Loyalty Marketing and The Asterisk™ – Part 1
filed in Loyalty Asterisk™, Thought Leadership on Jan.07, 2008
Things we can’t live without
We have created a world with so many things that we cannot live without.
Cell phones, instant messaging, and unlimited texting all qualify, with prioritization based on your age and techno-savvy quotient. If kids were cowboys, the six shooters on their belt would be IM on one side and unlimited mobile phone texting on the other.
The highway billboard I recently passed shouting “dnt txt whl u drv” hints that we’ve let the devices exert too much influence over us. But, as Stuart Scott advises on Sportscenter “don’t hate the player, hate the game”, I would urge you to not hate the devices or the technology, just the way they are often put to use.
In the business world, we have indispensible items as well. One of them is so implausibly small that it defies logic.
It’s the asterisk!
This little character is making a name in all corners of life, not just in print ads for cars and trucks, but also in sports record books – thanks to Pete Rose, Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, and Floyd Landis.
The asterisk even landed among the top 10 internet searches on Ask.com. We don’t really understand why, but a spokesman who declined to elaborate further said the symbol is “linked to illicit activity the company blocks”.
The television equivalent of the asterisk is the paragraph of fine print that is so small it can only be deciphered by hitting the TIVO pause button. In radio, it is the gushy blitz of words that signifies the end of most ad spots.
The meaning of the asterisk is simple. A suitable synonym would be “disclaimer”. Need a modern definition of disclaimer adapted for the world of commerce? It’s the legal department’s hedging of lofty promises made by the Marketing department.
A few examples of notable disclaimers in action clearly illustrate why marketers have become so dependent on the asterisk to ply their trade.
Some restrictions apply
Imagine that you and your significant other have just spent the morning reading through ads and looking for that perfect furniture set for your new family room. Having just identified the perfect mix of fashion, color, and price, you are delighted to see that if you make the purchase today before the 4pm closing time, you can have the items delivered to your home the next day. Then you see it…the asterisk. Just as quickly as your balloon inflated with expectations, it is immediately burst by sighting of the asterisk. You don’t even need to read the fine print to know that some condition is included that will ruin it all. Disgusted, you throw the paper aside and decide to watch yet another Law and Order repeat.
Results not typical
Bitten by the triathlon bug years ago, I consider myself to be a pretty healthy guy. A few Rogaine ads later, I was beginning to think that improvements could be made. The acceleration of ads promoting prescription drugs designed to better us from head to toe – and in between – has me scratching the hair I have left. If I were ever convinced to look for a magic pill to solve a physical problem that I am purported to have, I would still apply the brakes upon sighting of the asterisk at the bottom of the ad accompanied by the words “results not typical”. Even the devoted optimist would pause, wondering if he could be in the 1% of the sample where the drug not only failed to work, but actually triggered the nasty side effects enumerated on the inside label.
Actual mileage may vary
Who among us would not agree that buying a vehicle tops the list of unpleasant consumer experiences? The first point of reference for most potential buyers wandering the car lot is the sticker on the side of the vehicle. Now that US fuel prices seem destined to reside north of $3.00 per gallon, more and more people are seeking mileage estimates as their second data point after price. Trust plays a big role in influencing purchase decisions and unfortunately American consumers recently discovered that the mileage estimates used for the past several years were not representative of normal driving conditions. The Environmental Protection Agency recently disclosed that the tests conducted to determine fuel performance of new vehicles were conducted in unrealistic conditions, for instance driving an average speed of 48 mph in low humidity and with no air conditioning. The EPA disclosed that tests conducted in more typical conditions would reduce mileage numbers by 10 – 20%.
How does the simple Asterisk morph to become the Loyalty Asterisk™? Stay tuned for Part 2.
April 16th, 2009 on 2:25 pm
oooh… I have more to add to this one, too… boy, I could talk to you for hours on these subjects, but the question is, do you really want my thoughts? Well, at the risk of making an inconclusive assumption, I’ll clarify a portion of what I see in this blog:
You found a definition for the asterisk, as to be defined in legal terms, a disclaimer… I’d hesitate to use it as such, especially for purposes of legally defined terms. This is one of my pet peeves; the grip the judicial system has upon the formation, structure & daily activity of a business with the actual creation of legal loopholes by way of legal diatribe, in order to promote their profession as a parasitic financial benefit in the opportunistic creation of natural competition within ‘man’s competitive nature’ & the fear created from the repercussions of retribution… it is absolutely possible to have a solid understanding of the law, within a business, enough to negate the need for daily legal interference & fear of unwarranted or unjustified lawsuits, & to promote understanding for business to business activity, employer to employee consideration, & to protect the entity of the business, as well as the personal interests of individual executives & professionals… with understanding, & thus enabling the business to preserve assets for best use.
I find best use of the asterisk to be as a ‘key’ or content label…. they’re beautiful, & best when used sparingly.
July 13th, 2009 on 7:57 am
[...] WaMu is quickly fading into the sunset, I can’t help but document a vivid example of the Loyalty Asterisk™. Around the holidays, the bank ran a promotion to encourage customers to use their debit card with [...]
July 16th, 2009 on 11:44 pm
[...] The answer of course was “yes” as I’ve worked to leverage behavioral and attitudinal data to create value propositions articulated in many forms besides points. I would include viral, word-of-mouth, and social media programs with a data backbone in this group. The client must have been a consultant somewhere in his past as giving something familiar a catchy name is part of the trade (ever hear of the Loyalty Asterisk™?). [...]
August 25th, 2009 on 11:11 am
[...] much fine print associated with this industry in particular and marketing in general. Live by the Loyalty Asterisk™ and you may perish by the [...]
June 17th, 2010 on 1:27 pm
[...] keeping consumers in love with their brand and their rewards program. Best Buy had a few too many Loyalty Asterisks in the process for my taste and I’m sure these Fiddly Things would have driven the average [...]