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Negative Advertising --- How do you respond?

This happens to be about the local florist industry but could be about any other local business as well. As a florist we are used to Valentines Day competition not only from fellow florists but from any retailer/provider of thoughtful gifts and services. Where I have a problem is in negative advertising.

I was watching WWAY the other night and they are promoting a video valentine program and leading with the words "Ditch The Flowers". The banner on their website also screams, "Ditch the Flowers". My point is that they should be able to sell their product based on it's own merits without attacking a whole group of small local businesses. Their position as a media leader in the community makes it even more disappointing.

I sent them a respectful email yesterday and it was ignored. I sent it again this morning and the contents really got my dander up. Here they are in chronological order, I apologize for the length.....

Dear Mr. Combs,

As a Florist shop owner in Wilmington I was watching your programming last
night and was dismayed to see a short advertisement for your "Valentine's
Video" enterprise that started out with the comment, "Ditch the Flowers".

As one of many struggling florist owners in this region I wish that your
marketing personnel would find a better way to promote their venture than
tearing down such a traditional gift as flowers.

Valentines is our Christmas and while it may seem silly to complain about
such a small thing I hope you understand our position.

Thank you for your attention to this matter,
______________________________________________________________

Just a follow up to see if you received this message.

I now see that you are advertising "Ditch the Flowers" in a banner ad on
your website.

We are members of the Society of American Florists and they have asked
that we inform them of situations such as these. Before I did that, since
it seems like such a simple thing to fix, I wanted to know your position.
In addition, I contacted other local florists yesterday and they are eager
to learn your reaction as well.

Thanks in advance for your prompt response.
________________________________________________________________

here is his response;

Mr. Cook,

Thank you for contacting us with your concern. Our promotion is not
intended to get people to stop supporting the local florists but an
attempt to give our viewers another option for Valentines Day that is
quite unique. If you or the Society of American Florists would like to
partner with us on future promotions we would be happy to sit down and
share ideas. Just let me know and I can put you in touch with one of our
local sales reps.

Sincerely,
____________________________________________________________

ok, this is where I got red under the collar. Did I over-react in this next response?

First, thanks for the prompt reply this morning. Second, I think it is
clear that you are brushing this aside and I would like to re-iterate our
position.

You claim that your promotion is "not intended to get people to stop
supporting the local florists" and yet the banner ad on your website
screams, "Ditch the Flowers"????? Please do not insult my intelligence.

I think I'm going to start a negative advertisement campaign of my own
this weekend. I'm turning on WWAY (right now as a matter of fact) and
notating the local businesses who advertise on your channel. Then I'm
going to personally visit them and show them how WWAY is handling this
situation. I'm going to call it "Ditch your local TV Station that
Negatively Advertises against local small business". I know it's not
catchy but I'm working under time constraints. Should have time to get a
website off the ground this afternoon as well. Is there anything
different in this than the way you are treating local florists?

The only way to handle this situation professionally is to remove the
phrase "Ditch the Flowers" from your promotion and to do it Today. This
is Valentines Week and I'd much prefer to concentrate on my business than
initiating a negative campaign against yours. But I will.

Thanks for your attention to this matter.
_________________________________________________________________

and here is his next response;

Mr. Cook,

I'm sorry you feel that way. We will certainly take your concerns under
advisement.

Have a great day!
____________________________________

and finally (thanks for sticking in there!) my last response.

Thank you for taking them under advisement.

Would you like to be advised of the status of my own negative campaign?
I'm actually having fun putting the flyer together, although I have to say
that I'd prefer not to watch "The View" to get my visits lined up. Not
looking forward to the soaps either.

But then I thought, why limit myself to current advertiser's? Obviously
they will be first on the marketing list for my new campaign but WWAY
certainly is not limiting themselves to current flower consumers.

Have a blessed day!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jeff at Julia's Florist on February 6, 2009 at 12:20pm

I'm working on my Flyer now for "DITCH YOUR LOCAL TV STATION THAT NEGATIVELY ADVERTISES AGAINST LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES!!"

