Comments on: Bad Advertising – Zappos

By: Email Marketing Blog

Email Marketing Blog — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:22:30 +0000

Zappos Email Sign Up…

So there have been a few email posts about Zappos email and advertising strategies lately over at The Email Wars, The Email Experience Blog and Traffic and Conversion Blog and thought I’d chime in as well. Believe it or not, to my knowledge I have n…

By: Manny Fino

Manny Fino — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:23:25 +0000

Yes, they used to have CLEVER, IRREVERENT ads in those airport bins. Such as “geez your shoes kind of stink? do you need a new pair?” Very snarky and cute. This picture matches those ridiculous television commercials they have been running. Put a little Zappos in Your Day with blue streaks and a UPS driver. HUH? If you don’t know who Zappos is you won’t from this branding campaign and if you do it does nothing to remind you that they are all about customer service. Pathetic.

By: Dean

Dean — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:49:29 +0000

Very astute comment. I wonder how much they paid some marketing company for that advertising campaign??

By: Nicky Jameson

Nicky Jameson — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 04:23:45 +0000

Mark, Very thought-provoking post. I'm going to reblog it on my blog this week. I have to say I wouldn't buy Zappos airport shoes,I tend to wear my keds that don't have laces and just slip off. The times I wear lace-ups it doesn't take as long to re-do them as it does waiting in line to go through customs. Besides I don't want an extra pair of shoes to carry. But I think advertising their airport shoes could appeal to some travellers - and they are missing an opp to be more targeted. Sadly Brands seem only to rely on recognition... not customer needs or getting into their heads. Nicky Jamesons last blog post..Forget Branding - Build Relationships

By: Rb Jameson

Rb Jameson — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:33:44 +0000

Hi Mark,
Love your work and think you are a sincere and bonofide genius. I appreciate the sincere part the most. But I think the Zappos ad is a form of hi-jacking into people’s consciousness. When I saw the ad I immediately thought of the Mentos type ad campaigns and all of the money Mentos has spent on creating that identity in the market. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the customer profile between airline travelers (international, upscale, hip, trend setting, etc)and Zappos customers is similar if not the same. If they (Zappos) could create a similar relationship with travelers who aren’t let their customers by using an off the wall approach that wasn’t really about selling anything (Wink-wink) or even supplant the Zappos brand into that Mentos-type “meme” in people’s heads and gain the identifications and “personalities” of that brand type then the shoes are almost irrelevant. They’ll achieve a relationship with the customer much faster by hi-jacking the pleasant identity of Mentos-like personality then just trying to stress a particular product or benefit. You might not sell as many shoes today but developing a way for the customer to trust and like you and even think you’re one of them faster will sell a lot more shoes over time. Just a thought.

By: Godfrey Thaxter

Godfrey Thaxter — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:12:19 +0000

Hi Mark,

Excellent observation!

For a company that do so much business, Zappos seem to be leaving a lot of money on the table. Maybe you should become their advertising consultant.

The word Zappos doesn’t ring a bell to me, so if I had seen it at the airport, or elsewhere I wouldn’t know what it was, unless it made mention of its offer.

There might be many other companies suffering from the same “off message” advertising, as this is a common flaw among new business owners. This is why tracking and testing are so important to your marketing efforts.

It is sad to see so many new opportunity seekers get on the internet, jump from one program to another, without learning the basic concepts of marketing and advertising.

Business, especially online is about “finding a need and providing a solution for that need”. As entrepreneurs, we have to look at our advertising in the eyes of our prospects, which can sometimes be a daunting task, as people are different.

As small business owners, many of us do not have a large advertising budget, so we should endeavor to get maximum leverage out of our advertising dollar.

These are skills that can be learned over time; however, those who do not have a lot of time should get the right training to deal with this issue.

Based on Mark’s astute sense of observation and analytical prowess, much can be achieved by anyone who plug into his trainings and is willing to learn the skills necessary.

Once again thanks for your leadership Mark!

Godfrey

By: Nathan Anderson

Nathan Anderson — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:42:55 +0000

Like John, I forgot that Zappos was a shoe store when I first saw the ad. They totally lost me with the ad. No mention of shoes. No pictures of shoes. I travel enough that I have "flying shoes". They're slip-ons, but have vibram soles for any weather I end up encountering on the other end of the flight. If Zappos had a simple URL to find such shoes, I'd be there in a heartbeat... like Zappos.com/fly But their current tray ad is a total miss; agreed. Nathan Andersons last blog post..The Elevision Network

By: Inés Villafañe-León

Inés Villafañe-León — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:47:50 +0000

Mark – your head by generating ideas are ALWAYS terrific – so creative. I’ve been following you for your many kinds of advise. Thank you!
Now, Me? Teacher, translator, author successful in all these areas, except…I took away my books
from the editorial because they were not selling me ANYTHING but yes, with the “right customer” I’ve sold out. HELP!!! My customers are school districs, teachers, students, bilingual people.
I offer them in one hundred letters my services but NOBODY ANSWERS. If they SEE my book(s) they buy it right away. I need to sell 800 left over books. Advise? Is my website OK? Traffic? What?
I appreciate anything you say to set me straight!
Regards, Inés
NOBODY ANSWERS

By: Tara Heiser

Tara Heiser — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:55:12 +0000

Excellent example, Mark. When I first read “airport safe” I thought more along the lines of safety or security. Another way to position it would be “airport easy” or “airport fast” shoes to give even more benefit to the customer. No one likes standing in line forever and most people don’t like to be the slowpoke holding up everyone else. :-)

By: Maurice

Maurice — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:39:05 +0000

Great observation Mark

Thanks for sharing this. I think there should be a massive poster in every Executive’s office saying ‘If we meet and continue to meet the Customers needs, the money will flow and continue to flow.’

Cheers
Maurice