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RIM botches PR stunt announcing new marketing campaign
Posted May 7, 2012 By Steve in Marketing Nighmares, Telecom With | No Comments

Remember when “Crackberry” meant something and Obama famously refused to surrender his precious chunky device when he became president? Well so does RIM, they’ve been trying unsuccessfully to get their mojo back since the iPhone came on the scene. And like an addict jonesing for a fix, they’ll do just about anything these days to get a taste of the old dragon.

Their desperation manifested itself a couple of weeks ago when they masterminded a flash mob outside an Apple store in Sydney, Australia. Their stunt, which bore the vintage flavor of Edelman’s faux-thentic Walmarting Across America fiasco, involved a group of would-be protesters who stood in front of an Apple store with signs that said “wake up.” “To what?” many bemused shoppers wondered, as the half-baked plan lacked a punch line. The entire episode was conveniently recorded by a blogger, Nate ‘Blunty’ Burr, who just “happened” to be there – at that exact time – to record the event and was even moved to comment on it.

Well, it wasn’t Starbucks that got the blame for this, but Samsung, as if they needed more attention for their own Android smartphones! Poor RIM wasn’t even on the short list of usual suspects, and had to smolder quietly in the corner before admitting, a few days ago, that they done the deed. When they came forward to claim their white bellied fish rot corpse of a marketing campaign, the community responded with a yawn, more surprised that RIM was even around anymore. On May 7th RIM let the other shoe drop: the PR stunt was designed to announce a new marketing campaign. This one is aimed at Apple and attempts to position RIM products as a better choice. Why? I guess because we’re awake – at least that’s the campaign’s logic. Apple must be quaking in their boots about now. RIM’s awake – and they’re gunnin fer ya!

The sad truth is that RIM has been so marginalized that it’s about as relevant in the smartphone arena as a 1972 pink princess rotary dial phone.

RIM – the company that can be truly credited with putting assessable email in our palms – lost touch with its magic a long time ago. That has translated into eroded public confidence in the brand’s DNA: the company reported global orders were down 80% in their fiscal fourth quarter. At their recent BlackBerry World conference RIM launched a new OS but no new hardware. They talked about jettisoning the beloved RIM keyboard in favor of a virtual one –you know, like Apple and Android have. They even had the Martinez Brothers on hand to instill the elusive cool factor into the event. But you can’t buy cool – it has to be in your soul to be recognized and appreciated. Flash mob stunts and “me too” virtual keyboards don’t cool make.

RIM Stock Chart

The Australian marketing nightmare was actually a physical representation of the brand’s woes. RIM’s fake mob stood outside of Apple’s mighty temple, and conducted a demonstration that was an impotent as it was confused. What kind of message does “wake up” send to the market? Were they trying to say that Apple had slipped us a global ruffie and it was time to “wake up” to the reality that we all really wanted Blackberry’s again? Is this any different than a cast-off from the first round of American Idol complaining that Beethoven, Charles Mingus and Bruce Springsteen are a bunch of talentless amateurs? RIM is trying to stop a freight train by putting an egg in its path.

RIM always had a great presence in the business community, and back when we all wore pleated pants it was the badge of a professional –like the Thinkpad. RIM may have lost its way when it tried to be all things to all people and didn’t recognize the special sauce that Apple was offering. Apple defined and cleaned up the market before RIM even realized it was there.

It’s probably too late for RIM to market its way back to relevance for the general public, even with the help of the Martinez Brothers and its big announcement. But there is a light at the end of the spectrum rainbow if they set their sights on something smaller. What kind of market exists for a durable, high performance, secure device with a proven, user friendly form factor? How about construction, the military and business professionals who don’t need app heaviness? If this sounds familiar, that’s because it’s where RIM came from and what it was designed for.

