A Tale of Two Sneakers

Ad Campaigns Will Fail in the Home Stretch if Your Brand Reps Aren't On Board With Your Message

According to an article by David Marsh in today's Financial Times, "service blossoms in a downturn. Waiters wait, usherettes usher, doormen open doors." I'd agree with this 110%. As budgets get squeezed, buyers have greater choice, and competition intensifies for each new sale.

Unfortunately, no one has conveyed this message to the sales reps in New York City's Nike store.

Yesterday, I was coming out of a midday meeting in midtown. I've been looking to purchase a new pair of sneakers for weeks but time is always so tight. Anyways, being relatively close to the Nike store, I thought I'd drop in. I mean, it's Nike, you can't go wrong. I've bought into their million dollar ad campaign messages, "Just do it," from back in the day, Tiger Woods, etc. And, honestly, even though I don't quite recall what Nike's post-"Just Do It" tagline is, I'm still on board. I was looking forward to exploring the myriad options at my feet in their mega-flagship on 57th Street. I could even see myself trolling down Fifth Avenue with my "swoosh" shopping bag, and going to Cardio Kickboxing sporting my phat new gear.

Unfortunately, Nike, "Just Blew It!" After 1) dealing with three sales reps who seemed to have very little, if any, product knowledge, 2) finding it tough to get anything beyond a one-word answer to my questions, and 3) getting one of those "try those over there" (with a point across the floor, as if I could call the stock room and try shoes on myself), I was done. I left and decided that my quest for a new pair of sneakers would just have to wait.

Later that day back in the office, I thought, "Why not try the Adidas store?" I'll admit, I know Adidas by name but I'm kinda old-school - my perceptions of that brand went out with Run DMC back in the late '80s. I really didn't know much about Adidas besides the fact that it's a big European label (pronounced over there as "Ahh-DEE-das"), I've got some of their workout wear (which I dig), and I'd guess their main spokesman is David Beckham. But I'm a Europhile so I'd check it out. Plus, I was leaving work soon and their mega-store, on Houston Street, is just a few blocks from our studio on Canal Street.

What a great experience! My sales guy, Stefan, clearly knew all his stuff, was extremely helpful in answering my questions, and allowed me to sample many different styles and sizes, and all while never rushing me despite the fact that I arrived within 30 minutes of closing time. Not only did I walk out with a new pair of sneakers, but I definitely plan on heading back sometime soon to browse the rest of the store when they're not so close to closing. And, next time I'm looking for a new pair of sneakers, I know where I'm going.

Unfortunately, situations like this are way too common. As companies spend tons of money on long-winded marketing campaigns to impress consumers and external audiences, many times they fail to recognize that one of their most important target groups are their own employees. A million dollar ad campaign will only get a brand so far if client-facing ground troops - the men and woman who deal with the customers and prospects all day - aren't on board with the message. After all, Tiger Woods might come to mind when I think of Nike, but he's not the guy helping me try on a pair of "Air-Whatever-The-Hecks" during a long-winded lunch break. In my opinion, Nike clearly doesn't get it. Adidas clearly does. Another brand that immediately comes to mind as one that gets it, is Apple - the reps in an Apple Store are so on board they must bleed 1s and 0s!

Another company that clearly gets it is one of our clients, INTTRA. At Y INTERACT, we are currently in the middle of a marketing campaign with INTTRA - the shipping industry's preferred e-commerce platform - called "The Next Wave". The target audience is all INTTRA employees, with a campaign that includes posters, plasma animations for worldwide reception screens, desktop screensavers, the intranet (which we call the "INTTRAnet"), and more. The objective is to inform and educate employees about new initiatives at INTTRA. Their marketing team understands that communicating a message out to the world will only get their brand so far. However, if the representative picking up the phone, or the sale rep making a client call doesn't understand the messages swirling around them, it could cost them business. And these days, that business is more important than ever.

Ahmed Yearwood
President
Y INTERACT
www.yinteract.com