12. TCPF WTF?

Three-quarters of the conversations about advertising today surround the fact that so much advertising is just noise, just part of the clutter, and/or just stupid. In fact the prompt for my midterm paper for Creative Strategist is, “Why is so much of advertising bad and what can be done to change it?”

What a question. I agree with all that I have read that says successful brands are in tune with their core values and their audience, and they use those insights to create advertising that works. I agree with the fact that there is so much advertising out there it has become a clutter of images and words and sounds and slogans and jingles and most of it doesn’t stick with me. I agree that companies cannot rest on laurels or one great campaign and that they must be looking to the future constantly.

But at the same time, who really knows what’s next? A decade ago no one could have predicted the iPhone or even a tenth of the applications it features. Two decades ago no one predicted how important or popular the Internet would become. A generation ago no one dreamed of ever owning their own computer. That was all the stuff of dreams, the stuff scientists talked about, the stuff that was on the Jetsons. Yet now, if a company does not have a strong digital presence it is lost. If a brand cannot connect with their audience across every available medium, even if the new one just rolled out a week ago, they become antiquated. [Insert [panicked scream here]

Of course, just as my mind began racing and pulse began pounding after thinking about these overwhelming concepts, a reading for one of my advertising classes came to the rescue. Though the following concept may be an obvious way for a company to be successful, it was not something I had heard spelled out before reading Users, Not Customers by Aaron Shapiro.

One of the last chapters in the book is entitled “TCPF”. Ugh, not another acronym. But this one literally and figuratively spells out what every brand should be considering in this age of customers turning into users. TCFP stands for Trust, Convenience, Price, and Fun. Bam. That’s it. As Shapiro states:

“When a purchase is on the horizon, users quickly run through a mental exercise—balancing trust, convenience, price, and fun (TCPF)—to decide where to shop and buy.”

The truth behind this statement hit me immediately. For instance, I don’t shop at Wal-Mart because the price does not tend to be that much lower than its competitors and it is not fun to shop in a store whose aisles are only wide enough for one cart. Two carts in one aisle is not an uncommon occurrence. It gets awkward. On the other hand, I do shop at J-Crew, even though the prices are higher, because the sales staff is helpful and friendly and every piece of clothing comes in 20 colors. It is fun. I trust their product. Their online store is convenient. These factors balance out the price.

If every brand considered the TCPF model in the way they do business, the way they present themselves, and the way they exist across different media the competition between stores would be a lot more fun.

Trust, convenience, and fun are pretty straightforward concepts. They may be difficult to achieve but it is easy to recognize once a company has gotten there, and if they stick with a consistent strategy it is straightforward to maintain. Price is the only issue I saw with this concept because so much of that is set by outside forces that a company cannot always control their price point. But again, Shapiro came to my rescue making this statement in the section on price:

“Being user-first doesn’t mean lowering your prices to the point that you’re not profitable. It means keeping your prices competitive, but offering users advantages for shopping with you by weighing in high on the trust, convenience, and fun factors.”

When I thought about brands who followed this idea I first thought of Southwest Airlines. Whenever possible I fly Southwest–brand loyalty at its finest. What I hear from other Southwest fliers is that Southwest is the best choice because it offers lower fares, such as the Wanna Get Away flights (price), there is more flexibility in getting seats (fun), they are known for being on time if not early and they don’t charge for or lose bags (trust),  and they fly everywhere in the US (convenience). TCPF rules. And even when a Southwest flight is a little more expensive than a competitor the TCF characteristics overpower the thought to choose the cheaper airline. Because Southwest makes the entire experience of flying better for its customers and it focuses on the simple things those customers want in an airline they succeed even when they are not the cheapest.

With their app Southwest they now allow customers to be users. They allow them the opportunity to use digital media and be a part of the experience of booking their travel. Say a conversation arises about getting away for a weekend in Reno, Portland, or Florida. As the user walks down the street he/she can make that conversation a reality. Hello brand power. Hello TCPF power.

I plan to take the concept of TCPF, place it in my tool set, and employ it in all media decisions in my advertising future.

Shapiro, Aaron (2011-10-27). Users, Not Customers: Who Really Determines the Success of Your Business (Kindle Locations 2315-2316). Penguin Group. Kindle Edition.