If you think about RIM what’s the first thing that comes to mind? I’d guess for 99% of the public it’s the QWERTY keyboard. No models – screen sizes – cameras – just that wonderful, thoughtful, form factored keyboard. It’s not apps, music, number of megapixels in its camera or any of the attributes that serve to define an iPhone. RIM’s not even in the ring for that contest, much less in the same country where the fight is being held. Sometimes if your roots are all you truly have, it’s time to pack your stuff and go home. Leave Disneyland to those with the imaginations and be satisfied with the Ohio Turnpike.
A Public Nosedive: Spirit Airlines Pisses Off Entire Country over $197
Posted April 29, 2012 By Steve in Marketing Nighmares With | No Comments

There are just some things you don’t do: trip blind men, steal from the collection box and refuse to refund money to people who are dying – or in the case of Spirit Airlines, someone who is a dying veteran in a wheelchair. This past week, Spirit Airlines started a very public nosedive with their mismanagement of a customer relations issue, and it seems that their marketing advisors and CEO are either too stubborn or stupid to send out a Mayday call. Corporate rules must have enough flexibility to accommodate the occasional Kobayshi Maruchallenge; in this instance, Spirit Air should be grounded for taking the test after receiving a frontal lobotomy.

Spirit Air’s turbulent ride started when they refused to issue a refund for a whopping $197 ticket to Jerry Meekins, a Vietnam Vet who was advised by his doctor “not to fly” two weeks after he purchased the ticket. Meekins, who lives in Florida, contacted the airlines, explained that he had terminal cancer, and was told to pound sand. Spirit messed with the wrong guy, because Meekins had enough juice for one last fight and took a frontal assault position outside of Tampa International Airport with a sign that said: “Corporate greed is spelled Spirit Airlines” and “Spirit Airlines tells dying man no refund.” Faster than you could send up a smoke marker calling for an airstrike, the press picked up the scent and dispatched some reporters to embed themselves in the fray.

The airlines told several newly minted combat reporters: “Our reservations are non-refundable, which means we don’t do refunds and we are not going to issue Mr. Meekins a refund.” They amplified this statement with an appeal to our democratic spirit: “It wouldn’t be fair to bend the policy for one and not for all.” Within 48 hours their story was being aired in the court of public opinion; it quickly escalated from local to national news – not a bad return for a $197 investment.

Google “Spirit Airlines” and you’ll find some of these terrific “on message” headlines: Dying man pickets Spirit Airlines over refund policy; Spirit Airlines refuses refund for sick veteran; Spirit Airlines won’t refund dying veteran’s ticket, and this brand killer: “Spirit Airlines tell dying veteran ‘no refunds.’” It’s quite possible that by the time this piece runs someone will have awakened at Spirit, refunded the vet his money, then donated $10,000 to the Wounded Warrior fund – and let the national press know about it. Even if they came to life, the damage would be done – and you can bet that any veteran would rather walk than take Spirit Airlines.

What should Spirit have done? It starts with doing what every company in the world is claiming to do these days: Listen to your customers. If that fails, turn on the news and make sure that the PR or marketing manager listening to it understands the implications of what’s happening in the press.

Spirit’s problem began internally. In the age of instant media a company can’t afford to have a rigid, “just say no” policy. It didn’t take anything more sophisticated than a marker and a piece of poster board to yank Spirit’s brand out of the sky. No viral campaign or twitter onslaught – simple messages like “hey these guys are assholes” – would work with smoke signals or Morse code. Proper training on the customer service level could have nipped this problem in the bud. However the fire jumped the breech and headed for the house. When the local – then national news came calling, Spirit stuck to their black powder guns.

Faced with an onslaught of inquiries, this would have been the time for a senior executive at Spirit Air – like CEO Ben Baldanza – who is not shy when it comes to extolling his company as everything from “edgy” to “cheap” and “different”, to come out of the clouds and deal with the issue. Well Ben – you put that edge a little too close to your throat this time and failed to demonstrate anything beyond a Dickensonian response to the issue. You should not only be front and center when apologizing to this vet – but personally wheeling him around.

No matter what the outcome this week, Spirit has already waited too long. The damage is done; they can kiss the veteran market goodbye (for now). And I would advise any PR or marketing professionals looking for a job to submit to the Spirit HR department – when the dust settles, I’m sure there will be an opening or two. And if Ben continues on his roll – the Board might take a closer look at the C suite as well.

