T-Mobile’s “Can You Spam Me Now?” Pitch

This bad pitch comes from a mobile service provider’s agency. In their defense, mobile service providers are a lot like IT staff. No one EVER calls IT to tell them everything’s working perfectly. We just bark or whine at IT when things go wrong.

And this is another one of those times.

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SUBJECT: *T-Mobile l Eco-Friendly Viral Videos. Mobilize. Change Powered by People*

Hey!

I hope you’re doing really well. T-Mobile just launched a series of eco-friendly viral videos - the latest rollout under T-Mobile’s recently launched Mobilize sustainability platform, (www.t-mobile.com/mobilize) which encompasses multiple initiatives designed to help consumers make more eco-friendly choices in their daily lives and empower them to affect change in their communities through a unique multi-series viral video campaign.

Below is the link to the Mobilize Video Lounge where you can check out the latest videos – more being released this week & next!
http://www.mobilizewitht-mobile.com?WT.mc_id=587m4

All the best,
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How do I hate thee Pitch? Let me count the ways:

1) SPAM. A LOT. Rumor has it that an underling “using Outlook for the first time” sent the pitch to everyone in the TO: field. And by everyone we’re talking 330+ people. After a quick review of the addys on the list we can tell you this pitch was sent to some people that would definitely consider it off-topic.

2) Buzzword Bingo. This pitch used a buzzword bingo card as inspiration. Can a video be eco-friendly? I guess you could argue that YouTube would have less of a carbon footprint than a news release, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

3) Pitch Kills Story. The video at the end of this pitch, Touchtone Symphony, includes a fun little flash mob. So the biggest crime of all, in our opinion, is that the pitch stopped most of the 330+ from clicking through to a video which didn’t suck. The video is creative and gets their point across.

Flash Mob might make the buzzword bingo card, but it’s an accurate use of the word. Which reminds me, if you have to pitch someone about a viral video? It’s not viral. Evolution of Dance? THAT’S a viral video. This video, which doesn’t suck, is not viral.

4) Technology Kills Story. I wanted to embed the Touchtone Symphony video here to prove out my theory. But you cannot embed it, you cannot permalink to it and you cannot share it. Any attempts to pass this video around like a joint at Woodstock are thwarted. So how is this thing viral again…other than the pitch giving me a rash?

Be careful folks. Any one thing can kill a perfectly good story on its way to getting covered by the media. At a minimum, make sure you aren't one of those things.