Air NZ's 'starfish' fails 21st century marketing rules

BY MIKE O'DONNELL

OPINION: I recently received an old-school piece of marketing from Air New Zealand. Now, I have a lot of time for our national carrier - which is probably a good thing as I'm a shareholder, just like you, thanks to the last government.

As a shareholder I'm pleased with the changes Rob Fyfe has delivered. I've previously applauded the sector-leading website which has made every networked New Zealander part of their sales force. I love the naked cabin attendant video (who doesn't?). And I laughed my backside off at their YouTube signing video.

So I was interested to receive a personally addressed letter from Air New Zealand at home. The letter was interesting for two reasons: first, that any progressive company was still doing old-fashioned, print direct marketing; second, that unlike its other recent initiatives, this was executed poorly.

Before the internet, good direct marketing had three clear characteristics - it had clear roadmarkers, it was straight to the point and it had a call to action. Importantly, the consumer knew exactly why they had received it. The Air New Zealand letter had none of these.

This letter had the company logo at the top and the supposed author at the bottom (but no mention of role). However, there was no context as to whether I received it because I was a customer, a frequent flyer or a Koru Club member. There was no heading and no physical address (but there was an email, so good job there). The first paragraph bulged with puffery around customers appreciating their benefits and low fares. It's the sort of prose that makes you want to wash your hands, metaphorically and literally.

The letter told me about a great new "product" called Starfish, but never actually told me what the product was. Having now read the letter many times and visited its website, I think it's a loyalty programme with subscription tiers, kind of like those horrible discount coupon books that stair dancers sell to office workers.

However, the sender was sure enough of what the product was, and he knew my spending habits well enough, to advise I go with the $200 option for this mystery product. This certainty was at odds with his ability to describe his product in simple terms. It also made me feel slightly ill that he was watching me.

While this piece of direct marketing would have probably got a fail mark in the old world, in the new world it doesn't even register. Air New Zealand's letter-writing agency may not have heard yet, but the power has shifted from corporates to consumers. You have to seek permission to market to consumers, and, buddy, you need to have something to say to warrant their attention.

No piece of direct marketing can afford to ignore the common decency of introducing oneself, why they have chosen you, and the benefits to the consumer in the first paragraph. Marketers no longer have the right to command the attention of anyone they choose. They must show respect.

A few years ago Seth Godin popularised the concept of permission marketing, where the business provides something "anticipated, personal, and relevant".

This is unlike traditional interruption marketing, where companies butt in to what you are wanting to do and try to sell you something. Permission marketing offers people the choice to be marketed to and shows respect if they engage.

While Godin was talking about marketing in general, it's interesting to consider the challenge of marketing on the web. The web is a perfect home for permission marketing as a person will ignore the advertisement, or hit the "back" button in a nano second if they don't want to engage or feel cheated. What's more they won't come back.

Consider two common forms of internet marketing. The first is the eye-blaster advertisement. These are the horrible expanding online display advertisements that some news and entertainment portals allow. Typically they stop you reading the story and annoy the heck out of you. This results in you swearing vociferously and staying clear of the website in the future. This is the epitome of interruptive marketing.

A second form of internet marketing is google adwords, commonly known as paid search. These are the discrete results you get to the right of your organic search results. These are clearly identified as "sponsored links" and are delivered up according to what you have searched on and the bidding price of the advertiser. The two lines of text tell you what the offer is for, and you have the choice to click through.

A wise man once gave me a metaphor for the evolution of marketing.

In the 1980s you had dumb marketing, where you sprayed as many people as possible with your message in the hope that some wanted to get wet. In the 1990s you had targeted marketing where you used a nozzle to concentrate the stream, and direct it towards a bunch of people who had expressed some interest in dampness. In the 21st century you create a beautiful oasis, then put up a sign inviting people to come for a swim.

I've yet to find any starfish in an oasis.

Mike "MOD" O'Donnell is an online exponent, professional director and failed motorcycle racer. He has nothing against starfish.

- © Fairfax NZ News