Comcast turning to pizza and beer to attract Seattle apartment dwellers
Sep 29, 2014, 5:31 AM | Updated: 8:15 am
A flyer advertises a pizza and beer party put on by Comcast at a Seattle apartment building. The company has turned to a more folksy approach to attract new customers. (Via user Wiscowonder/Reddit)
(Via user Wiscowonder/Reddit)
Is Canadian bacon enough to get you to sign up for cable? Comcast hopes so, throwing a series of pizza and beer parties at apartment buildings around Seattle to attract new customers.
It’s an unconventional approach for the telecommunications giant, which usually relies on more traditional marketing methods.
Comcast says with so many new apartment buildings opening in the area and increased competition for cable, broadband and phone services, the company decided to go grassroots.
“People have choices of different services and we believe if we can we can get people in front of our products they can see the advantages we have over our competitors and learn to like those products,” Comcast spokesman Steve Kipp says.
Along with providing plenty of pizza and beer, the gatherings feature giveaways including new iPads.
Kipp says the parties have been a success, winning over new customers and changing some critics’ minds about the company.
“The real reason for this is so much of marketing is really just about having a real relationship with the customer and showing the products and services we are able to offer.”
But some Comcast haters are having a field day with the folksy approach. A number of posts on Reddit mock the telecommunications giant for its domination of the market, pricing and service.
User Bluuur writes:
“1.) Take all the pizza before it arrives.
2.) Call up the party host AS the pizza company.
3.) Inform them the pizza delivery is down between the hours of “Now till now+3 hours.” But if they want to buy the pizza+hotdog bundle together for an additional 100 bucks, it’ll increase their pizza delivery speed by 10 minutes.”
User PumpTruck writes:
“So there will be pizza there, which will be bundled with non-optional 2 liters of soft drinks, dessert pizzas, and wings, and you by default rent the silverware and plates. That package will cost $7 for the first 30 minutes of the party and then $15 indefinitely, increasing by about 10 percent every 5 minutes.”
