A play on words can often grab attention, but start-up, all-digital phone service Visible has taken that strategy to a whole new level.
The brand is using billboard “typos” as the catalyst to create some memorable interest, social chatter and plenty of fun.
Earlier this month, billboards across Visible’s hometown of Denver, CO began displaying the offering of “unlimited messages, minutes, and data.” However, Visible slipped a small but significant typo into some of the billboards replacing the “e” in messages with an “a” changing the copy to “unlimited massages” instead of messages.
“As a new brand in an incredibly crowded category we have to think about how to break through and also build relationships in a way that is different from what people might expect from a wireless service,” says Visible CMO Minjae Ormes. “That’s one of the reasons we’ve been experimenting more in non-digital channels in conjunction with digital media.”
Local influencers, artists and some of the Denver Nuggets basketball players are all posting on behalf of Visible. All of the messages carry Visible’s social handle and URL and are monitored by its community management and engagement team.
“As soon as the billboard went up downtown, people started noticing and began participating in the Internet’s favorite pastime, which is to point out other people’s mistakes, including a local CBS anchor who noticed it and tweeted,” she says.
In response, Visible kept the theme going by acknowledging the comments and pumping out social quips like, ”oh cram (instead of crap) we messed up,” and “Hey we are a phone service that we think you are going to really knead (instead of need).”
Visible, a Verizon brand, is using the typos to compare its easy, no hassle service (no physical stores) and its affordable pricing to relaxing, stress-free experiences, like a massage.
On Saturday, Sept. 21, Visible will actually stick to its word(s) by staging the “Unlimited Massages” event at Union Station in Denver.
Massage chairs and masseuses will be on hand—for doggie massages too—with the option to have a CBD Oil massage. Giveaways will include towels, eye masks and essential oil bracelets. Kombucha will be the beverage of choice.
“This is a way for us to have an actual kiosk and brand ambassadors and to introduce our product and the brand in a fun and engaging way,” she says. “What we’ve seen in these tests, whether leading up to this event or our South by Southwest activation, is that people really do respond well to experiential elements that are part of something they already care about. We’re trying to make a contextually relevant and mobilized message but really inviting them into the core of our brand.”
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In addition to people following the campaign on social, Visible is alerting its local membership to the event and relying on the huge amount of traffic moving through Union Station.
“Strategically, Denver is our headquarters so it’s important to us that we are part of the community,” Ormes says. “And because we’re here operationally it’s easier for us to test something in real-time even if it’s a last minute idea. Part of the fun is to be less precious about the fact that, yes we are trying to sell you something, but instead of trying to be too cute or coy about it coming out and acknowledging that we are a marketing machine and trying to reach you in many different ways and hopefully one of these messages resonate.”
The “Unlimited Massages” event is part of a larger, Denver-wide campaign that will run throughout the fall and includes a number of experiential events.
“Whatever we learn from this market we’re hoping we can apply that in scale to other places in 2020 and beyond above the digital media investment that we will be doing,” she says.
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