Recently, I received a direct mail piece that caught my eye. It intrigued me not because of its stunning design but because it seemed as if it was delivered from another era, a message so old I imagined it being hand-carried along the Silk Road to its addressee in Istanbul. Maybe it was stuck behind a vending machine at the post office for thirty years and when discovered was immediately sent on to me.

It was a VIP invitation to a sales event. On the front was a number and if I brought it to the showroom I could learn whether or not I won 1,000 bucks, no obligation necessary. These people wanted to actually pay me to be their customer. In fact, they claim to be the biggest and the greatest. They are THE AUTHORITY, with great buying power and they wanted to pass the savings on to me!

I am a baby boomer, a member of the wealthiest and healthiest generation of Americans our county has ever known. My generation has a lot of buying power so it’s not surprising that a company selling big-ticket items would target me. What is surprising is that they were using the same marketing tactics on me that might have hooked my greatest generation era parents. Unfortunately for “The Authorities”, modern consumers are far more scam-conscious than our parents and much less forgiving when it comes to a violation of our trust.

For the last twelve years or so we have transitioned to what author Seth Godin calls a permission-based culture wherein a market of nearly unlimited choice, the customer is in control. We’re also in the middle of an ever-growing movement to make government and business more transparent. The marketing piece I received violates both of these forward-thinking ideas.  By sending me an obnoxious mailer enticing me with a laughably bogus prize, “The Authorities” proved themselves to be just another amongst a long line of once successful companies doing the same old thing that worked for them in the past. In the not too distant future, this type of marketing message will appeal to no one.

Where will THE AUTHORITIES be then?