Why is AT&T faking it?

This post in The Consumerist describes AT&T using a "Receipt Enclosed" solo mail package. While this type of approach can be successful in getting short-term response rates, the fake nature of the package can also have a backlash impact on those who don't respond.  Many consumers such as the contributor to Consumerist.com will look at this type of mail as j--k and be less likely to choose AT&T in the future.  That's a Fail for Creative.

Lesson: If you want to jeopardize long-term brand equity for short-term results, send a fake important-seeming package.

AT&T's new Terms of Service for those without service

The email from AT&T gets an easy Fail for List.  I know of several people who received it who have not had AT&T Internet for over a year.  Sending an update of your Terms of Service for current customers is one thing, sending it to people that are not current customers is something else.  It will make some people less likely to be AT&T customers again.

Lesson: Don’t force changes to your Terms of Service on non-customers.

AT&T tweaks it’s upsell letter

I commented on AT&T’s customer service style upgrade letter three times. Below is another letter I received. There are not any new fails, but it is interesting to see how a solo mail package used often can be tweaked and improved. Perhaps this is an evolved Control pakage.  

The upsell this time is for only one bundle, although there is a soft reminder that AT&T would like to meet my needs if this is not the best match. There is no irrelevant mention of DirecTV. ‘Kelly’ personally signs the letter. Overall, the letter is warm, inviting, clear, and supporting. It is promotional but does not feel promotional.  Is this package the right choice for a Control?

Mixing politics and phone sex is a classic Fail

According to this article at politico.com, a political fundraising letter mistakenly listed a phone number for a phone sex line.  In the article, the RNC blames a vendor.  However, it should blame it's own people for not reviewing the letter and affirmately verifying the phone number on the letter.  This is a classic and embarassing Fail for poor Creative.

The RNC is not the only national organizaton to have a typo lead people to a phone sex line. Another infamous example: AT&T several years ago sent a letter to 175,000 loyal customers with an incorrect phone number. Instead of hearing “Thank you for calling AT&T True Rewards”, recipients who dailed the number on the letter heard “Are you ready to get naked?”

Learning: Always proof every word and every numerical statement in every stage of production. Always verify every phone number included in your mail and be sure it is correct. Don’t just ask someone if a phone number is correct – call it yourself.

AT&T & Comcast: Two Bundles, One Impersonal Fail

Fail: Creative
These two solo mail cross-sell packages recently arrived at the same home a couple days apart from each other. The recipient has Comcast for cable service and AT&T for landline phone service and internet. This person has a different company for mobile phone service.

The letter from AT&T is stamped. The return address on the back includes the company name and logo. The letter inside also includes the logo and is addressed personally to the recipient.

I reviewed fails of a similar creative package from AT&T -- selling multiple products in one letter and other creative missteps -- but what AT&T does right with their mail is they recognize the value of their brand, leveraging their customer relationship, and addressing the relationship. Since my review of AT&T's second fail, AT&T improved the letter creatively by personalizing the signature and reinforcing a call to action in the postscript. Overall, the letter feels personal.

The strong aspects of AT&T’s letter highlight the Fails from Comcast:

• The envelope return address does not include the company name. This is often referred to as a “blind envelope”, because the recipient is blind to the identity of the sender until the mail is opened. It is a common and sometimes sensible tactic in an acquisitions mailing. However, the postage indicia includes the company name. If Comcast truly intended to have a blind mailing, then the postage indicia could have used a permit number -- or better yet, use a stamp. The result of an incomplete use of this tactic is that the outer envelope is a double-fail: one for not including Comcast in the return address when mailing to a current customer (he would have opened it anyway), and a second fail to including it in the indicia. This suggests that Comcast believes it’s brand equity is negative but is not willing to take a couple extra steps in production to completely cover up it’s brand name.

• The envelope is addressed to the recipient “or current resident”. This suggests that Comcast lacks confidence in the qualify of it’s customer list, Comcast was not concerned about production quality, or this was a mass mailing without considering who might already be actual customers.

• The letter is impersonal. It is not addressed to the customer, it is addressed to “Dear Customer”. It does not recognize what services the customer has with Comcast. In this case, the recipient believes he already has Digital Preferred Cable but after reviewing his Comcast bill, he is not sure.

• The offer is incomplete and potentially misleading. For example the bundle of Digital Preferred Cable & High-Speed Internet is $79.99 for 6 months. What is the price after 6 months? Based on the text in the disclosure, my guess is somewhere in the neighborhood of $135 - $150. That does not appear to be a way to “Cut down on your household bills!”

• The tone of the letter is promotional but with needless self-bluster. Phrases such as “we are pleased to offer you” do not add value to the communication. To my knowledge, only the Queen of England has the privilege to refer to herself in the first person plural. Also, being pleased to offer something has no benefit to the customer. (Given the long-term price for the bundled services, perhaps Comcast is pleased because they are offering a potentially bait and switch price.) The letter is signed by “Comcast Houston”, an inhuman corporate entity.

Lesson: You cannot build a personal relationship by being impersonal. It is important not only to know your customers, but to address them personally as customers. Communicate to them as people and persuade them that you want to address their needs.