Groupon: No Harm Was Intended

Ill-defined Traits Lead to Marketing Missteps

By Rachel Kerestes, Strategy Director

Like many folks in the marketing world, I find myself regularly criticizing group discount purchasing company Groupon. I panned its Super bowl XLV commercial as one of this year’s worst, joined the chorus criticizing its initial response to the ensuing fallout and expressed my displeasure when the company’s management blamed its advertising agency for the offending ads.

Despite the criticism, Groupon’s business model intrigues me.  I signed up for the service and after several weeks of seeing daily deals for everything from pole dancing classes to custom framing, I took the plunge and purchased my first Groupon for a spa treatment.  Excited to join this trendy enclave of informed urban dwellers, I went to Twitter—where announcements of import are now made—to proclaim my hipster status as a newly minted member of the Groupon community.

I didn’t expect a response from Groupon, but I got one.