I'll post it here when it is done but f you would like a copy emailed to you and could forward it to any and all that would be appreciated. On the flyer will be the email and phone # for the General Manager of WWAY. This is my first negative advertising campaign so it won't be as polished as WWAY's but I hope to get my point across.

Again, if you think I'm over-reacting you are correct. But how mad would you be if local media used it's muscle to not only directly compete for your customer's dollar but also tell the customer to "DITCH" you?

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Permalink Reply by Bob on February 6, 2009 at 1:11pm

Sheesh, I'm sorry you have to watch all that trash, but I guess that's the best, and quickest, way, to reach their advertsers. E-mail me a copy of your flyer, Jeff, and I'll make some copies. Let me also know the email address of WWAY. It's one thing for them to come up with their own gimmick, but it adds insult to injury to get blown off when you respond to it. Anyway, I'm off to do a boiler-plate to send to all the WWAY advertisers, as soon as you get me their address.

Kudos, by the way, to 3rd St. Plaza!

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Permalink Reply by Jeff at Julia's Florist on February 6, 2009 at 1:16pm

Thanks Bob! I'm trying to do this as "green" as possible so I'll email it to you asap. Also put this on Julia's facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=1357802985&re...

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Permalink Reply by Bob on February 6, 2009 at 1:18pm

Jeff at Julia's Florist said:

Thanks Bob! I'm trying to do this as "green" as possible so I'll email it to you asap. Also put this on Julia's facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=1357802985&re...

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Permalink Reply by Bob on February 6, 2009 at 1:19pm

You might also do what I've done: fire off an email to the parent company of WWAY, the Morris Network (http://www.morrismultimedia.com/?page_id=391).

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Permalink Reply by Bob on February 6, 2009 at 1:35pm

Bob said:

You might also do what I've done: fire off an email to the parent company of WWAY, the Morris Network (http://www.morrismultimedia.com/?page_id=391).

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Permalink Reply by Ann Willard on February 7, 2009 at 3:01pm

Wow Jeff - all this is unbelievable. First the negative ad but worse than that is the awful response you were given. Kudos to you for not backing down. Keep us posted on how things go or if you need our help in any way. Strength in numbers is an eye opener sometimes.

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Permalink Reply by Jeff at Julia's Florist on February 8, 2009 at 8:53am

Well.........something worked. Still no word from WWAY but they've taken down the banner ad on their site and a search on their site goes to an archive page with nothing about their video valentine promotion. I'd like to hear from them so that the same people I've shared this with also realize that WWAY has the leadership in place to make needed corrections. Thanks to WWAY and all who responded!

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Permalink Reply by Coach Reggie on February 8, 2009 at 1:11pm

As a side note, did you buy Julia's from John Dale or is he still involved as well?

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Permalink Reply by Jeff at Julia's Florist on February 8, 2009 at 3:26pm

Coach Reggie said:

As a side note, did you buy Julia's from John Dale or is he still involved as well?

Yes, we purchased from John and Marilyn last fall. He still drops by to help with advice but I believe he is looking at purchasing a business in Florida and moving there. Very nice people.

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Permalink Reply by Coach Reggie on February 8, 2009 at 4:13pm

Congrats! Good for you.

Jeff at Julia's Florist said:

Coach Reggie said:
As a side note, did you buy Julia's from John Dale or is he still involved as well?

Yes, we purchased from John and Marilyn last fall. He still drops by to help with advice but I believe he is looking at purchasing a business in Florida and moving there. Very nice people.

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Permalink Reply by Ann Willard on February 8, 2009 at 4:54pm

You never know Jeff - it could be that someone from WWAY could very well be a member of 3rd Street Plaza and they knew this could not be a good thing for them. They were wise to remove the banner. They realized they could not poo poo you away. I still say kudos to you for not backing down. You say "I may have gotten myself too worked up and I tend to vent with keyboard assistance." Okay - it worked. Good job. I will be calling you for my next floral needs.