I've been bugged by the latest commercials from Ameren, our electric company here in St. Louis. The ads are all about how reliable they are: essentially patting themselves on the back because the lights come on when we flip the switch.
Sadly, there are countries where this might be a valid ad, but here in the USA there are relatively few places where one would expect to flip a switch and not have the lights come on. Choices in electric companies are limited, and there are valid benefits that can differentiate one from another: generating energy from greener sources, superior customer service, lower prices, stepping up to your mistakes and fixing them... The Ameren commercials just leave me thinking "Is that the best thing you can say about your company?"
Yesterday I read an entry on the LunaMetrics blog about product features one may wish to withold in advertising, and one of their points applies to Ameren's current ad campaign:
"When you buy a car, you expect it to come with four tires and a steering wheel. If the tires aren't there, it's a deal breaker, but it's not a selling feature."
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2 comments:
But, Angie - you also hate utility companies ;)
But I haven't had much reason to hate electric companies: the lights generally DO come on when they're supposed to. Now, if only I could say the same for the cable modem guys...
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