Honesty in marketing and PR: Talking about the negatives as well as the positives

Marketing, , , , ,

Should marketing and PR talk about the negatives as well as the positives in a new product launch?

Let’s talk about honesty in marketing and PR.

Countless press releases promoting new products and services hit in boxes everyday. And not just about brand new propositions, even minor improvements get promoted. It’s all part of marketing communications. Letting your customer know about the features, and more importantly the benefits, to them, of the new stuff.

LONDON, UK: World Traveller cabin on a British Airways Boeing 777 at London Gatwick on 04 March 2018 (Picture by Nick Morrish/British Airways)

Companies want to shout out loud about the launch because they’ve invested heavily in its development. They want to attract more customers. They want to guarantee a rapid return on their investment.

But what if there are also negatives about the new offer? Should marketing and PR be honest about any negatives? Or is it okay to hide them away. Or not even mention them? Is honesty the best policy?

I came across a press release from British Airways highlighting their refurbishment project for their Boeing 777 fleet at London Gatwick airport. These long haul work horse aircraft serve the leisure routes to the Caribbean, Florida and South America.

The positives

PLUS-SIZED MAKE OVER FOR WORLD TRAVELLER AND WORLD TRAVELLER PLUS

The headline of the press release screams about the improvements to the customer experience. In shouty capitals no less.

For those not familiar with British Airways brand hierarchy, World Traveller is the airline’s long haul economy brand, and World Traveller Plus is the premium economy cabin.

So we’re looking at improvements to the cabins most people fly in as they jet off on holiday with BA from Gatwick.

Next the press release unpacks the good news.

The new World Traveller Plus and World Traveller cabins….have been fitted with elegant new seats with 50 per cent larger entertainment screens…

Sounds good.

Great attention to detail has also been paid to how the customer uses their seat, with the World Traveller Plus design featuring a new leg and footrest, as well as an improved fully adjustable six-way headrest to suit customers of all heights. The new seat also has a cocktail table at the front and in-arm tray tables.

Nice. Liking the sound of premium economy.

The World Traveller cabins have also been fitted with the newest, most enhanced seating, which feature a six-way headrest with adjustable ears for added comfort and movable middle arm rests…

Even the new cattle class seats sound great.

The new in-flight Panasonic entertainment system – which has the capacity to offer four times as many films, TV and audio – has been updated with larger HD screens and gesture control to navigate the interface like using a tablet. The screen size will double from six to 12 inches in World Traveller Plus, and increase from six to 10 inches in World Traveller.

Superb. Now even the longest flights will be more bearable with all this HD audio and video content.

Bespoke lighting has been fitted in every cabin and can be set to reflect the time of day, helping to lull travellers to sleep at night and wake them in the morning so customers arrive feeling fresher and the effect of jet-lag is lessened.

Oh, I do like mood lighting. Seriously. I find it helps me to nod off.

All sounds great doesn’t it. The press release gushes about the benefits. And why not? BA wants people to know about their excellent new products.

Let’s face it. Long haul economy travel is uncomfortable for many people and the BA improvements will make journeys more agreeable.

The negative

But there is a negative.

And it’s a big one.

And BA don’t mention it at all in the press release. Not even in the “Note to Editors” section at the end of the release.

Before they refurbished the Gatwick 777s, BA’s economy seating was nine abreast in a 3 x 3 x 3 format.

During the upgrade BA stuck in an extra line of seats, increasing economy to ten abreast in a 3 x 4 x 3 format.

To squeeze the extra seats in BA, made them smaller.

The old seats were 18.1in wide. The new ones are 17.4in wide.

Losing almost an inch of seat width maybe doesn’t sound much until you’re sat next to someone with wide shoulders and jutting elbows with a nine-hour flight ahead of you.

Ten abreast also means narrower aisles and more chance of the food and duty free trolleys bashing into aisle seat passengers.

Within Waterside, the sprawling BA headquarters near London Heathrow airport, the name for the project to refurbish the Gatwick birds is “Densification”.

Densification!

Whilst brand new seats and bigger HD inflight entertainment screens are a positive benefit for customers, calling the project “densification” doesn’t make it sound customer focused to me.

It’s a horrible, made up, management speak name, for cramming in more, smaller, seats and reducing passenger comfort and personal space.

The pretty new screens and mood lighting are clearly sweetening the bitter pill of more cramped seating. The fact the press release doesn’t even mention “densification” confirms this.

Were BA relying on lazy journalists not digging a little deeper into the story, hoping they’d just copy and paste the press release into their publications. It does happen. Sometimes journalists are so busy they don’t have time to investigate further.

Does this matter?

In fairness to BA, although Boeing designed the 777 for nine abreast seating in economy, most airlines now run ten across. BA can just say they’re following the market trend.

Will passengers even notice?

Unless you’re a frequent flyer like me, you won’t geek out on airline seating arrangements. Most passengers will be grateful for the upgraded seats with clean new covers and HD in flight entertainment. The old, standard definition system, was certainly showing its age.

But BA has a reputation for its marketing hype. Putting a positive spin on its cuts in service and its cramming in of more seats.

I believe in honesty in marketing and PR. I think BA should have mentioned the change from nine to ten abreast and the reduced seat width. Then customers could decide whether the improvements to the in flight entertainment and the new seats were a fair trade-off for the reduction in personal space on board.

Marketing called it a, “PLUS-SIZED MAKE OVER.”

BA management called it, “DENSIFICATION.”

What would you call it?

