Advertising Age recommends NOT ADVERTISING

Yep, you read that header right — Advertising Age recommends NOT ADVERTISING. A recent editorial in Ad Age shared HMOs (hot marketing opinions) about JetBlue’s current advertising campaign. The gist is this …

“JetBlue is missing the point with its recent ad push. What it needs is to get back to what made it a media and consumer darling: customer service and good internal and external communication.”

“… convincing more people to fly doesn't seem like a smart move for an airline that has trouble handling the passengers it already has. It won't fool new passengers, and it will only upset current passengers. JetBlue achieved its success by being unlike the other airlines. Its good name spread -- via word-of-mouth and smart marketing -- because great customer service gave it a compelling story to tell.”

“Priority No. 1 should be getting back to a place where consumers want to share good stories. Take the money being wasted on that campaign and plow it into customer service.”

Let’s take this a step further. BEFORE any company spends gobs of money on an advertising campaign, it should first spend money on improving the performance of a product/service and on ratcheting up the customer experience. ‘Nuff said! Errrahh!

Comments

[Neal Stewart]

Haha. John, I get the feeling you got a certain sense of satisfaction from that blog post?

[Richard Millington]

There could also be a problem with that approach. Which is that companies spend so long making sure their product is perfect before that launch, that they run out of money before anyone can really buy it. It used to be common in the computer games industry.

[John Jackson]

Great article. Yes far too many businesses still seem to wait until sales are down and then start throwing money at marketing to try and sort the problem.
Which understandably has a limited chance of working as the core reason that is causing sales to slide has not been addressed.
Time spent re-visiting strategy, reviewing and adjusting the product offer should always come ahead of new marketing campaigns.

[BIG Kahuna]

I have not seen the spots but can tell you that I'm a loyal brand ambassador to JetBlue. I freakin love them!

I have NEVER been on a JetBlue flight where the experience wasn't far superior to any other airline. Remember a company can never be perfect and shit happens. JetBlue has done a masterful job at resolving the big issues with their Bill of Rights.

I'm a branding guy, not an ad guy. I hardly ever promoto TV because in general I think it's a waste but...

In this case NOW is the time to advertise. All the other airlines (except Southwest) are porking the customers. It's a great opportunity to stand out when times are tough.

I believe that JetBlue is still providing great service compared to its competitors (which is pretty easy since they don't care about service). Therfore take advantage of them and kick them when their down is what I say.

The cavet is that JetBlue must remain consistent on their service. Go JetBlue!

p.s. I have a fear or should I say anxiety of flying. I don't like to fly, period. So for me to say I love an airline is pretty big.

[john moore (from Brand Autopsy)]

Neal ... yeah, the irony here is delicious.

Richard ... my point on spending marketing $$$ on making the product/service better isn't to wait until its 100% perfect. It's about being confident in the product/service before spending gobs of marketing $$$ advertising it.

Scott ... this JetBlue ad campaign is more a brand message than anything else. They are promoting "Jetting" and not "flying." As the Ad Age editorial says, the JetBlue business was built on delivering a better customer experience ... one that is worthy of talking about. Major media advertising campaigns were not part of the marketing mix at JetBlue. By delivering a better experience, people talked about it. As a marketer, I would rather have people talking about the products/services my company does and not the advertising it did.

[Jess]

Someone smart once said, "Advertising is for companies that lack originality." or something close to that at least.

Good service or products spread through the most valuable of channel, the relationship channel. Value added, messages through word of mouth or mouse from trusted sources are the MAIN reason i buy or click .

It's also the main reason I know about Jet Blue. Keep talking to people Jet Blue, its a hell of a lot better than advertising.

[dave from wudifwe.com]

John: It's a sad state of affairs that we're even blogging about this. I remember being 16 and working at a local greasy spoon. The owner was always trying to get more people in the door, but couldn't efficiently deliver quality to the few people who did come in. Then, when a little festival brought hundreds of people into the diner that had never been there before, he succeeded only in turning hundreds of new people off, despite the week or more he spent readying himself, his diner and his staff.

I could speak of his problems in terms of positioning and strategy, but why bother. I was 16 and could see that his first mistake was not offering his existing customers something to talk about.

That greasy spoon is now a multi-national chain with 430 units in 4 countries... just kidding. (but isn't that how a lot of these stories turn out?)

[M Caplan]

Another POV

http://whatsnext.typepad.com/whats_next_in_marketing/2008/05/jetblue-and-sho.html

[Lewis Green]

John,

As a business/marketing/communications consultant, I haven't recommended advertising as part of a client's marketing mix in the last 10 years. There just are better ways to get noticed and to spend our marketing dollars. Of course, there are always exceptions to this and there are industries (e.g., retail) in which advertising remains a key tool in the marketing mix.

[Brian]

I think the key to effective advertising is to avoid the media channels that are thick with competition.
What is the sense in advertising in the yellow pages or martindale when there are hundreds of your competitors listed there too?
I have heard many attorney having good success with some of the niche market companies.
For example if your niche is probate and estate settlement work. Then you may wish to look into http://www.EstateSettlement.com
They are the only guys that I know of that just allow one probate attorney listing per community or county. Heck they seem to rate just as high under keyword like: "find a probate attorney".

[Bill]

I completely agree. I'd much rather be treated perfectly by a company I've never heard of than poorly by somebody that's just a good talker.

[John Jantsch]

John - when will companies be happy with 100% referral business?

[Pat]

I completely. I used to fly JetBlue alot even when the tickets where my more exensive than my old favorite AA. Unfortunately, I am back to kayaking to find the best deals. Also, insight on far ahead JetBlue has it's oil prices hedged?

[Jeremy Greenfield]

For the past 20 years, GM has been the biggest television advertiser in the world, and for each of those years, GM has lost market share. Perhaps they should have been spending more of that money on product and less on lying. Not that I'm against all advertising. It just isn't the right solution to many, many problems. We're now in the post-advertising age, where brands that tell the best stories win. Brands that advertise generally annoy.

[Augie Ray]

I don't think the Ad Age editorial is about advertising. I think it's about focusing on the consumer experience and on being transparent--two must-haves for the social media age. I am more concerned with how JetBlue is misusing Twitter than I am with their advertising. My two cents at:

http://www.experiencetheblog.com/2008/06/did-ad-age-just-suggest-jetblue-not.html

[Giles Dawe]

..but how long would it take to get popular? Advertising gives instant (short term) success, so is useful in that matter.