I LOVE the new spot that Verizon has launched to introduce its marriage with iPhone 4. It’s honest. It’s simple. And it resonates in a way that many other strategies may have missed.
For a long time, Verizon has been poking fun at iPhone, mostly because of its alliance with the AT&T network. By mocking the rival network, it invariably knocked the phone. The best example of this is the “Island of Misfit Toys” spot it ran more than a year ago. Funny. And smart. And a great way to make the points about the phones you CAN get on Verizon’s network.
But now, the hatchet is buried. The bygones have gone by. And the tone is spot-on. Using a series of images of clocks ticking and fingers tapping and eyes shifting, the spot creates tension focused on “waiting.” The voiceover begins by addressing the audience directly: “To our millions of customers, who never stopped believing this day would come…THANK YOU.”
Cheer #1: Good strategic approach.
How smart is this strategy? No attacks on the “other” network. No knocks on the device. No more touting OTHER phone’s app capacities. Just a simple, singular message that affectionately bonds the two companies.
Cheer #2: Truthfulness.
The spot gets honest, and does it elegantly. It essentially ADMITS that (despite its efforts to sell you a zillion other devices,) Verizon customers have wanted THIS phone all along.
Cheer #3: Bonding with customers.
What’s more impactful than saying “thank you?’ How often do big corporations do that, especially when the context is “thank you for being patient, while we tried to shove other things down your throat for the last three years.”
Bonus Cheer: Create anticipation.
By putting the forthcoming launch date as a super, the spot creates anticipation. This is “appointment advertising” at its simple and singular (ooh, a pun!) best.
Marketing Thingy 