Ever dream you’d see the day when a major telco goes on the defensive… over their basic phone service?
Verizon’s new “It’s On” campaign is directly aimed at those who have made the switch to VOIP (who hasn’t?). Defending POTS (“plain old telephone service”) as a viable option is just one more signal of how much technology is changing our lives. Not even the telephone company is exempt from being wiped off the map.
We made the switch to VOIP in business several years ago. My family made the switch at home nearly two years ago, and I must say, I don’t miss writing a check to Verizon every month. Sure, we’ve had a couple of blips in our service when the local cable provider experienced difficulties in service, but the reliability difference is not significant.
According to the company, Verizon hopes to stress “confidence” and “peace of mind” with the new ads. Those were the first two concepts that came to my mind when thinking of them… how about you?
Full disclosure: I don’t own shares of any VOIP, cable, or telephone companies. (Thankfully!)
All of the above being said… the ads do a great job of going of getting the emotional pitch across. Unfortunately, they DON’T do a very good job of calling for action. Typical large corporation, Madison-avenue, blow a wad of money on “branding” with stuff that you’ll never be able to measure. Traditional advertising thrives on unmeasurables.
In small businesses, we must be able to measure the results of our marketing. This is where the strategic part of marketing is so critical. How is your marketing performing? How do you know?