Adam Williams

A rarely used but must ask question on any customer service survey

on June 3, 2013 10:18 PM

How many times have you found yourself frustrated out of your mind because the customer service rep you are speaking with can’t help you due to a company policy? I know that I’ve found myself much too often in that situation.

I don’t fault the customer service rep, though I think they receive the brunt of the frustration. It’s just so aggravating ~~and common~~ to talk to a company with self-serving policies that don’t enable a rep to help the customer.

Which is why I was so surprised by one of three questions that I was asked by Amazon after a recent customer service encounter.

Comments Off

Lifebuoy soap created one of the most emotional ads ever

By Adam Williams

on May 30, 2013 10:56 PM

If you aren’t familiar with Lifebuoy soap by Unilever, then you’re probably not from Asia where it’s #1 in its category. Lifebuoy is one of Unilever’s oldest brands and positions itself as the soap that saves lives. Straight from the Unilever website:

The brand’s core promise of protection and a commitment to support life through unbeatable protection is at the heart of the brand name itself – Lifebuoy, the guarantee of protection when you are threatened.

Comments Off

Advertisements Insights

Why Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches is better positioned than prior campaigns

By Adam Williams

on May 16, 2013 8:35 AM

On April 14, 2013, Dove took a big step along its path to changing women’s perceptions of themselves. In 2006, Dove began its crusade against the beauty industry with the much hyped short titled Dove Evolution. I want to explain why the Real Beauty Sketches campaign is better.

Comments Off

Fundacion ANAR’s “Only For Children” ad hides anti-abuse message where only kids can see it

By Adam Williams

on May 7, 2013 4:46 PM

Situation: How do you tell an abused child how to get help if the abuser is standing nearby?

Solution: Hide the message in plain site.

In a new campaign titled Only For Children, the Aid to Children and Adolescents at Risk Foundation (ANAR) in Spain is cleverly using lenticular printing to hide a message and phone number so that only kids can see it. Lenticular printing is the technology used to create the 3D-like bookmarks you often find at bookstore check-outs.

Comments Off

Advertisements Marketing

JCPenney asks shoppers to come back but what will it really take?

By Adam Williams

on May 6, 2013 8:03 AM

Tis the season for come backs. Or at least attempts at one. First Kmart released Ship Your Pants and now JCPenney, or just JCP these days, has come out in a new ad titled It’s No Secret saying, “We’ve made some mistakes, but we’ve also listened to you. Please come back. Pretty please.”

But is this commercial going to be enough? Or where does Penney’s need to go from here?

Comments Off

Advertisements Marketing

Kmart wants you to Ship Your Pants [updated]

By Adam Williams

on April 16, 2013 9:45 PM

So am I supposed to ship or shi* my pants. I’m not completely clear. Either way, this ad is hilarious. And going viral. For example, I’ve had two different people text it to me in the last hour in addition to all of the online shares I’ve seen.

But despite the hype, is Ship Your Pants a one time headline grabber or a game changer like what Old Spice experienced a few years ago?

Comments Off

Marketing

Why your “viral” marketing isn’t working and what to do about it

By Adam Williams

on April 11, 2013 1:09 PM

Recently, I’ve been studying the The Lean Startup by Eric Reis. He talks about various growth engines and I love how it describes viral businesses. So I’m borrowing his concept and adding some thoughts of my own.

For the purposes of this post, I am not discussing creating one viral campaign. I am instead focusing on products or services that are inherently viral themselves. In other words, they don’t use sticky growth (subscriptions) or paid growth (print, TV, radio ads, etc).

Comments Off