The T-Mobile Lie

Okay, to set the record straight, I might have a little negative bias towards T-mobile after years of poor service, reception, and customer service. However, if I'm a customer, I'm entitled to that opinion through my experience with T-Mobile.

T-Mobile has awesome advertisements, and really cool approaches to connecting with consumers. They do a great job of getting you interested in the company and its offerings. Then, once they've got you, they start to show their ugly side. No reception, anywhere, dropped calls like crazy, nearly inept customer service, and hidden charges and fees that stack up quite a bit on your monthly bill. To be fair, they do offer great phones, but that's about it.

Take last year's awesome Angry Birds ad they did in Barcelona:

How cool is that? It is an awesome idea, and it played on the success of an app. If they played off of how well their service is, or how "great" their customer service is, the ad would have flopped. So, they use these great ads and great social presence to gain customers. Then, once they have them, they can keep them with their ridiculous contracts that hold tighter than handcuffs. I can't wait to leave T-Mobile. AT&T offers so much more, and here's the kicker: They actually do what they say they will. I mean come on, how can T-Mobile keep up with AT&T? The only way they can is to use these visually enticing ads to get customers to unknowingly sign up for two years of annoyance.

Their new campaign puts them up against AT&T with the "Test Drive" campaign where people will test their 4G speed versus the speed of AT&T's. Good luck T-Mobile, you might have just signed yourself up in a competition that you will lose.

Here's the new ad:

T-Mobile has become one of those companies who honestly believes they are great. Just ask a T-Mobile customer how happy they are, the response will most likely sound something like this blog. Any person I've asked, in preparation for this piece, about their satisfaction has echoed my own feelings. That's what drove me to write this. T-Mobile, to be frank, you're terrible.

Here's how one YouTuber felt about their test drive section on their site:

You're not fooling me T-Mobile, I'm on to you.

PVH: New Marketing

This last Superbowl, I witnessed a campaign that totally peeked my interest. It wasn't a Superbowl commercial, but it was a campaign designed around it. One of PVH's many brands, Van Heusen, launched a campaign called "The Institute of Style" featuring Pro Football Hall of Fame's Steve Young, Jerry Rice, and Deion Sanders. It was based on a survey conducted by GQ and Van Heusen. The survey was conducted to discover the truth about male fashion, or lack there of, in the United States. What it found was there is need for improvement.

“We felt the men of America were lacking when it came to style and the survey with GQ confirmed it,” Mike Kelly, PVH Corp. Executive Vice President of Marketing. “We are launching the Institute of Style to help guide American men in a way that is also fun and interesting. We are bringing them trusted voices from GQ, ESPN and Van Heusen to help them get their style back.”

Here's the institute of style ad: 

Van Heusen doesn’t stop there; they used the website to challenge men to use their stylistic transformation to win a trip to the Super Bowl. By documenting the before and after photos and submitting them to the “Schlub to Swagger” section of the Institute of Style, they could enter to win. There was a special panel, including the campaign ambassadors Steve Young, Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders, as well as style experts from GQ, Van Heusen and ESPN The Magazine, that selected and rewarded the best entry.The winner and four friends got to fly in a private jet; attend the most exclusive VIP parties, experience a full style makeover, and sit in a suite watching the Super Bowl with Steve, Jerry and Deion. 

I think there is something really special about a campaign that doesn't demand anything from the customer, but rather it invites them to be a part of the brand. The campaign established a bond between Van Heusen and its customer. It connected the audience with the brand in a way that is not invasive, and is actually quite welcome. I can't wait to see what PVH comes up with next.

Nice work PVH, nice work.

Don't trick my kid

I recently went to an outdoor mall to get some stuff for my mother's birthday and Mother's day, which is quite close to her birthday. That went fine, Yankee Candle is a lifesaver for late present purchases for moms, who like candles. However, while my son's mother was finishing up paying for her candles, me and my son, Ki, came outside to check out some stuff. Right next door was a shoe store, Stride Rite, on the outside there was a poster advertising their new Marvel, Avengers-based shoe line, for kids.


Now, that's all fine and dandy, until my son asks me if we can get them so he can,
A.) fly
B.) stomp green cracks in the ground
C.) manifest a shield from his mind
D.) shoot webs from his wrists.

This stuff drives me nuts, as a dad. If I have to see the look on my son's face when I tell him he cannot fly, stomp green lines, present an imaginary shield as actual, or shoot webs from his wrists, one more time, I might lose it. My boy loves the avengers, loves super powers. So when he saw this, he wanted them, naturally. However, it wasn't because of the shoes. He wanted the powers, being falsely advertised to the unexposed mind of my son, Ki.

