Annoying Marketing

Annoying marketing is running rampant.  

And it's not reserved to one type of marketing. Digital, email,  direct, grass roots, traditional radio and television. All are culprits.

Take Tuesday.

I fielded two phone calls from candidates. One for Mayor and one for city council. I no longer pick up when the calls from the Power Division solicitors call. Those two went straight to voice mail. On the way to the subway I am intercepted by three people in pink shirts shoving flyers in my precious New York space asking me if I have time to talk.  

I was greeted by huge interstitials on four separate websites asking me to sign up for their newsletter. Only one gave me a choice to never see it again. Another asked me to sign up  not knowing I already subscribed. By then I was so annoyed I considered unsubscribing. Which is what I did in the case of  three other newsletters that have taken to sending me not one, not two, but as many as four emails a day. And every where I go I am being followed by banner ads for Totally Her which by the way - I would never have clicked on if not writing this article.

All this on a day when my Time Warner Internet connection has slowed to that of a snail and I am scheduled to be on HuffPostLive via webcam. 

Note that I am not as irritated by television marketing for one simple reason. I DVR everything I watch so I can fast forward past any attempts to rankle me further.  

It's getting a bit much - all this annoying behavior. I understand the reasons behind it. Everyone wants to be heard and/or seen. Most are so terrified that they will get lost in the noise that they resort to the antiquated methods of push marketing they are most comfortable with - shouting loudly and as often as possible.

Except for the fact that no longer works. The age of digital means the age of engagement. Tell me a story. Offer me good content. Pull me towards you.  Don't beat me over the head. Don't follow me wherever I go - relentless in your pursuit.

It's annoying. 

It doesn't work. 

If you've got a good product, if you're serving up fresh, engaging, useful content you won't have to remind me every hour. I'll know. I'll be looking for it.

I can't quite figure out why marketers aren't listening. Thirteen year old Ruby Karp who wrote an article this week in Mashable on why none of her friends use Facebook gets it. 

"Teens hate it when people try too hard; it pushes them away." 

The thing is - it's not just teens. Adults don't like it either.



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How Grown-Ups Act When Negotiating

Negotiation is one of those skills it's wise to get good at. And not just if your chosen profession involves high end deal making.

We all negotiate. Every day. With someone about something. 

I negotiate with my mother trying to get her to remember to drink more water, with myself over how many times this week I want to exercise, with my friend over where we will have dinner and whether we are drinking white or red tonight. Negotiation is not limited to striking a deal over money.

I've offered negotiation tips here before. I'm not alone. If you Google Negotiation Skills there are 11,700,000 results. Negotiation Strategies - 6,070,000. Negotiation Tactics - 6,210,00. A virtual wealth of information - for free.

Not everyone takes advantage of free. Not everyone looks to improve their negotiation skills. Congress reminds us every day of that. And now we have as David Carr in The New York Times so aptly put it "the self serving war of words by 2 giants in television." That would be CBS and Time Warner Cable.


So what happens when companies become too big to remember how to negotiate ?  

They forget to act like grown-ups.

1- Grown-ups don't go stomping their feet, slamming the door in your face and then refuse to sit at the same table and work things out.
2- Grown-ups don't try to enlist other people to come to their rescue by running accusatory ads about each other and begging customers to make phone calls on their behalf. 
3- Grown-ups don't underestimate the intelligence of the public. They know no one is going to feel more sorry for the company who reported $476 million in second quarter earnings than the one who reported $481 million.
4- Grown-ups know no matter how popular a show is, it no longer constitutes the leverage it used to. Nor ever will again. Those days are long behind us. They wouldn't run ridiculous ads implying our lives might end if we have to do without.  (So I missed Ray Donovan last night. I'll marathon watch when these two settle their school yard fight.)
5- Grown-ups don't pretend to be doing something for the greater good of the consumer and then go so low as to detect my ISP connection and block me so I can't watch on my iPad either. 
6-Grown-ups know the world is in disruption. They work on improving and building today's already fickle customer relationships. They don't consciously and deliberately add more smear to the ones already tarnished. They know there are other options - other shows to watch on other networks and other providers to get their connections through. And there is more on the way.
7- Grown-ups know everyone is on to the high drama. We've seen this act before. Eventually they will come to some sort of resolution. They need each other as much as they need the customer.
8-Grown-ups know when they are acting like a bunch of children.  And they get over it - fast - no matter how big their paycheck is or how much power they think they wield. 



