Experience Matters

Poster Child for Quick Reactions: Print!

On Monday, news broke that Eliot Spitzer, the governor of NY, had seven (or more) “engagements” with prostitutes supplied by a call girl service. Spitzer was identified as “Client 9.” Virgin Mobile reacted quickly to this week’s hot topic. The day after Spitzer resigned as a result of the scandal, Virgin Mobile hit the press with the ad shown above.

The ad plays off Spitzer’s “Client #9” label, with the thought bubble reading, “I’m tired of being treated like a number.” The ad goes on to say, “…you’re more than just a number. When you call us we’ll treat you like a person, not a client. Whether you’re #9 or #900, you’ll get hooked up with somebody who’ll finally treat you just how you want to be treated.”

The ad will run in two Toronto daily newspapers this week as part of the company’s “You call the shots” campaign. I commend both Virgin Mobile and their agency for being so nimble in their process to be able to seize the opportunity. In case you aren’t seeing the 800 pound gorilla in the room, I’ll point it out for you…

While this isn’t a common occurrence for print – as many times print deadlines don’t lend themselves to this type of creative planning – we don’t see nearly enough digital executions that are this timely. I don’t think this means that print is coming to the table with a better user experience than interactive executions. However, I think that digital initiatives have a lot to add to the conversation around timeliness. What about using this concept on mobile news, using targeted mobile conquesting ads on rival mobile carriers?

We’re all bogged down with the infrastructure of the process of planning and approvals – but I think executions like this one remind us of the endless opportunities to make interactive contacts with consumers relevant and timely, part of the best branded experience equations.