Now it’s your turn:

Do you think BA should have been honest about the more cramped seating? Or were they right just to promote the positives? Should there be honesty in marketing and PR or is it okay to hide the truth?

Writing the definitive guide to keeping marketing simple – MAF163

MPAF Podcast, , , , , ,

In this week’s show, it’s just me and the mic.

I’m going to talk about how you can help me with a writing project which, as you would expect, is all about keeping marketing simple.

Welcome to episode 163 of the Marketing and Finance Podcast.

Writing the definitive guide to keeping marketing simple – MAF163

What you’ll hear about in this episode

  • A little interlude about my visit to the Glasgow Police Dogs Training Centre
  • A project to write a book about keeping marketing simple
  • Including a simple strategy and keeping it simple as your business grows and becomes successful
  • How you can help with your own thoughts on marketing
  • How your business could become a case study in the book

Links:

If you enjoyed – Writing the definitive guide to keeping marketing simple – please leave a comment or a review on iTunes.

And if you know anyone who would enjoy the show – please share it with them. You can use the buttons below to share on social media.

Don’t miss an episode of the MAF Podcast – subscribe now.

Subscribe on iTunes     Subscribe by RSS Feed

If you like the Podcast please click

Stuart, Mike and Suzy from Holloway Friendly on new business strategies and paying claims – MAF162

MPAF Podcast, , , ,

This week I talk to Stuart, Mike and Suzy from Holloway Friendly Society.

We talk about the new strategy they’ve developed for the company, and how they’re making claims a  focus for their customer service.

Welcome to episode 162 of the Marketing and Finance Podcast.

What you’ll hear about in this episode

  • How Holloway Friendly has succeeded as a smaller business within UK financial services
  • Protection insurance market challenges
  • Putting together a new strategy for business development
  • Showing insurance claims in a positive light
  • Why sharing true stories helps customers
  • How Holloway deal with the claims process

Who are the new team at Holloway Friendly Society?

Stuart Tragheim

The CEO. He’s worked in financial services for more than 30 years. Before joining Holloway, Stuart worked for large organisations in sales, marketing, distribution and technical departments

Mike Taylor

Chief Operating Officer. He’s worked in claims and underwriting for the past 25 years. Mike’s worked on Association of British Insurers and other technical committees and been part of underwriting groups. He enjoys innovating and modernising the customer journey

Suzy Esson

Head of Member Services, looking after claims, underwriting and member admin. She’s worked in claims and underwriting for 27 years. Her passion is claims, and she likes being able to make a difference to someone when they need support the most

Summary of our chat

Holloway don’t have the budget to compete against the bigger financial services companies. However, they’re specialists, and compete in different areas, such as point of claim. They deal with customers and their families in a more holistic way preferring not to compete on price. This is how they stand out in the marketplace.

The issues facing the protection market haven’t changed for many years. More customers and advisers need to understand why they need protection. And then have the means to get appropriate advice. There’s too much focus on supply and not demand. Holloway want to educate the market, especially on income protection.

We need more positive stories in the media about insurance and claims. It’s important to evolve and bring products to life. Many people don’t understand insurance products. Or how underwriting is done and how claims are paid. These are key messages for Holloway, as well as a focus on making products more attractive by being fairer and more inclusive.

Holloway want to share real-life stories of how they’ve touched people’s lives – it’s not just about honouring the policy. That’s the essence of what they do, and they want to make it apparent to advisers and customers that they’re looking for ways to support members to regain quality of life.

Holloway have made changes to their claims management, including the introduction of tele-claims to replace claim forms, allowing them to obtain information upfront, including photos of medications. Members can give explanations over the phone, which saves time and helps reach decisions quickly. Holloway paid 96% of claims in 2017.

Holloway start working with their members as soon as they receive a claim, to understand their needs and give the right support. They often fast track and fund health treatment.  Waive deferred periods And engaged with rehabilitation providers to help members get better quicker.

What changes would the team like to see in the financial services industry?

Stuart

Marketing messages and plans don’t make a difference.–Consumer engagement is how you bring about change. For Holloway, the focus is on securing trust one customer at a time, rather than running a generic marketing campaign.

The industry needs to be more proactive with the media and the government so insurers are seen as part of the solution rather than part of the problem. There are historical examples of insurers shooting themselves in the foot, and that has to change.

Mike

There’s an issue around inclusivity, and some people feel they don’t have access to insurance. There needs to be more awareness and bring the positive stories to life, so it’s clear that these are real people who’ve benefited.

Suzy

It’s about getting the balance right between automation and the human touch, and make a decision based on the situation rather than the rules. Holloway try to do this, so we reach decisions and pay people quickly. They want to give people tailored support.

A marketing campaign or product the team loves

Royal London and The Exeter, insurance providers have moved into offering life cover for diabetics. It opens up the market and is a great development for the financial services industry.

Another highlight the Marks and Spencer TV campaign for “spend it well”, where they showed clothes and food in adverts at the same time – very clever!

Books the team recommend

A life changing book for Stuart was Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey. If you can move from the superficial aspect and internalise the messages, it can change your life. Stuart has kept it close to him over the last two decades.

Links and contact details

If you enjoyed – Stuart, Mike and Suzy from Holloway Friendly on new business strategies and paying claims – please leave a comment or a review on iTunes.

And if you know anyone who would enjoy the show – please share it with them. You can use the buttons below to share on social media.

Don’t miss an episode of the MAF Podcast – subscribe now.

Subscribe on iTunes     Subscribe by RSS Feed

If you like the Podcast please click