Marketing made mistakes in the past by relying too heavily on customer surveys and not understanding unconscious customer reactions. In the 1950s, marketing spread widely but has since fallen from grace. Modern marketing sins include overconfidence without competence, complacency, and irrational superstitious beliefs rather than relying on data and understanding customer behavior. Marketers should strive for excellence, integrity, understanding patterns and principles, and focus on supporting good actions while preventing bad ones.

1. WH AT CA N WE L E A R N
F R O M M A R K E T I N G ' S
M I S TA K E S?
U X P R O F E S S I O N A L I S M :
I N T E R A C T I O N S O UT H A M E R I CA 2 0 1 7
CC BY-SA 4.0
Santiago Bustelo
User Experience Director, Kambrica

2. T H E PR O M I S E
1 9 5 0 ’ S : M A R K E T I N G S P R E A D I TS WI N G S

4. “Asking customers what they think of a package
design is not a useful way to measure effectiveness.
Surveys and polls don't measure unconscious
reactions; and what consumers do, not what they
say, is what matters”.
Louis Cheskin: Color For Profit (1951)

9. M A R K E T I N G ’ S
FA L L F R O M
G R AC E
1 9 9 0 ’ S -TO DAY: T H E D I S A PP O I N T M E N T

10. E N T I T L E M E N T
S I N # 1

11. Confidence
Competence
The Dunning-Kruger effect

12. CO M PL AC E N CY
S I N # 2

13. S U PE R ST I T I O N
S I N # 3

14. S U PE R ST I T I O N
S I N # 3
Any irrational belief or practice that arises from
• Ignorance,
• Misunderstanding of science or causality,
• Positive belief in fate or magic, or
• Fear of that which is unknown
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition

15. CA R G O C U LT I N G

18. R E F L E C T I N G O N UX

19. E N T I T L E M E N T

20. E N T I T L E M E N T
ST R I VI N G F O R
E XC E L L E N C E
vs.

21. CO M PL A C E N CY

22. CO M PL A C E N CY I N T E G R I T Yvs.

23. Your identity is defined
by what you choose
to say “no” to.

24. S U PE R S T I T I O N

25. S U PE R S T I T I O N UNDERSTANDINGvs.

26. Data
Connectedness
Understanding
Information
Knowledge
Wisdom
Understanding
relations
Understanding
patterns
Understanding
principles
Gene Bellinger, Durval Castro, Anthony Mills:
Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom

27. Already started Not yet started
Good actions S U PP O R T I N I T I AT E
Bad actions STO P PR EVE N T

28. S P R E A D YO U R WI N G S .
G E T I N VO LVE D.
M A K E U S PR O U D.

29. Thank you!
santiago@bustelo.com.ar
UX Director, Kambrica
IxDA Buenos Aires Local Leader
C R E D I TS
• Businessman enjoys a cigar on 6th Ave in
NYC - Kevin Case (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
• Hey guys, there's a Schnauzer in the
'hood - Joel Jefferies (CC BY-NC 2.0)
• Burning Man 2013: Cargo Cult - BLM
Nevada Follow (CC BY 2.0)
Edsel Commercials 1957, 1958 (Ford Motor
Company), Mondo Cane (Paolo Cavara,
Franco Prosperi, Gualtiero Jacopetti) and
John Frum Day (Jack Metier) footage under
fair use according to The Center for Media &
Social Impact (CMSI) at American
University’s School of Communication in
Washington, D.C.,
All other images and videos under CC0
License (Free for commercial use, no
attribution required) or in the public
domain.
Typeset in Montserrat by Julieta Ulanovsky.