Ben Ball

'Mr. Employer, I'm Ready for My Close-up'

March 17, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Retail executives are always saying that store-level employees are their most important asset. Now, chains are taking the importance of workers one step further by featuring them in television commercials and other customer-facing communications. Is the use of employees in ads any more or less effective than other creative approaches?      [more...]

Whether or not the use of employees (or CEOs for that matter) in ads is effective depends entirely on the credibility of the employee for the message offered.

When the employees manufacturing diabetes test strips and meters tells you they are sold on the benefits of their products because they, or someone in their immediate family, has diabetes, that's credible.

When a guy tells you he cares about Toyota quality because his family depends on Toyota for a living--not so much.

When a CEO tells you his company "really, really cares about our employees and our customers"--short the stock.