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Koodo Mobile – Does “So Bad It’s Good” Work?

January 5, 2009 · Comments

Part of my background is in corporate telecoms, from my days working in the UK before I moved to Canada. Also, my wife works at the biggest business telecommunications solutions provider in Canada – so between us we know how cut-throat and competitive the telecoms industry is.

Koodo Mobile is a new company whose sole aim is to take on the established mobile providers in Canada – Bell, Telus, Rogers and others – and offer simpler, less constrictive options:

  • No excess fees
  • No system access fee
  • No activation fee

Such is Koodo’s approach to cutting the unwanted extras on mobile packages that they call it “fat-free mobility”. No hidden costs and plans and handsets that suit the most important people – you, the customer.

Which makes the adverts from Koodo so perplexing.

If I was someone looking to buy a mobile handset or take advantage of service plans that suit me, then there’s no doubt that Koodo’s approach would make the company very attractive to me.

That is, until I see their adverts.

Perhaps they’re going for the “so annoying it sticks” approach. If they are, then fair play to them, it worked. However, by also inferring that their phones are for idiots – “but you don’t have a degree in mathematics” – as well as using an annoying infomercial approach, they actually put me off them as a customer.

But maybe I’m wrong. After all, I’m talking with you about it now, so that means their advertising worked, right? Or does it? Can an advert still be classed a success if the talk is for the wrong reasons?

Here’s one of their videos. Would you buy one of their handsets or does the advert put you off? I’d love to know what you think.

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  • Obviously I can't see myself being part of the audience. They seem to enjoy listening to sales pitch. :)

    Such a show would be so boring because it gives the audience no control at what getting shoved into their throat.

    But as you said, we all increase the number of views for this YouTube video, which may be reported as success. :)



    Hendry Lee's Recent post...How to Turn Your Ideas into Remarkable Blog Posts
  • There is a fine line between being memorable and being extremely annoying. That being said, there was a commercial here about a product named Head On, which basically repeated the tag line 3 or 4 times during the 30 seconds it was on the air. I hated that commercial, but I never forgot their name.

    Jennifer Larson's Recent post...Link Your Way to More Blog Traffic
  • It's strange how we remember the message, even to annoying adverts. Perhaps the goal has been met then - although if we don't end up buying the product, maybe I should say half a goal has been met?
  • Companies that employ tacky creative in their advertising take a risk with their overall brand image. And it is not necessarily the tacky ads that "sell" the product - it is generally the unrelenting media frequencies that create TOMA. I'm reminded of Dick Enrico and 2nd Wind Exercise Equipment. Everywhere you looked - there was Dick. It worked for him, but not necessarily because his face was everywhere. Good post Danny! Glad I'm not subjected to any of these ads:)

    Kathy Broniecki's Recent post...katbron: @BlogWellDone TU! there is a young chef whipping up something on Leno. I didn't catch his name. He's about 10.
  • I'm with you Danny, I find their commercials to be irritating. I somehow associate Koodo with Richard Simmons, but I suppose Richard Simmons is famous because he probably sold a boatload of fitness videos. They have done a good job of making sure that everyone is aware of the brand, and their kiosks look pretty slick. I would have loved to have been in the meeting where the marketing guys pitched this to the boss ; )

    Emmet Gibney's Recent post...Is New Media Actually Tech, Or Some Sort Of Media/Tech Love Child?
  • Nice call on the Richard Simmons connection. :)

    I agree, I do sometimes wonder how adverts get green-lighted; if I was in charge of my company promotion and that ad was presented to me as representative of my business and product, I'd have to question the reasoning.
  • One point to clarify: Koodo is (not-so-secretly) actually a new offering from Telus. Part of the marketing strategy is to distance Koodo from the parent co. (i.e. flabby, fee laden Telus Mobility). It seems to be working, because - lets face it - your average Koodo customer isn't a Math major. :-)
  • I don't know, Andrew - I think you'd have to be pretty good at math to work out the long-distance costs while still using the Telus network ;-)
  • Have you guys ever considered that sometimes there may not be any corelation between an ads likability and the company's success in selling there wares? I think this is a prime example of that. If you read the public reports of the big carriers it's clear that Koodo has achived more than wha they hoped. Another proof of that is Fido knocking of the whole concept.
  • Have you guys ever considered that sometimes there may not be any corelation between an ads likability and the company's success in selling there wares? I think this is a prime example of that. If you read the public reports of the big carriers it's clear that Koodo has achived more than wha they hoped. Another proof of that is Fido knocking off the whole concept.
  • That was one of the points raised - does a bad ad affect sales or not? Some people like them, some don't - there's no question that Koodo have attracted a certain audience, and as I mention in the post, fair play to them. On a personal level, it doesn't work for me (or many others, as seen in the comments).

    However, by the same token, it clearly does work for others. And that's the beauty of advertising/marketing - crass works just as well as refined. Of course, the true results come from sales and uptake and it'll be interesting to see how Koodo has fared after 12 months.
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