The problem with Flip’s ad campaign
I’ve owned a Flip Video camera since July. I enjoy the product, so when I heard about the Cisco-owned product’s consumer ad campaign, I was especially interested. But when the ads started showing up on TV, I was immediately disappointed. The campaign is built around what Cisco is calling “flipable moments,” which apparently include a dog almost barking “I love you,” two young children having a screaming contest, or a woman doing a handstand on the beach.
So what is a flipable moment? The through-line for most of these is that they appear to have been captured on impulse. The people depicted in these 15-second ads have fun—they enjoy the little things in life, and now they’re able to capture them on video and share with friends and family. What a great concept for a brand to own! …a brand other than Flip Video.
Competitive advantages for these products, off the top of my head, include:
- Ease of use (compared to your father’s camcorder, at least)
- High-quality video—higher resolution and arguably a better aspect ratio
- Easy sharing—one of the ingenious features is a built-in USB plug that “flips” out at the touch of a button
- Memory size—my camera would let me record about two hours of video straight, if I wanted to
Have I missed anything important? Regardless, it’s probably more important to point out the products’ disadvantages. One significant one is that it is just a video camera. It’s not a phone, still camera, or mp3 player. And mostly for this reason, positioning the brand around the idea of impulsiveness rings false for me. Who’s carrying this device, which is a bit bigger than a pack of cigarettes (although, to its credit, seemingly just as light as a pack of cigarettes, too), waiting for the dog to say “I love you” or the kids to get in a screaming match? None of these videos demand high resolution. For low-res impulse videos, why not use your phone, which is more likely to be in your pocket at the time? (And it’s not a price question either—these things cost as much as many smartphones.) Why not use your digital still camera, which probably has video capabilities, and which you’re more likely to carry with you to an event worth documenting?
There’s a quote from Cisco that frightened me a bit because I think it highlights how out of touch their marketing team may have been in creating this campaign. It’s from Jodi Lipe, director of marketing, Cisco Consumer Business Group (CBG), who says, “We believe the effort of this campaign will help the brand become one of those devices you can’t leave your home without. If people leave home with their phone, email device and Flip, it’s a great day.” Really? That just sounds like a day with a lot of pockets. And, speaking of out of touch, I thought my phone was my email device. Does anyone know what an email device is?
The technology and interface from a Flip Video camera would be a valuable addition to a smartphone, and it sounds like plans to make this happen are already in the works. But in the meantime, why not position the brand around something differentiating? Instead of giving these cameras to laypeople and irrelevant celebrities (Tony Hawk, Stephen Colbert, etc.) why not give one to every graduate from a cutting edge film school and challenge the graduates to make short films? TV ads could be 15-second previews that drive traffic to a website where viewers watch 3-minute masterpieces. Or why not have users capture visually stunning places or events that demonstrate the value of higher-quality video?
Based on its scale alone, I’m sure this campaign will generate plenty of brand awareness for Flip Video. Maybe that was their only goal. But to me it seems like a huge opportunity wasted, in that many people may think to themselves, “Oh, that’s neat looking, but why would I spend $150 just to get a better 15-second video of my dog barking at me?”
Rob Meyerson works with clients to find creative solutions that inform brand strategy, positioning, identity, and communications.
Paul | December 11th, 2009 at 11:50 am #
Wait a minute – now you’re in support of direct comparison advertising?
I suppose the fact that these were captured on impulse kind of implies the ease of use competitive advantage, and as far as I can tell Flip’s video quality/ease of use is much better than a cell phone’s (though I’m still on a RAZR bought in 2006), so I think there’s some merit to this campaign.
As cell phones become the point of convergence for personal devices, the Flip’s days are clearly numbered. That having been said, they’re still selling a shitload of them, and probably have a few more years to do so (until relatively high-def video on cell phones is cheap enough that I have one and intuitive enough that my boss can use it).
Rob | December 13th, 2009 at 9:30 am #
Not direct comparison…didn’t mean it to read that way. How about implied contrast?
And yes, the ability to capture on impulse does suggest ease of use…but I’m not sure that benefit alone makes it any better than a decent digital (still) camera. My main point is that I just don’t see most people carrying yet another gadget around just for high-quality video. Their success so far partly proves me wrong, I guess, and it may all be moot given the imminent “point of convergence,” as you call it.
I still think their campaign should focus less on “flipable” moments and more on “flip-worthy” moments.
Paul van Winkle | December 14th, 2009 at 6:51 am #
You’re always thinking, Rob, which puts you in the rare upper 5%. That’s a thin slice.
Hate to say it but will: the ads fit with the cultural zeitgeist. Which is, ‘dumb disconnection is not only OK but good.’ And it works.
The Theory of Constraints (TOC) suggests that any manageable system is limited in achieving more of its goal by a very small number of constraints, and that there is always at least one constraint. Picture a funnel where by the constraint is the thinnest part of the flow system. In today’s case, broad cultural intelligence is lacking, it is thin. And a lack of more broadly and widely intelligent people like you in the system limits the system’s ability to respond to intelligent, thoughtful messaging.
The unfortunate aspect of marketing in such an environment is that things can be dumbly disconnected – and badly executed -and actually work. Which goes against the grain of those of us grown on the notion that ’smart works better’ — and thusly, thinking about interconnections, contexts, benefits, messaging, preferences, semantics (!) and priorities is an imperative for successful product launch, development, brand and sustained lifescyle and business success.
I still cringe when I say it: not neccesarily. OR: at least not broadly anymore.
Que Bruta. The (larger) market’s ugly. And in fact, yes, dumb, disconnected.
Rational thinking, ahhhh. Logic and language, ahhhhhh. Interdisciplinary systems, ahhhhhhhh. Sounds, emotions, desires, images and messages all linked and woven to communicate the wonder, utility, quality and creativity of a product so multiple audiences want, remember, understand, reference, crave and must have it, ahhhhh.
OR: A bludgeon over the head so simplistic that all that’s remembered by mass confused herds with credit/debit cards is the name. “Which affordable little vid camera should I get? The Flip.”
Quality? No. Quantity. Pavlovian call-response works fine.
The current lowest common denominator works more often than not. And yeah, shitloads of Flips are selling. Long live disconnected dumb! (Privately, I’ll read, think and meditate on the oneness of the universe.)