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A Lesson In Branding

I’m all for changing things up. Renovation. Reinvention. Redress. Redo. Rebrand. Whether it’s an individual or an organization it’s a good thing to do when things aren’t working or when things get stale.

But it can also be a dangerous path. Especially when things are working.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot since I heard that NY1 News, the 24/7 local newschannel dedicated to serving the five boroughs of New York City is purported to be changing its name after twenty years. I admit to having a soft spot for the channel. I admit to having worked as their Director of Sales for seven years. But I write this as a marketer who believes change is often necessary and can be a very good thing when done right.

According to varying reports the impending change was announced last Thursday as the result of a marketing study revealing that the average NY1 News viewer did not know that if they opted out of their subscription plan with Time Warner Cable they would no longer get to drink their coffee while Pat Kiernan reads In The Papers. The viewer is not aware this is a proprietary channel that can only be seen if you are a Time Warner Cable household. Because they are not making this connection, Time Warner Cable is losing subscribers to alternate cable providers.

So they are planning a rebranding, which will include all seventeen news channels across the country, to something approximating Time Warner Cable News. What exactly?  That's still unclear.

The plan, as reported, is to call it something warm and inviting like Time Warner Cable News.  Because after all, doesn’t everyone just love the cable company? Doesn’t everyone just dance with joy when that big ol’ bill arrives in the mailbox every month? That will stop the erosion of its subscriber base for sure.

Right. The parent company. The brand that does not have a loyal following. The ones that are not well liked. At all. The ones that people are constantly complaining about, be it price or service. That will fix it.

This is where it gets dangerous

Based on what I have read, the rebrand has nothing to do with a problem with the NY1 News brand or product, but rather with the Time Warner Cable brand and with customer retention. It has to do with alternate cable delivery methods and a digital landscape where a younger generation is not even sure they need a cable provider anymore. It has to do with price points. But NY1? Not much wrong with that brand. A little kitschy for sure. It’s part of the charm. But it works.

So what happens next?

The decision is announced and the uproar is loud. That’s what happens today. The rules of marketing have changed.  Do something they don’t like and people have easy access to platforms where they can be heard. They have the power to create PR nightmares.

Consider the #saveNY1 Twitter streams. The outpouring of articles. The angry viewers that Pat Kiernan is trying to calm down, assuring them the content will be the same. The fresh rage from the Time Warner Cable haters. There is even a Save NY1 petition that has surfaced.  Which may sound a little overdramatic. NY1 News is not going away. Really.  But the damage from a PR debacle in today's landscape takes on a life of its own.

Changing things up is always a good thing. But it has to be for the right reasons.

Seth Godin says we are living in a connection economy, “projects that create connections, and those that don’t.”

That means a lot of things. It means the old rules don’t work anymore. Your customer wants to be heard. They want a good product experience. They want to be engaged with, not talked at. They want you to pay attention to their needs. They want a relationship with you. They don’t want to feel used.

When it comes to NY1, they’re doing it all right.

Under the leadership of Steve Paulus (who it is reported to have fought the decision) it has grown to a station with a national reputation that spawned others like it in cities across the country, a dedicated newsroom, a loyal and engaged viewership, a history of breaking stories and a strong connection to the community that solidified in its superior coverage of 9/11.

You don’t fuss with a brand that is working. You hone it. You polish it. You make it shine brighter. You keep its recognizable name.

The brand you work on is the one that doesn’t glitter quite so brightly. You start by understanding the rules of marketing have changed. Today they are about engagement, user experience and customers feeling connected to the product. You start to work on improving that relationship. You don’t start by doing more damage to the shaky one you already have.