On November 1, 2016, Slack the internal team/workplace communications platform for messaging company did something unexpected.
Slack took out full-page ad in the New York Times with a letter in response to Microsoft who released Microsoft Teams, a new product that would compete with Slack. I found it was interesting how they used the good ol' fashioned newspaper, which I think was another reason why it caused so much media attention. Slack also released the same letter on their blog for those who didn't have access to a hard copy of the NYT. There was also a great discussion going on in the StartupNorth Facebook group.
[Slack's letter to Microsoft on the back page of the New York Times; Photo: Stewart Butterfield (Founder of Slack)]
"Communication is hard, yet it is the most fundamental thing we do as human beings."
We learn so much in the Communication Studies program from theorists like McLuhan, Innis, Horkheimer, and so much more. Communication is so important. We've been communicating every day since we were babies. The medium is the message and Slack is a new technology, that decided to use print as a medium to release this public letter. I believe that this created a different relationship in how it was perceived, as many would have expected that a new tech company would have used online media to send their message. Social media and online messaging is a large part of how this new generation communicates with one another. Celebrities don't talk trash to each other in person, they tweet at them, but some of the negative things they tweet, I doubt they would say those words in person to the other person's face. These social platforms give individuals and groups a voice and the ability to join in on conversations and share their ideas, values, and beliefs.
I wonder, would the response be different if Slack did not release the letter in print?
I personally really admired what Slack wrote. It was truthful, but still acknowledged the competition. Microsoft obviously has a wide variety of products, but Slack has millions of companies using their platform and it's a really good one too. So why did they feel the need to created Microsoft Teams? We can also relate this to Instagram who released Instagram Stories, which is basically Snapchat, but with better drawing and tools. Then again, Facebook was originally an exclusive version of MySpace that evolved and became a publicly traded company. Are they really being innovative though?
["Why I'm quitting Tobacco," fictional piece published in the New York Times in the show Mad Men]
Additionally, the letter reminded me of Don Draper's letter in response to Lucky Strike in the TV show, Mad Men. Draper released a full-page ad in the New York Times, like Slack did in response to another company. If you've watched the show and seen this episode, you would understand why I included this in this blog post. If not, you can read more about this episode here. In a nutshell, tobacco company, Lucky Strikes broke relations with doing their advertising with Don's company and his response was via a public letter in this widely popular newspaper, revealing that he doesn't want to be advertising a product that he knows will kill people (even though he continues to smoke cigarettes throughout the rest of the show's running). But Draper's partners were not happy at all that he published this letter.
TL;DR Like Slack's letter to Microsoft, Draper's letter to Lucky Strike caused mixed feelings from different parties and individuals, but the medium in which the message was presented played a huge part in how it was received.
Works Cited
Slack. "Dear Microsoft,." Several People Are Typing - The Official Slack Blog. Several People Are Typing - The Official Slack Blog, 2 Nov. 2016. Web. 14 Feb. 2017. <https://slackhq.com/dear-microsoft-8d20965d2849#.pygykle5m>.
Federman, Mark. "What is the Meaning of The Medium is the Message?" What is the Meaning of The Medium is the Message? N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. <http://individual.utoronto.ca/markfederman/article_mediumisthemessage.htm>.
Warren, Tom. "Slack shows it's worried about Microsoft Teams with a full-page newspaper ad." The Verge. The Verge, 02 Nov. 2016. Web. 14 Feb. 2017. <http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/2/13497766/slack-microsoft-teams-new-york-times-ad>.
When addressing why Slack would put this letter out in print media I think it would be valuable to compare the content of print media to Slack’s letter. Print media, over the past decade especially, has been a dying industry. A very large contributor to why it is still kicking is advertising. If you look at any newspaper, there are large portions of it dedicated to advertising. So now I ask myself, why would a huge tech company place an ad in the NYT? I would speculate that it is for advertising purposes. In the letter, they write about the features of their product noting how many apps it has (even providing a link to the Slack App Directory in the online letter), they discuss how well they are established and how companies will not want to switch unless they take a unique approach with their product. If Slack were to only post the letter online it would be harder for me to argue that it is for advertising purposes, but because they took out an ad in print media it does make their motives more clear.
ReplyDeleteI think the use of offline marketing or traditional marketing compared to digital marketing has been decreased over the years. However, with the use of "traditional marketing" is used and causes people to talk, the discussion is done through online platforms such as social media, blog posts, online journals, etc. Tech companies have taken advantage of these means of traditional marketing and the reasons I hear about them was through images on online content marketing - articles written about them and images posted on social media. For instance, Spotify took the user data that they collected and created clever outdoor ads placed around the world,
Deletehttp://www.adweek.com/creativity/spotify-crunches-user-data-fun-ways-new-global-outdoor-ad-campaign-174826/
Additionally, when Shopify IPOed, Canadian FinTech startup WealthSimple designed and posted this billboard right outside Shopify's Toronto office, which of course was shared through social media. https://www.instagram.com/p/-J8J-wwE16/
https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-us/magazine/sell-your-shopify-stock-options
A clever move for tech companies, when everyone else is predominantly using online media for marketing purposes.
I think that Slack's tactic was brilliant! A front page NYT article was obviously extremely effective and I think the tongue in cheek approach further demonstrates their point. The only issue I could see with their approach is the possibility of a perceived 'catiness' in the underlying tone of the article. Readers may feel as though Slack is stirring the pot rather than taking the high rode and competing with Microsoft in a more discreet way and it is possible that this would not work out in their favour.
ReplyDeleteOn the plus side, this further disproves the notion of a 'failing' New York Times.....
I agree that some may perceive it as 'cattiness', but the generation that slack is targeting may see that form of ad as inciting. Younger generations are less likely to take offense from competition and often partake in 'cattiness' willingly as an endearing gesture.
Delete