What’s with the constant over-bundling of goods and services to artificially inflate the price? Do they think we’re all THAT stupid?
Satellite and cable television are a good example of why this bugs me.
See, I’m a simple guy. I want a few news and sports channels, some neat HD adventure and travel channels, local affiliates, and not a lot more. Instead, to get what I want, providers force a lot of what I DON’T want in the “package” and try to represent it as a good deal.
It’s not. Not for me. Not for them. I don’t need feeds across 4 HBO time zones.
And I’ll walk away first.
Yet it seems more and more that such “deals” are multiplying in the marketplace. Retailers, restaurants, cellphone providers, car dealers, media reps…it’s ubiquitous!
What if Agencies did this? Need a logo? Okay, I’ve got a logo/brochure/website package right here! No? How ’bout this logo/billboard/radio/texting package? You get the point.
And it’s silly, right?
So here’s a solution: next time a salesperson or a company starts to bundle what you want with what you don’t, just wait patiently until they finish their pitch.
Smile.
Then offer them ‘half’.
It may not work but it will certainly change the conversation. And it’s a lot more fun than just standing there fuming over the situation.
Advertising in the Great Outdoors.
In the 1920s, a company called Burma Shave — producers of brushless shaving cream — started putting signs up that delighted and educated drivers. These
October 3, 2023
