There have been a couple of examples recently of people and companies launching marketing initiatives with the best of intentions -- only to have their efforts stumble and struggle because of an unconsidered extra element. Case in point: This year's Pepsi/iTunes promotion.
Here's how it works: Something like one in three bottles have iTunes code numbers printed inside the cap. Get a code? Free download! Here's the catch: Gizmodo reports that -- just like last year -- Pepsi drinkers and nondrinkers alike can ensure that they buy a bottle with a winning cap by tipping the bottle slightly. Not a bad deal -- but probably not the promotion hack Pepsi and iTunes expected.
Similarly, FC Now reader Simon Helm emailed me yesterday about a recent snafu involving the band U2 and Ticketmaster:
U2's official fan site, U2.com, offered fans priority ticketing for their upcoming tour for the album, "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb". All they had to do was register at the site and pay a $40 sign up fee, and they were assured participation in an exclusive pre-sale to claim their tickets.Using the codes proved problematic. Over at Ticketmaster, which was running the sale, IT systems couldn't keep up. Even if fans could start moving through the steps needed to purchase tickets through the Ticketmaster site, they found that pages often took several minutes to load. That would only be a minor inconvenience, except that Ticketmaster had set a 5 minute timer on each transaction. Thousands of U2 fans found that they were timed out waiting for pages to load on the Ticketmaster site - and their codes had been invalidated as if they had been properly used.
Fans soon started to notice that the "best available" tickets they were able to buy - when they were able to use the site - were often in nosebleed sections at the highest price point. Some were even placed behind the stage. Meanwhile, scalpers had started appearing on eBay with stacks of coveted general admission tickets. Blogs lit up with complaints about the process, with some fans threatening to sue to get their $40 sign-up fee back.
You can read more about that instance at the fan site @U2.
Both cases make me think about work -- and the need to manage expectations, as well as to underpromise and overdeliver. Does Pepsi or iTunes care that people are gaming the promotion so all winning bottles are purchased? How could Ticketmaster and U2 better handled their promotion? As they say, the best-laid plans of mice and men aft gang aglay.
Related Stories: | Topics:Management, sales + marketing, U2, Apple iTunes, Ticketmaster Corporation, Pop and Rock Music, Music |
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Recent Comments | 4 Total
February 1, 2005 at 12:38pm by bob
a bit off topic, but the non-delivery by ticketmaster above is due to poor requirements and/or false assumptions about performance. both of which are inexcuseable.
1. incorporating system delays into the maximum 5 minute timeframe introduces the risk of timeouts due to poor ticketmaster IT performance. i.e. exactly what we saw here... the timers should only "count time" while waiting on the user, not while waiting for system resources to process the transaction.
2. invalidating the users' codes prior to a transaction being completed (i.e. timed out or canceled). the code should only be invalidated once a transaction is completed, never prior to that.
ticketmaster did a bad job defining requirements and making assumptions about system performace. it bit them hard. hopefully they, and other system folks will learn...
- bob
February 1, 2005 at 12:59pm by JRM
You would think that if Pepsi or iTunes really cared to eliminate the "Tilt" issue of last promotion, they would have done that before the beginning of this promotion.
My guess is that the promotion is working. People are talking about it and buying Pepsi (even if it is only the "winners"). The buzz is still being created.
As matter of fact, I am one of those non-pepsi drinkers that will buy a pepsi during the iTunes promotion. Do I look for a "winner", if I have time. Regardless every Pepsi that I buy is a Diet Coke, my drink of choice, that I am not buying. That has to account for something.
February 2, 2005 at 2:45am by jbelkin
The Ticketmaster is the same crap they've been pulling since the early 1970's - refuse to use!
As for the Pepsi/itunes, it's a perfect thing for both parties.
Those that are hot & thirsty could care less and Pepsi no-swayed are set. They are already sold so as long as the bottle is cold, the sale is done.
THose that are hot & thirsty but undecided - this might tip the scales. And why not make it easy? People feel like they get a free $.99 bonus - after they buy it, they might lose the cap or forget about it.
And if they actually break down and sign up - for Apple, it's a cheap promotion to get a new user - after all, who's going to buy 1 TRACK and call it a night?
February 3, 2005 at 3:43pm by Diana
Both of these examples show how marketing teams and the geeks (I use the term with only affection) who have to put their ideas into practice need to really get their heads together.
Remember when the Web really took off, and every site started issuing passwords to users like "P444FFFghsafh2dfer3"? The marketing teams had wanted to find a way to keep track of site visitors, but the geeks (again, only said with affection) had their own idea of how to implementation log-ins. In effect, the technology defeated the marketing idea. Had the marketing team got their hands dirty, and if the geeks (no offence) had looked up from their Unix manuals, it would have all come together better so much faster.
Same problem here.