In the words of my son Maleki James Meyer, "Stop tricking me! It's not fair making me think I can shoot webs. I'm mad!"

Now, don't get me wrong, yes it's effective, but not at the expense of the hopes and dreams of my son, or anyone else for that matter. In the five minutes we were standing there, at least three other boys asked their parents the same questions. "Can I get those? I want to fly like Iron Man." Obnoxious!

Now, my son refuses to wear or buy Stride Rite shoes, and I'm joining him. He understands at four years-old, that they are deliberately trying to trick him. You lost a good one Stride Rite.

Shotty call Stride Rite, shotty call.

The United Way of Greater Milwaukee

Last semester, at Marquette, I had the privilege of creating a 360 degree ad campaign for the United Way of Greater Milwaukee. I was to select a currently existing campaign, and then create a new one that would continue the success of an already existing campaign. The campaign I chose was in regards to one of their programs, Healthy Girls. This is a program designed to educate young women in Milwaukee about the dangers of being a young woman in today's world.

The ads for this campaign are incredibly good at grabbing your attention, and drawing you into the ad. From their bus shelter signage, to their posters, and their billboards, it is all aimed at the ultimate goal of keeping young women informed. They do a great job, but there is one area of affect, that they might not have considered when creating the campaign; they "Villianize" men.

I felt they had done an incredible job at gaining the attention of young women, and the statistics associated with teen pregnancy and infant mortality have shown this to be true. However, I do feel as if the ads have the potential to damage the self-image of young men. So, when I made my campaign, I focused on encouraging young men to be gentlemen and women to be lady-like. As opposed to demonizing men in order to educate women.

Here are some of their ads:



They're great, right? Yes, but if we look a little close at the message being communicated, it sounds less constructive towards increasing the positive relationship between young men and women. For example, in the first ad, the bottom caption assumes that young men aren't aware of statutory rape laws, and that they do as they please with underage women. This isn't true beyond a small percentage of men, who give the lot of us a bad rap. I feel the most effective marketing targets both genders, and definitely doesn't demonize one side or the other.

Now, mind you, I am not a pro at ad design, but I wanted to share a few of the mock-ads I did for the United Way of Greater Milwaukee. My campaign focused on iterating the fact that, condom use, is common sense. Therefore, Condom Sense was born.

I feel that they did a great job, the goal they were after was accomplished, and is still effective at ultimately reducing teen pregnancy and infant mortality. I just wonder how the negative portrayal of the expectations we have for young men will effect the young men who are touched by the ads.

"Give a man a fish, you feed him for the day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for life." -Anne Isabella Ritchie, from her book Mrs. Dymond

J.C. Penney: 'Don't Play Games With The Customer'

In February, J.C. Penney began a long transformation that includes eliminating hundreds of sales events in favor of everyday prices on most items, a transformation that many predict will rip the retailer to pieces in the marketplace. Especially because they also discontinued dividends to help fund this massive change. This is not the pretty picture CEO Ron Johnson depicts. However, Ron Johnson has had incredible success at major companies, starting with Target, onto Apple, and now with J.C. Penney. His success with Apple is a major contributing factor to the kinds of change going on at JCP.

How do you market the ending of sales and coupons? The new pricing structure at JCP is a drastic shift from what we are used to seeing at the retailer's many stores. So, instead of constant sales and coupons, J.C. Penney will have three levels of pricing: everyday, best price, (which are clearance items), and month-long value (where they discount certain themed items for a month). Comparatively competitive prices, even with most online competition, they hold the lowest price.Yet, the first quarter results proved to be poor as the company's stock price fell by 12.5 percent and customer traffic also fell by 10 percent.

"It's one big year we have to get through ... We are trying to essentially convert the Titanic into 1,100 wave runners, and that is really hard to do," CEO Ron Johnson said at the analyst meeting, in which vendors, like Martha Stewart, were present.

Recent controversy over spokesperson Ellen DeGeneres being a homosexual, got some pretty heavy media coverage, but can be looked at in a positive light. The company, rather than drop her because of public outcry, kept her on as the company's spokesperson. This sends a clear message of change at J.C. Penney, and one that should be readily accepted by Americans.

