Guillem Recolons weblog

Un enfoque de pensamiento lateral avanzado: la filosofía de la agencia TVLowCost en el Reino Unido.

Lo transcribo literalmente para no desenfocar el concepto con una traducción subjetiva.

1° « Low Cost » means you have a choice

Everyone knows and accepts this today. Neither easyJet nor Ryanair hides the fact that their flight times can be altered, they use secondary airports and give a sparse service. Such ‘Challenger Brands’ are in fact hugely admired and appreciated for their revolutionary approach to real consumer needs, costs and value for money. When Renault created the Logan, the manufacturer didn’t need to boast that it had a GPS; when SNCF launched the TGV, it didn’t run on every track at all times of the day. No one is « disappointed » because the rules of the game are known and substantial savings can be made. With TVLowCost© sacrifices are also made : no more automatic prime time; no more essential foreign shoot; no more filming on 35 mm. Everything is focussed on the product’s actual benefits, underlining Value for Money and the reasons for purchase.

2° Original and “cannier” solutions

The main point with most ‘Low Cost’ business models is their tailor-made and ‘cannier’ approach to each job: using only the necessary equipment, only those services required, providing only the basics which consumers want to pay for. Everything is efficiently organized to the benefit of those consumers. At the same time, wages are paid in the normal way, on time and for the number of hours worked. On inspection, such « Low Cost » operators must have particularly sensitive skills because, for example, how could they continue to run their respective services if their customers didn’t return for more? Again and again?

3° “Low Cost” philosophies are rare in ad agencies

Anyone can find different ways of selling cheaper without making a loss. But you do need that will-power, and most won’t even give it a try. In truth most agencies priorise awards and so pile on expensive production costs to gain that ultimate prestige, despite the pressures of today’s economic reality. Whatever the climate, some seem to have their heads well and truly planted in the sand. But not all brands can afford such high-rolling attitudes [and good luck to those that can] since their scales and lower experience with Media generally make them more cautious. Happily, for all brands tip-toeing around TV for the first time – perhaps some lapsed TV ones too – and for smaller brands in larger company portfolios, there is another way … TVLowCost.