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John Andrew

Updated on Apr 11, 2026•science-and-technology

What's the craziest marketing advice a client ever gave you?

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9 Answers
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Nakul Chauhan
Digital Trends Explorer
Answered on Mar 31, 2026

One time, a client in the wellness space looked me dead in the eye during a strategy meeting and said, completely serious: “Forget data, forget targeting. I want the entire campaign to feature my golden retriever wearing sunglasses, barking testimonials in voiceover. People trust dogs more than humans.”

He was convinced it would “disrupt the industry” and make us go viral overnight. No budget for animation, no script, just “let the dog cook.” We gently pivoted to user-generated content with real customers instead. The dog idea never saw daylight, but I still laugh about it years later. Clients, man… they keep it interesting.

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vipin yadav
Answered on Mar 31, 2026

One of the craziest pieces of marketing advice I’ve heard is, “Let’s make the ad intentionally confusing so people watch it twice” 😅. The idea was that confusion would create curiosity, but in reality, it just risked losing the audience completely.

Another one was, “Use every trending hashtag, even if it’s unrelated.” That might bring short-term visibility, but it can hurt brand credibility and attract the wrong audience.

Sometimes clients suggest extreme ideas hoping to go viral, but good marketing usually works better when it’s clear, relevant, and focused on the right audience rather than just chasing attention.

 
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Ramesh Kumar
Updated on Apr 1, 2026

One of the craziest marketing suggestions I’ve heard was, “Let’s make the website super flashy with pop-ups everywhere so people can’t ignore it”. It sounded bold, but too many pop-ups usually annoy users and make them leave faster.

Another one was, “We don’t need a target audience, our product is for everyone”. That sounds good in theory, but in reality, it makes marketing less effective because you’re not speaking to anyone specific.

There was also, “Let’s copy exactly what our competitor is doing”. But that often removes originality and doesn’t help a brand stand out.

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vipin yadav
Answered on Mar 31, 2026

A really crazy marketing suggestion I heard was to “make the product look cheap so more people can relate to it”. The intention was to appear simple and accessible, but it could easily damage trust and make the brand look unreliable.

Another strange idea was ignoring customer reviews completely and focusing only on promotion. That approach can backfire because feedback plays a huge role in improving products and building credibility.

There was also a suggestion to launch campaigns without any testing, just to “go viral”. While bold moves can work sometimes, skipping planning usually leads to poor results and wasted budget in the long run.

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Kamal Bhatt
Organic Gowth Expert
Answered on Apr 1, 2026

Working as a digital marketer or a creative writer in India is very intriguing because our clients are very different and sometimes they give very funny or "crazy" advice. We always strive to adhere to the data and the latest trends from Google or Meta, but occasionally a client presents an idea that leaves us questioning its seriousness.

One of the craziest marketing advice I ever got from a client was about three years ago. I was working for a small local brand that wanted to sell premium organic tea. The client was a very nice person but he had no idea how the internet works. One day, he called me at 11:00 PM and said, "I have a great idea! Why are we spending money on Facebook ads? Just go to all the famous celebrity's Instagram pages and post our tea link in their comment section 100 times a day. If we do it on Virat Kohli and Shah Rukh Khan’s profile, we will become famous overnight for free!"

I tried to explain to him that this is called "spamming." I told him that Instagram will block our account and it looks very bad for a premium brand to beg in the comments. But he was very sure. He said, "No, no, people love to read comments! It is like a digital billboard." I had to spend two hours explaining that a "Premium" brand cannot act like a bot. This is a very common problem in India where clients think that "more noise" always means "more sales," but in digital marketing, quality is much more important than quantity.

Another crazy advice I heard was from a real estate client in Gurgaon. He told me to stop using "boring" professional photos of the buildings. Instead, he wanted me to put a photo of a big Bollywood actress on the thumbnail of every ad, even if she had nothing to do with the project. He said, "People will click because of her face, and then they will see our flats." I told him this is "Clickbait" and people will get angry when they don't see the actress inside. They will leave the website immediately, and our bounce rate will go very high. He didn't understand the technical words, he just wanted the "clicks."

The craziest part is that many clients think that if they give us 1000 rupees today, they should get 10,000 rupees profit by tomorrow morning. They treat digital marketing like a magic trick or a lottery. One client even told me to "make the logo 50% bigger" on a mobile ad because he thought the brand name was too small. I tried to tell him that on a small phone screen, if the logo is that big, there is no space for the product or the "Buy Now" button!

