August 2, 2009

False Promises

Posted by Michael Baxter

A promise arrived in the mail the other day.

It appeared on the outside of a spring green envelope: This is not junk mail. The envelope had no return address – just a company name and logo.

We wondered: If it’s not a commercial offer, which is what our culture generally classifies as “junk mail,” then what was inside? A check? A letter? Results from blood work?

(We hadn’t had any blood work recently, so we figured it had to be a check.)

So we opened the envelope. The promise that “This is not junk mail” was clarified instantly: “It’s a way to get super fast mobile internet.” Three pieces of paper inside explained that this internet service is now available in our market.

In the view of the sender, mission accomplished. They got us to open the envelope.

In the view of the customer, game over. The brand looked bad.

The promise was false – the piece was junk mail.

The three pieces of paper were wasteful.

And the experience made it unlikely we would ever choose this provider if the need arose.

Our recommendation: Identify a promise of relevance and value to the audience, and lead with that.