The lesson in this marketing nightmare lies in properly interpreting the impact of a customer relations decision on a case by case basis. If it explodes, immediately address it in a public manner that makes your company (at least appear) to be understanding, conciliatory, or anything but brain dead. This means having someone with a name respond – and demonstrate humility and humanity. This was an opportunity to turn bad PR into something good. All Spirit has done is demonstrate that when it comes to media management – they’re flying blind.
Army can use Columbian and Afghan scandals for terrific recruiting campaign!
Posted April 24, 2012 By Steve in marketing, public relations With | No Comments

One of the biggest marketing mantras today is “authenticity.” Agencies and consultants have built entire practices around trying to manufacture authentic sounding, tasting and smelling branding campaigns based on the ever so elusive attributes of truth and facts. So why is the Army squandering a golden opportunity to capitalize on the recent authentic reports of sex and violence?

This month’s prostitution and body part scandals could have been lifted from the script of any first person shooter and are standard fare for a generation of recruits whose worldview is shaped by video games. If anything the Army’s marketing consultants should be pressing the fire button – not scrolling backwards to retreat!

Look at the popularity of Modern Warfare and Grand Theft Auto: Violence and sex not only sell, they break records. If you’re seeking an engaging branding mechanism to capture the biggest potential windfall of troops since the Second World War just open the paper. Let’s face it – our current wars won’t last forever – and the Army doesn’t have a great track record of filling boots in peacetime. But instead of embracing this gift from Mars, the God of War, the Army, with five members cited in the Columbian sex scandal and who knows how many posing with Afghan body parts, is smothering it in a flak vest like an unwelcome live grenade. Is this the time to skulk into the corner with a dunce cap while the Secret Service gets all the attention? You know damn well the Service is probably being flooded with resumes from horny James Bond wannabees. This is no time to drop the flag and jump in the foxhole.

The beauty of this opportunity lies in its authenticity. Just look at the Army’s wishy-washy branding exercises of the past; without blood and guts all they could offer were campaigns based on motivational posters. Is “Be all you can be” that much different than “Today is the first day of the rest of your life?” It wasn’t until we locked and loaded during Desert Shield that the equation started to add up for an all-volunteer corps. It was the gear, the guns, the violence and the allure of far-off places that kicked military recruiting into high gear. Suddenly, the Army wasn’t just a path to an MBA, it was the road to a gun slinging, tattooed adventure. And shortly thereafter, the nascent gaming industry gifted us with Wolfenstein 3D, a first person combat shooter credited creating the template for the genre. The two have walked hand in hand ever since – with games becoming increasingly real and combat ever more alluring.

The gaming industry is to today’s Army what Hollywood was to it in the 1940’s – which is fortuitous – because the Army is still gun shy about marketing its main mission: blowing stuff up. Fortunately, the efforts of video game companies like Activision and Rockstar have managed to steamroll lame manufactured messages (Army Strong) and fuel interest in the old Wam, Blam, Bang Bang, Maam. And thanks to instant viral news, the media is now participating: You really can do the same stuff out there that you can do on screen. Talk about being all you can be – most 11 year-old gamers are stone cold killers by the time they’ve beat the first few levels. Seriously – do we want our country defended by guys who have mastered breath control for sniping or spreadsheets for inventory reports?

What would happen if the Army just let the firestorm burn? How does the secondary message/mission of winning hearts and minds jibe with the video game mindset of the next generations of soldiers? There is no game that ends with reconciliation and helping conquered enemies; peace is not part of the script – it doesn’t sell. No amount of finger wagging, witch hunting or bi-partisan senate hearings will change the id driven nature of war and soldiering.

Why are we so shocked and surprised when our soldiers act like soldiers and what does this tell us about the nature of product marketing in general? Is it OK to maim and whore for hours at a stretch through an avatar but not when someone else is shooting real bullets at you? If the truth is the best defense, then why not embrace it: This is what happens in war – steam and body parts both get blown off. Imagine the recruiting potential: Play the game – live the dream! While this example may be extreme, the lesson is clear: Faced with the rare prospect for authentic messages, marketers should seize them, no matter how far out of their comfort zone they may be. Reality doesn’t always conform to the brand bible.