Time Warner Cable launched a multichannel customer-education campaign on November 25 to inform the public about the pricing challenges the company faces when negotiating with programmers.
The effort, which includes banner ads, search marketing, social media, as well as print and TV spots, features a Web site – www.rolloverorgettough.com – with information about the relationship between programmer pricing and consumer bills. Customers can leave feedback on the site.
To leave comments, consumers must enter their names and e-mail addresses. Those who do will be sent updates about the issue, but the data will not necessarily be used for marketing purposes, said Alex Dudley, VP of public relations for Time Warner Cable
“The strategy is to educate our customers that this is an issue that has the potential to impact their cable bill,” said Dudley. “There is a direct correlation between the negotiations that we have with programmers and customer cable bills.”
The effort will run until the company believes customers understand the message, said Dudley. The launch did not correspond with any particular negotiation with a network or programmer, he said. Dudley added that contracts are negotiated all the time, and that every contract can have issues.
The initiative is a loyalty push and is aimed at existing Time Warner Cable customers. “We want to make sure that they understand what we are up to and that we are doing our best to fight for them,” added Dudley.
The content on the site reads: “No one likes paying more. You don’t. We don’t. Yet, every time our contracts with TV program providers come up for renewal, that’s what we face. Price increases. Big ones. Up to 300% more. Sometimes we can avoid passing them on to you. Sometimes we can’t. Sometimes, a network will threaten to take your shows away if we don’t roll over.”
