Less Bars in More Places

A wonderful thing this new i-Phone. It truly is remarkable, allowing you to access as many email accounts as you want at the touch of one button (unlike the single minded and inflexible Blackberry), download the coolest apps that can add navigation capabilities, allow you to track Election 08 or simply play hangman at the touch of a button. But this thing of beauty is hitched to an unreliable wireless network, the AT&T network. Lured by the promise of "More bars in more places" I switched 4 phone lines over from Verizon so my wife and I could avail ourselves of this wonderful convergence electronic gadget. And now I can not get a signal in my house unless I am standing exactly in the middle of the master bedroom. I drop more calls than ever. This is a prime example of marketing departments that overpromise and underdeliver. Such poor customer experiences create a sense of deception and diminish brand value. AT&T neeeds to soberly look at its network capability and find the differentiating point that will be relevant and can be fulfilled by their capabilities. No false promises. Until then, I would recommend their advertising team reconsider their tagline and switch to the more truthful "Less bars in more places".

The joke is on you

I sit in front of the TV amused (or maybe amazed) at the number of commercials that limp along with poor strategies and rely on nothing more than over the top humor to get noticed. Advertising has "evolved" away from a communication of benefits and point of difference to micro entertainment, something to entertain us while the TV show gets back on air. And marketers have accepted and embraced this absurd notion. For inspiration, I suggest advertising managers look at the power of infomercials: tightly focused on demonstrating the unparalleled performance of the product at hand, they can hold the attention of a viewer for 10, maybe 15 minutes while the pitchman shows us how superior Oxy Clean really is! And the humor coefficient is low and when present it is incidental. Infomercials may appear crude and unsophisticated to many MBA trained marketers (like myself), but they really embody the core of advertising: sell your product on its point of difference. If you can't think of one, then spend your time and money on creating and defining one. If you don't, your most creative people at the agency will find a clever and amusing idea. It will be funny, and you will buy it. And then you will be stuck with the next Taco Bell chihuahua fiasco campaign. And the joke will be on you!