Re: UKNM: Breathe

[Richard Bailey]

My 2p (and you might want to give me some change here)


Breathe are ICL (see fujitsu), they would not really miss that much.

They do Netscape, Which and countless others ISP work.  I think at the

moment they have cut off some fat.  The �50 free access for life has gone

and see Watch Dog nail them for that one if they don't give refunds.  Not an

dragon you want to wake.  Maybe "for life" was a bad idea.  It will follow

on in a neat way from their client purge story (two or three months ago),

where breathe dumped all the user who used the service often with no

refunds.


About branding.

I think this is something that should be done once you have a customer base

who understand your product.  It works for easy to understand products like

drink,  foods and clothes.  Maybe the cash is better spent with people like

Bush and getting thousands of iTV customers (nice one Virgin), instead of a

load of drippy adds about going out, retro clothes and bad hair cuts.  If

you are going to do a set of adds why not stick to the normal and trusted

marketing structures?  Why do experimental company's play the lottery of an

experimental type of marketing campaign?  If the company has that little

hope of working you are forced to take such steps then maybe it too much of

a long shot to make money.  At least they should explain what the product is

and how it can help or why the customer needs it, even a contact phone

number would be good.


<branding script>

(set view=a man walks across a beach and the words Richard Bailey are

removed for the sand by a wave as the light fades and the sunsets in two

seconds)

(Set music = Living Colours; Love Rears Up Its Ugly Head.)

</branding script>


If you all agree I will be upset.


----- Original Message -----

From: Richard Gale <

richardg365 [dot] co [dot] uk

>

To: <

uk-netmarketingchinwag [dot] com

>

Sent: Monday, December 11, 2000 11:16 AM

Subject: UKNM: Breathe



> Do you remember the rants during the summer about how bad targeting and

lack

> of an integrated campaign was doing nothing for breathe.com......well

looks

> like its last breath could about to taken?

>

> http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/7/15354.html

>

> Will this be the end of stupid dotcom spending? Is this one of the best

> examples of millions being spent on a lifestyle brand building campaign

and

> yet failing to deliver?

>

> I remember the Marketing Guru at Breathe rebuking us all in NMA stating

that

> he had a team of telecommunications experts that knew the market inside

out

> and that they were going to get great results. Always thought that it was

> interesting that he was relying on people from the mobile phone industry

to

> sell an ISP!

>

> Never like it when a company like this struggles, it helps none of us. But

> surely people must learn that the old marketing principles do have a place

> in our new industry, and to ignore them is to fail!

>

> The ventilator is on standby!

>

> richard



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