My mom died last year a couple of days after Mother’s Day, so this year’s looming event triggers sorrowful memories. Every time I get one of those cheery Mother’s Day marketing emails, I cringe.
Apple, 1–800Flowers and others, take note — The last thing I want to hear about this year is Mother’s Day.
So stop spamming me with your “please buy” messages.
At times like this I find myself wishing there were some sort of national registry, like the Do Not Disturb telemarketing registry, for event-based promotions you no longer want to hear about. Things like:
- Mother’s or Father’s Day
- Birth of a new baby
- New car shopping (because you just bought or leased one)
- Address change — so many marketers assume all address changes are permanent, even though many are temporary
- Wedding
- Back-to-school or heading off to college
I wouldn’t want the implementation to be creepy, but could see benefits if we consumers had more control over the kinds of direct marketing that brands send our way.