Here is a CBS interview with CEO Ron Johnson about the controversy, the transformation, his work, and the future of JCP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfZKntQZSbo&feature=related


Although this change sounds good when Johnson speaks, it has not reached the ears of consumers. They will need a much stronger marketing strategy. I'm interested, and I love Ron Johnson's work, but I feel that without my preceding interest, I would have never heard of the new pricing at JCP. They need to get out there, in the media. This is a really cool change, and could be a revolution in retailing. Having, essentially, a "Mall of designers" in one store, is a pretty cool concept. Bringing products to customers, based on what they like, and providing it at a cost, based on what they want to pay, sounds commonsensical, but it is rarely seen in as pure a form as what JCP is trying to do. When you replace a tradition of coupons and sales with a no-haggle solid price, it isn't as fun for the involved consumer. However, in a noise-filled world, some straight and forward would be greatly appreciated. Designing a straight and forward marketing plan will be essential to their success with this new transformation.

Good luck JCP, good luck.

The Mountain Dew Show

In an attempt to battle recent loss in market share to competitors, like Fanta and Sprite, and a seven-year sales decline, Mountain Dew is looking for new audiences to help it maintain its position on top of the market.

Although the brand is America's best-selling non-cola soft drink, its target audience has remained fairly narrow. According to data from multiple sources on Mountain Dew, the majority of its consumers are white, suburban males located the in the Plain and Southeast regions of the United States. Therefore, they need a campaign that can facilitate that new growth in a geographically efficient way. The goal is to achieve revenue growth and solidify domination of the market. The company has chosen to bulk up its media buys and refocus its brand’s messaging to speak to new demographics while still providing a consistent message for its brand’s current advocates.

This new messaging can be seen in Mountain Dew’s most recent ad campaign. Focused on the slogan, “This is How We Dew”, the new advertisements use a crew of celebrities ranging from rapper Mac Miller to pro skateboarder Paul Rodriguez to speak to potential consumers. Mountain Dew has developed multiple spots, each being narrated by a different celebrity.  The company will air each celebrity’s commercial in a region of the country best suited to the celebrity’s niche. For example, commercials voiced by Lil’ Wayne will be focused on potential consumers in the LA market — whereas Jason Aldean’s ads will be aired in Nashville. This is exactly what they needed to capture these new audiences.

Here's two of the spots, Mentioned above. 

By effectively reaching these audiences, in a way that is consistent with their past messages, Mountain Dew hopes to spread across the country. How effective it will be, can only be measured in time. However, in my humblest of opinions, they are headed in the right direction. Creating messages for specific geographical areas is a really cool and effective way to direct specific messaging at a specific audience. This type of messaging/campaign will be seen more and more in our new global marketplace. Mountain Dew has got a good one here, I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for more companies using similar messaging techniques.

Smart move Dew. Smart move.

The Light and Dark Sides of Social Media in the Workplace

There is no doubt that social media has begun to penetrate every section of our lives. However, it has started to show signs of limiting efficacy. When a professional person finds it permissible to tweet, outside of company tweeting, while appearing to be engaged in his/her work, he/she has deceived his/her employer and coworkers. It is a blatant and public declaration that the individual is not paying attention to his/her work. Rather, he/she is entertaining himself/herself at the expense of his/her employer. I find it commonsensical to not tweet or even browse, outside of social media work for the company, during paid work hours.

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, the medium doesn't matter. It is the principle that is important. Remaining engaged within the workplace is key to productivity. Several companies have drawn up elaborate social media policies, designed to restrict potentially damaging tweets and also to prevent people from using personal use social media on the job. I think these policies are extremely important, especially from a PR standpoint. It prevents unnecessary image issues both external and internal. Internally, as having a bunch of disengaged employees is terribly inefficient and costly. Externally, as the policies carry legal weight against any possible defamation from current or past employees.

Employers, acting responsibly in today's world, must be proactive in managing the social media use of its employees, especially those in management positions. It is no longer built on a model of crisis management. It is about crisis prevention. Preventing the problem is more efficient in every area; rather than waiting for the outbreak and rushing to provide the cure. These policies can also be positive. It can provide guidance for professionals. It can provide a good foundation for those who may be less experienced in the use of social media. We can see how the transition from Facebook to Twitter can be a rocky one. Some people make mistakes easily in this transition. Social media policies provide companies with a form of insurance. This insurance protects them from the potential negative repercussions that employee's social media habits could bring upon them.

With new sites being introduced, old ones being used by masses, and some we thought we couldn't live without dying abruptly, we find ourselves at the mercy of these giants of virtual communication. That doesn't mean personal use has to penetrate through to the workplace. Developing, enforcing, and monitoring employee usage is key to productivity progress and poor performance prevention. Or else, you face the risk of being the victim of your own hiring. A danger that is easily prevented with a proactive social media policy.