Does your company need a "Bring Mom To Work" Day? Probably.

Joe Gebbia from Airbnb weighed in on a Wall Street Journal soapbox about making mistakes, by telling a story about how he and his fellow internet savvy 20-somethings at Airbnb failed to think about things like font size and language choices when developing their site.  Then they realized that their fastest growing group of hosts is seniors, followed by 50-somethings.  Oops. 

So what did they do?  They held a "Bring Your Mother To Work" Day and asked their mom's to use the site while they observed them.  I am sure that it was an eye opening and productive exercise. (2016)

Maybe it's just me, or the fact that I have been buying lots of stuff online lately, but I am shocked to discover how many dysfunctional websites there are out there; particularly if one tries not to use Amazon.

Here's a short recap of some of the problems that I have encountered in the past few weeks...

1. Entering my address and being told that it was incorrect because I either abbreviated NY or didn't. (Ikea)

2. Being unable to redeem miles because the name on my airline credit card does not match my legal name. (American Airlines)

3. Not being able to include my apartment number in my address because the company hadn't delivered to that address before. (Lego)

4. Couldn't order a comforter and have it sent directly to someone else as a gift. (JC Penney)

Really? 

So here's a suggestion.  Have a "Bring Your Mom To Work Day" to fix your website problems before they put you out of business.

Can IKEA convince families that self-assembled furniture will improve their lives?

9/16/10

For years IKEA’s bread and butter customers have been college students and studio apartment dwellers. Now, with furniture sales still on the decline they have hired a new agency – Oglivy & Mather, and are attempting to tap into some of the latest lifestyle trends.

Customization is a key part of the strategy, and the integrated marketing plan includes both a contest for star volunteers, and media targeting the Latino sub-segment.

But will it be enough to convince people that their furniture doesn’t have a cold European style, and isn’t appropriate just for lower-income groups? (Vega, 2010)

Vega, Tanzina (2010, September 13). A Focus on Families (and Furniture). nytimes.com. Retrieved September 15, 2010, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/13/business/media/13adco.html?_r=1&ref=media

But does it make you want to buy something?

8/20/09

At the end of July, Forbes magazine asked a panel of experts to select “the funniest” tv commercial from a selection of 37 commercials dating as far back as 1965.

This 2003 commercial was their favorite.

Here's the URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TGpri6pdcQ

I have to admit I thought this ad was a hoot. But sadly, it did not prompt me to make a visit to IKEA. Was your reaction any different?

While the article does not specifically address the commercial’s failure as a marketing tool, it did mention that the agency who did it – Crispin Porter – no longer works on the brand. Hmm. Isn’t it time that we all realized that funny does not equal effective?

Follow-up
Dr. Pepper announced their second quarter earnings, and guess what? Sales volume for Snapple fell 15%.

Burkitt, L. (2009, July 31). Laugh Track: Funniest U.S. TV Commercials. forbes.com. Retrived August 20, 2009 from
http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/30/funniest-tv-commercials-leadership-cmo-network-funniestads.html?feed=rss_news

Stynes, T. (2009, August 14). Dr. Pepper Boosts Projection for Year. Wall Street Journal, p.B4