Businesses are beginning to understand that recession or no recession, purchase decisions are not influenced by price alone.  For the most part, we want to purchase affordable products/services of uncompromised quality and value.   For that reason, I’m quite intrigued by the advertising and marketing direction of today’s companies: sell a better product at a better price and make it interesting.  Companies need to fight for our loyalty now more than ever, and they’ll do so at whatever cost.  Ads are getting down to business: raw, straightforward facts.  I say this with the Rogers and Bell ads at top of mind.  At first, you had to put two-and-two together “I think Rogers is talking about Bell when they refer to that blue couch”.  But now, you don’t need to be a Math scholar to understand their message “Spend less than Rogers, get more with Bell”. The amateur price-wars of yesterday are gone, replaced with arguably immature “I’m better than him because…” ads. The Rogers and Bell marketing campaigns appear to have my best interests at heart – they tell me all the ways I can get more while saving more. So part of me is impressed at their “fight” for my hard-earned dollars because it looks like I end up the big winner at the end of the day.  It’s not that simple though.

I have a beef with the Rogers/Bell battle: Two players in any given industry will not push service and quality to its peak.  I’m a Rogers client who knows people that use Bell services, and I’ve found that we share one thing in common: no one’s happy.  Rogers’ automated customer service line is anything but helpful and my one alternative isn’t much better.  I’m numb by the realization that Canadians are stuck when it comes to choices.  I simply cannot buy-in to the notion that the customers’ interests are truly protected.  I can appreciate the great marketing direction behind the campaigns, but I struggle to accept that we, as customers, will ever get what we deserve from either provider.

Unfortunately, they won’t come out and write that in their advertisements.