The BIG Kahuna

Sprint has the best deal in town for unlimited calling at $99/month. But here’s what they’re giving up for it.

Voice Command, that went bye bye about 6 months ago. Read my post about that here. Now they’re giving up a branding element that you will be shocked to learn.

Sprint has given up their email. That’s right on December 30th 2008 Sprint will no longer have email for their customers. So I can kiss my brandidentityguru@sprintpcs.com email goodbye.

Can you imagine the millions of emails that are sent everyday through Sprint? Each email that is sent with @sprintpcs.com is another brand building element. Some companies like Blackberry use it as a signature:

Sent by Blackberry Wireless

I guess Blackberry sees it differently.

Sprint’s thinking is our price is lower so we’ll win. Yea, we’ll see how that works out for ya. When my Sprint contract is up I’ll be switching to another provider. I’ve been with Sprint for about 10 years.

Gosh, I wish I had a way for my clients to say my name millions of times a day….

@brandidentityguru.com sounds nice!

It’s been a while since I wrote on my continuing series of “When Naming Goes Bad” but here ya go, branding at its finest:

Manjunk

From the Manjunk website:

Developed by a man for men, Man Junk is a combination of world-class ingredients and relentless attention to detail. Any product that’s made to clean your neck, back, buttocks or legs isn’t going to provide the specific levels of odor fighting and skin treatment that Man Junk does.

I had no idea my personal Manjunk reeked that bad? All these years of using the same soap to wash my entire body? What was I thinking? I need this product like I need a 5th blade on my razor.

Here’s a better more appropriate name for this product:

MANJOKE

Check out the new video from Guinness. Risky? Oh yea. Insulting to women? I would think so. Funny? I laughed but I’m not a woman. What do you think? And how will it affect the brand?

?

**Show us some clicky-love,?mouse up and VOTE FOR?ME?in the big green box on the upper right! Help us win -?you can vote once a day**

One of my very loyal readers (there’s him, my wife and loving mother) asked me to post his experience with HP.

Here’s David Howse’s wonderful adventure and opinions with HP:

Yesterday I bought a HP 3600N color laser printer which comes with a full 4-color toner set. It cost me $380 (in Canada). I ran a job that day of 1900 copies. This morning I ran out of black. To buy a toner set will cost $520us or over $600 in Canada.

So, who’s good at math? Should I buy the toner set or a new printer? I called HP Canada to help me with the math and they confirmed that $380 was less than $520 and that buying a new printer was cheaper than buying more toner.

With those facts confirmed, I called HP headquarters in Palo Alto to get a response from someone in PR about conflicting messages between Sales and Marketing.http://www.hp.com/sbso/busproducts_printing.html (be resourceful and help save the environment)

Marketing Message:

Sales Message: Chuck that thing in the garbage and get a new one (the printer is one-day old!) I am only inferring that this is the message.

As I navigated my way around the phone system I found the Marketing Support Center. I tried every option and the best was Special Events. Here’s the message,”We are only interested in special events that occur in the year 2005.”

Now I know that this is a marketing discussion, but does this mean that HP has time travel technology? (yeah, I know).

Marketing 2.0: If this is the customer experience at HP, how far is HP from Marketing 2.0? I felt somewhat embarrassed for them. I spent most of my time with tech support because the phone system pushes you in that direction (”let tech support handle it”). The manager truly understood my reasoning but said that she wasn’t allowed to comment on these sorts of things, nor did she have the authority to transfer me out of the department.

I’m more bothered because HP makes great products, it’s a great technology company. Who’s running the marketing?

There you have it. Thank you David for sharing your story on the branding?blog. And anyone else that has a good article send it on over.

As Yoda would say “hmmm, ruining brand I am”. I’m a HUGE JetBlue fan but lately they’re screwing up…bad. I’ve been reading My JetBlue Lawsuitfrom afar and it’s starting to really get some traction. JetBlue screwed with Bill Baker a witty, funny, smart blogger. Read his saga here.

Anyway, Bill has been really turning the screws to JetBlue so they invited him to a dress rehearsal of their new terminal at JFK airport on August 23. Here’s what one gets by taking part in JetBlue’s gig:

Click to enlarge

Here’s what JetBlue is “giving” you for attending (check out the RSVP date and the party date for a great chuckle):

1. A test Itinerary (to nowhere)

2. Check In at the counter (lines included)

3. Pass through security (lines and possible full body cavity search)

4. Wait (they actual write the word wait) at the assigned gate and board your “flight”

Special note: “Flight” means there is no real flight. You never get to board the plane. You just get to drive to the airport, pay for parking, and then do all the things we most hate when arriving at an airport.

Doesn’t this just sound like a grand time?

JetBlue, what are you thinking?

In my continuing series here’s yet something else that makes you scratch your head. Mike Rutzen owns a? Great White shark diving business in South Africa called Shark Diving Unlimited. Over the years he has “learned” a Great White’s behavior and now has a special on the Discovery Channel called “Sharkman”.

My wife and I watched in amazement at what Mike Rutzen is doing. Basically he is swimming with and challenging Great White’s. In the water, out of the cage. And, he’s seems to know what he’s doing as he’s not become lunch….yet.

His daredevil approach had built his brand and image like no others in his business (cause they’re not crazy enough to challenge a Great White). He is quite remarkable. Take a gander at this video, if you have time watch it all the way through as it is really quite stupid…I mean amazing.

This goes to show you just how important branding can be, only when most companies fail they get eaten by bankruptcy not swallowed whole by a Great White!

Enjoy…

Bam, they hit you in the kisser. Here’s a story you won’t believe is true. But sadly?it is.

I’m currently blogging from Old Orchard Beach in Maine. Last Night my wife and I went out to dinner at a fun place called Hooligan’s. Apparently all the bars and restaurants are owned by a company called The Pier.

We enjoyed our dinner, received great service?and asked for the bill. My wife looked at the bill and noticed that everthing?was in line except for one charge that was confusing.

ROUNDING: .21

hmm, I didn’t remember ordering any ROUNDING? If I had eaten it I think I would have remembered. So we asked what “ROUNDING” was?

The answer is so dumbfounding that you can’t believe it’s actually true. Here’s what the really sweet waitress told us.

The restaurants and bars?don’t deal with pennies, nickles or dimes. Just quarters when it comes to change. So when the bill is tabulated, presto….they round it up to the nearest quarter.

Our bill was $35.29 which quickly became $35.50. There is no ROUNDING down by the way.

Now The Pier is arguably the busiest business on the beach, serving thousands of people per day during the summer months. So ROUNDING can be a pretty?good stealing, I mean?revenue generator.

Here’s what I think:

ROUNDING = STEALING

Without question the owners (the Golzbein family)?of the famous Pier are literally stealing from customers each and every day. And people don’t even question it.

Now we’ve had a really fun time here at Old Orchard Beach but the one thing I’m going to laugh about for quite some time is ROUNDING.

Mr. Golzbein here’s a suggestion. Stop ripping people off for their change. Find another less noticeable way to steal from folks that are giving you business. Do these words sound inviting… Class Action Suit?

By the way how has Steve Rowe the?Attorney General of Maine not questioned this practice?

Here’s where to go and file a complaint if you like:

http://www.state.me.us/ag/consumer/complaints/complaint_form.shtml