People are your partners.
-Naked Truth #2

At Naked we aren’t real big on tricking the consumer into things. They don’t like it. Today companies create loyal customers by approaching the consumer openly, honestly, and empathetically. One of the pleasures of working here is that our clients get it. Shouldn’t be a surprise; it takes a brave forward-thinking marketer to hire us. Sometimes I forget that we are in the minority. Thankfully the rest of the marketing world is there to shock me back into reality.

Take for instance this direct mail gem I recently received from Cablevision:

For those of you that don’t know, on February 17, 2009 (442 days from when I received this in my mailbox) television stations in the United States will cease broadcasting their signal in analog. The 20% of the population still using rabbit ears will have to subscribe to cable or satellite, buy a new TV or purchase a digital-to-analog converter box. Today they are kinda pricey but by late next year digital-to-analog converter boxes will retail for around $60. That is before the $40 coupon the federal government will be giving to the first 37,500,000 people that ask for one.

In July Forrester released a study claiming that 50% of people who use rabbit ears to get their TV were unaware of the impending switch. An additional 28% had heard of the switch but didn’t understand how it would effect them. I am too lazy to hunt down the demographics on people who still use rabbit ears but if the answer isn’t in LG’s selling their digital-to-analog converter under the more recognizable to your grandparents brand of Zenith, it surely is in this picture found on http://www.dtvanswers.com/ a site run by the National Association of Broadcasters.

Anyone with parents or grandparents can see the potential for confusion here (”Joe don’t we have to rewind these DVDs before returning them to the store?”). Don’t worry this won’t be your problem. Next year the National Association of Broadcasters will run a $697,000,000 campaign to educate consumers about the switch. The planned $327,000,000 in television ads alone should be enough to clear up the confusion.

This all means that the window to exploit consumer ignorance is still wide but closing fast. I assume that was the motivation for this particular piece of direct mail bearing the signature of Lori Falkin, Vice President, Marketing & Advertising at Cablevision. It reads:

Dear Neighbor,
We recently contacted you about the federal requirement to convert all broadcast television stations to digital-only broadcasting. If you currently use an antenna or apartment building equipment to receive your TV signal, you may experience a disruption of your TV service.

Perfectly worded to make the process seem like something intermittent and unpredictable that could hit without warning in the middle of Oprah or even….the Superbowl.

The Optimum Network has the new digital format already in place, which means Optimum customers will continue to receive all of their television channels in brilliant digital picture and sound.

To make this transition easy and ensure you continue receiving uninterrupted TV service, we have a special low cost offer for you:

Get our Digital Basic Package for just $19.95 a month for a year including FREE installation.

There is a little bit of truth here but it has been presented out of context to support the overall distortion. Cablevision does send a digital signal to their cable boxes. Not because they have switched over to comply with the coming change but because that is how they squeeze more channels through the same old coaxial cable. Their cable box is capable of sending a digital signal directly to your TV or in the case of these people, converting it analog. Essentially then doing the same thing as the $20 (after rebate) digital-to-analog converter box. Since the $19.95 a month cost for cable becomes almost $40 after the first year, consumers who signup now will already be paying double the cost of a digital-to-analog converter box each month when the switch occurs in February 2009. Granted, Cablevision customers will get more channels than a consumer that buys the digital-to-analog converter box. If that were a concern for these people though they probably wouldn’t still be using rabbit ears.

Why not start your transition to digital television today? Call 1-800-205-9672 and our representatives will be happy to help you, 7 days a week, 7am - midnight.

Thank you,
Lori Falkin
V.P. Marketing and Advertising

Take another look at the offer itself. Why lie? It’s a pretty damn good value. It wouldn’t have taken any more effort to draft a piece of direct mail for Ms. Falkin’s signature that highlighted the offer while providing honest information about the switch to digital. It just requires shifting primary focus from short-term numbers to long-term health and growth of the brand. Sadly this piece of direct mail will work just enough for Ms. Falkin to point to it as a success. But increasing numbers of customers alone just isn’t enough anymore. Quality of customer is as important as quantity. It’s the difference in allegiance between people who fly Jetblue and those that fly all the other airlines. In the long term marketing like this will do more damage to Cablevision than good. “People are your partners” means that if you treat the consumer with respect and deliver a superior product they will become your advocates and do a lot of the heavy lifting.