Look! Up in the Sky!

On a warm Friday evening earlier this month, Allstream took an unusual approach to marketing its small business solutions: it flew a UFO over downtown Toronto.

From a distance, the helicopter that towed the huge red Allstream banner was almost invisible, so the ad – which was only intelligible on one side – seemed to be free-floating. My two passengers and I in a car headed downtown took some time to figure out that it wasn't an alien invasion, but merely an ad. Then it took a while longer to realize what the message was.

The big red banner got a lot of attention – but was it the right attention? Does the hard-working target market mill around downtown with time to decipher a hard-to-read mystery ad hovering 2,000 feet up? And even if they do, does a sign that basically promotes your brand name do anything to turn prospects into customers?

I doubt it. I don't think this type of ad shows much respect for the needs of its marketplace.

While I’m generally in favor of marketing innovations, I think this one sends the wrong message. If Allstream (the former AT&T Canada, now owned by Manitoba Telecom) thinks its branding in Toronto is so weak that it needs this kind of aerial extravaganza to sell bundled telecom services, what has it been doing for the past four years?

To learn more about Allstream's small business services, click here.

Go ahead, make me feel small

I received an interesting phone message today from UPS, which seems to advocating a candid approach to contacting prospects. The caller’s name has been withheld, because it’s not his fault: Who gave this man a telephone?

Here’s the message that followed his name and phone number:

“If you can get back to me I’d appreciate it. I just got your name from a trade show we did and I wanted to know if there was any interest on your end or if you were just dropping by, to close out this potential lead on my screen here. Thank you very much. I look forward to speaking with you.”

If you ask me, that's taking transparency too far.

Memo to marketers: I don't want to know that I'm just a blip on your screen. I want to know that if you're calling me, you really care about my business, and you have a very special deal for me.

Don't expect me to remember what form I may have filled out at a trade show. And don't think I filled it out so that a salesman would call. If I won the door prize, tell me. If I didn't win the draw and you're just following up on a sales lead, make me a compelling offer.

Don't treat me like I’m a chore – or just another item on a checklist you want to finish up by noon.

It's just one more reason why entrepreneurs keep beating big business: because you have to sweat the details.