In the end, I realized that as an Indian writer or marketer, our job is 50% doing the work and 50% "educating" the client. We have to be very patient. Crazy advice usually comes from a place of excitement but no knowledge. If you listen to every crazy idea, your brand will look like a mess. It is better to stick to the basics: good content, right targeting, and a lot of patience. This is how you really grow a business in 2026.

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rightangle developers
Updated on Apr 10, 2026

I don’t have personal clients or war stories, but I can share the kind of “crazy” marketing advice professionals frequently hear—and why it usually backfires 😄

1. “Make it go viral”

Sounds simple… but it’s like saying “just win the lottery.”

👉 Why it’s crazy:

  • Virality isn’t controllable
  • It depends on timing, emotion, and luck

Reality: Even brands like Nike can’t guarantee virality every time.

2. “Target everyone — more people = more sales”

A classic mistake.

👉 Why it’s crazy:

  • Broad targeting dilutes the message
  • No one feels the ad is “for them”

Reality: The most successful campaigns are hyper-focused.

3. “Let’s run ads without a budget test”

Basically: spend big money with zero data.

👉 Why it’s crazy:

  • No testing = high risk of wasted spend
  • Ads need optimization cycles

Even companies like Amazon obsess over testing before scaling.

4. “Make the logo bigger”

Designers hear this all the time.

👉 Why it’s crazy:

  • Branding isn’t about size, it’s about perception
  • Over-branding can reduce engagement

5. “We don’t need data, just intuition”

Gut feeling alone = dangerous.

👉 Why it’s crazy:

  • Marketing today is data-driven
  • Ignoring analytics = flying blind

6. “We need results in 2 days”

Unrealistic expectations.

👉 Why it’s crazy:

  • Good campaigns take time to optimize
  • Algorithms need learning periods

7. “Copy what our competitor is doing”

Seems logical—but often fails.

👉 Why it’s crazy:

  • Different audience, timing, positioning
  • You end up looking like a weaker version

8. “Let’s exaggerate the product to get clicks”

Short-term gain, long-term damage.

👉 Why it’s crazy:

  • Breaks trust
  • Leads to poor retention and bad reviews

The Pattern Behind “Crazy Advice”

Most of it comes from:

  • Impatience
  • Lack of understanding of marketing
  • Desire for quick wins
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Jony Backer
Answered on Apr 10, 2026

Honestly, one of the wildest pieces of “advice” I’ve heard was:

“Can we just add more keywords… like everywhere? Google will rank it faster, right?”

They literally wanted to stuff the same keyword into every sentence, headings, footer, image alt text, even suggested hiding extra keywords in white text on a white background “just in case.” Basically trying to outsmart the algorithm like it’s still 2010.

When I explained that this could actually hurt rankings and make the content unreadable, they hit me with, “But my competitor is doing it.” That was the entire strategy.

Another classic was, “Can we go viral by tonight?”
Like there’s a switch you just flip and boom, millions of views. No audience, no content strategy, no distribution plan… just vibes and expectations.

The craziest part is these ideas don’t come from bad intentions. Most of the time it’s just misunderstanding how digital marketing actually works. People think it’s hacks and shortcuts, when in reality it’s consistency, good content, and patience.

Now whenever someone says “quick trick” or “guaranteed ranking,” I already know the conversation is about to go off track 😄

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Jony Backer
Answered on Apr 10, 2026

Honestly, one of the craziest things a client once told me was:

“Can we just copy our competitor’s entire website… but make it look slightly different so no one notices?”

I genuinely thought they were joking at first. But they were serious. Their logic was simple, “They’re ranking on Google, so if we do the same thing, we’ll rank too.” No concern about originality, branding, or even legal issues.

Another one that still makes me laugh was, “Let’s just buy followers first, then real people will start trusting us.” Like trust is something you can fake until it magically becomes real.

And then there’s the classic, “We need to go viral this weekend.” No strategy, no content plan, no audience research… just pure expectation that something will blow up overnight.

What I’ve realized is most of this advice doesn’t come from stupidity, it comes from misunderstanding how marketing actually works. People think it’s all shortcuts and hacks, when in reality it’s consistency, testing, and patience.

So yeah, every time I hear “quick trick” or “instant results,” I already know I’m about to hear something wild 😄

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MOHD ADEEB
Youth & Social Media Researcher
Answered on Apr 11, 2026

One of the craziest things I heard was a client wanting to rank on Google overnight just by posting a few articles and adding tons of backlinks in one day.They were convinced quantity beats everything.But in reality it backfired and their site performance dropped instead.It actually showed me how important it is to focus on quality content and natural growth rather than shortcuts.Since then I always explain that digital marketing is more like a long term game where consistency and strategy matter more than quick hacks.

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