage and put your audience in the spotlight. Make them the hero of the story, you’re just the helpful sidekick.
Final Whistle
The jumbotron doesn’t lie. It amplifies what’s already there. The joy, the awkwardness, the inauthenticity, the connection. Your marketing is on its own jumbotron every day, seen by customers who can either cringe, scroll, or cheer.
So ask yourself:
Would your marketing survive the jumbotron?
If not, it’s time to fix the frame before the spotlight hits.
If your marketing feels like it’s faking the kiss, dancing off-beat, or hoping no one notices it’s time to fix that before you go live.
At Evernburn.Agency, we help brands show up ready, aligned, strategic, and unshakably confident in the spotlight.
Let’s make sure your next big moment earns a standing ovation — not a scandal.
Book a call now and let’s reignite your marketing.
