Tone-deaf marketing

I love bookstores.

One of my favorite activities is to aimlessly browse a bookstore, looking for titles that catch my attention. But bookstores — like newspapers and record companies and large law firms — are part of an industry facing dramatic changes. Small bookstores have largely been destroyed by the large chains. And Amazon is eating the large chains' lunch.

There is a large Borders bookstore just down the street from my office in downtown Boston. Over the years, I've watched this store increasingly struggle to stay alive. It's located in a down-at-the-heels neighborhood (Downtown Crossing), its customer base has withered, and it has felt the need to hire more "loss-control officers" (they don't use the hyphen) and fewer, you know, booksellers.

But it has made some efforts to lure customers inside.

Like many large downtown bookstores, this one holds frequent book signings and readings. Outside, facing a small park (ish), the store places racks of books, encouraging passersby to stop and browse. (Granted, these are all deeply discounted remainder-table books — books that would otherwise be shredded by the publisher.) And the store pipes music out onto the sidewalk.

And here's where they blow it.

As it happens, I walk by the store several times a day (it's on the way between my bus and my office), so I've noticed that they repeat the same music throughout the day. They generally favor more-sophisticated fare: some jazz, some classical, some Sinatra. But too many times, I've walked by the store as its speakers were blaring that most hated song of all Bostonians ...

No, not "Walking on Sunshine," by Katrina and the Waves. (Gak!)

OK, fine: its speakers were blaring that second-most hated song of all Bostonians: Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York."

ZOMFG! This is Boston, the heart of Red Sox Nation. You cannot play "New York, New York" (which is technically called "Theme from New York, New York," which doesn't make it any more acceptable) on the sidewalks of Boston and expect Bostonians to want to come in and buy stuff.

(For those of you outside the Nation, you should know that this is the insufferable song blared over the loudspeakers at New New Yankee Stadium after every Yankees home win. They play the Liza Minelli version after every loss.)

This is my idea of tone-deaf marketing. You do a smart thing by placing books outside and playing music to try to draw in customers. Then you go and ruin it with tone-deaf moves like having surly loss-prevention goons be the first people you see when you walk in. And by playing that song in this town.

Law firms and lawyers: Pick your marketing moves carefully. Don't ruin your good ideas with dumb execution. Don't be tone deaf.

Go Sox. More Liza.