This piece in BusinessWeek makes a number of good points, but this one really stood out for me. Why, because this is I think one of the top challenges that advertising faces. I wrote this earlier this month:
So, here's the thing. NOTHING, not cool ads, or a great campaign on Twitter or doing some UGC on youtube overcomes a bad experience. What people really dislike is when your marketing tactics don't match your actual experience.
But, as Steve McKee says in his piece, creating new ads is easier then actually fixing the problems you have. So we watch clients make constant agency changes rather then address core issues with the products. If you've been watching Mad Men this season, I loved the scene in the restaurant where they're talking about the plans for marketing Jai Alai and Horace, the client, says "If jai alai fails, it will be Sterling Cooper's fault."
So before you embark on a re-design on your advertising, make sure that it's not a problem with your product. You'll save a lot of time, money and effort.
It's not an advertising problem. A common mistake many companies make is trying to use advertising to fix another problem. It may be faulty or outdated product design, an uncompetitive cost structure, customer service letdowns, or any number of other things. It's not as if they do so intentionally; it's just that it's a whole lot easier to put on a new coat of paint than it is to fix the foundation that's causing the drywall to crack (Emphasis mine). No company executes flawlessly, but until you can maintain a solid track record of excellence, spend your money on internal improvements rather than advertising. Paint may mask the problem for a short time, but soon new cracks will begin to appear.
Why Your Advertising Isn't Working - BusinessWeek.
The Real Privacy Issue- Pool Summer 2001 - Polinchock's Ponderings.