What many consider the most deranged sorority Email ever sent is actually brilliant in its brutal candor.
It is April 2013 and an exasperated Rebecca Martinson sits in front of her computer to pen an Email to her sisters in Delta Gamma sorority’s University of Maryland chapter.
She writes, “If you just opened this like I told you to, tie yourself down to whatever chair you’re sitting in, because this email is going to be a rough ?##@@!!! ride.”
The rest of Martinson’s missive is legendary. You can read the Email in its entirety on Gawker.com here at this link. (Warning: inappropriate language and content.)
Martinson’s candor lacks maturity, yet her beef with the Delta Gamma sisters is justified. Their lack of interest in and engagement with the fraternity they had partnered with during Greek Week had created perception issues on campus.
What is the lesson here for marketers?
While a potty mouth is no way to represent yourself or your organization, shock value has impact. When was the last time your organization offered a controversial opinion? Made a bold prediction? Or called out a competitor?
Successful entrepreneurs like Oracle’s Larry Ellison, Salesforce’s Marc Benioff and Richard Branson have all employed shock for strategic advantage. It shouldn’t be the foundation of your communications program, but there is a place for it.
So…I am sure you are dying to know whatever became of Rebecca Martinson. According to Cosmopolitan, she is now an editor for a Web site called BroBible and a published author.