Sprint Nextel PCS the Commercial

Sprint Nextel PCS

The commercial subjected to the following analysis was aired during the premiere episode of CSI: NY and it advertises Sprint Nextel PCS.

There are several reasons that make this commercial one that is worth studying. The commercial is concise, it has a clear message, and it is not difficult to understand the benefits of the advertised product. Also, the commercial in case is short enough so that it does not bore viewers, and in my opinion it reaches its objective, that of creating an interest in customers' mind.

Sprint Nextel Corporation is one the largest telecommunications companies in the U.S. The company is the result of the 2005 merger between Nextel Communications and Sprint Corporation (Sprint, 2009).

The commercial is part of the national Sprint PCS campaign. The campaign has reportedly cost $100 million (Bulik, 2004). The series of commercials are focused on commercial actor Hugh Benjamin. The ad's duration is 30 seconds, like most advertising spots. The commercial portrays an average individual having problems with his wireless email activity. In order to resolve the problem, he and other people are following a six-step program for successful wireless emailing. During the program, the so-called mentor helps these people to get through this problem while waiting for wireless email.

During the forth step of the program, the main character is talking to a professional, describing him the situation. After having heard the problem, the professional hands him the Sprint PCS, as the best solution for his problem.

As mentioned above, the commercial was aired during CSI: NY, a police television series. The show started in 2004 and it is currently airing its sixth season. The cast includes star Gary Sinise, while several celebrities appeared as guest starts. Regarding seasonal ratings, the highest rank occupied by CSI: NY was #15, with 14,33 million viewers, on September 23, 2009, when the sixth season of the sow started (Lambert, 2009).

The show is mainly broadcasted in the U.S., the U.K., and Ireland. In the U.S. It is aired at 10:00 PM ET, on CBS.

Generally, the show addresses viewers of all categories, ages, gender, religion, or political orientation. However, the main target audience of the show is consisted of adults aged 35-50, oriented towards crime and mistery series, active, with medium to high income, and medium to high education. In addition to this, the show's producers are trying to attract younger categories of audience. As a consequence, a number of celebrities that younger consumers appreciate have been invited to guest star in the show.

Also, at some point, the show addresses the Second Life well-known game. This is also intended to expand the categories of viewers for the show. Younger audiences are also attracted to the game, and hopefully, they will link it to CSI: NY and become regular viewers.

The cost of advertising spots during TV shows has decreased in comparison with the period before the crisis. Most shows have revealed lower costs for 30 second ads. CSI: NY makes no exception. In 2008 the average cost for such an ad reached $262,600, while this year the cost reached $198,647 (Steinberg, 2009).

The product strategy is probably the most important part of the marketing mix. Although the main objective of the marketing campaign consists in customer satisfaction, the campaign revolves around the product and its properties. Therefore, the product strategy must address a series of issues that must be determined in order to create the best possible product by making the best use of the existing resources.

The product strategy used by the company in order to attract targeted customer segments is a very complex one. The first aspect that was established refers to the targeted segment of customers. The Sprint PCS address all kinds of customer categories.

This fact is shown by the product's commercial also. In the ad, the people participating in the successful wireless emailing are representative for all age groups, genders, they seem to have different professions, different levels of education, different types of jobs.

Their appearance also reveals the diversity of the targeted customers. The commercial shows business managers, wearing suits, pensioners, housewives, students, young professionals wearing casual outfits and hairstyles. The mentor of the program is portrayed by a woman around 50 years of age, helping the participants in the program with information and guidance, in a casual, funny way.

Therefore, it is easy to derive from the product's commercial that basically anyone can use the product, that anyone can find important use for the product. Also, given the fact that people are more and more oriented to include the Internet in most of their activities, like professional activities or socializing one, they need to access the Internet wherever they may find themselves at some point. The wireless technology allows for this, and the Sprint PCS is the mean to do it.

The commercial offers the benefits of the product in a very clear manner. The product is easy to use, is fast, just like a computer, like the ad says. As mentioned above, the ad is short, concise, it is clear when presenting the advantages of the product, the problems it addresses. The visualization of the product is also quite clear.

The general marketing strategy that leaves a strong impression on the Sprint PCS Vision and on the entire campaign is represented by branding. Sprint can afford to use branding in order to generate impressive sales, given its advantages. The company's tradition and history speak for the quality of the products, their necessity, their ability to actually help people solve the problems they address.

In other words, the company does not have to invest into proving that the products actually have the advertised quality or the advertised advantages. These facts have been proven during the company's presence on the market and its success.

The financial power that Sprint has was reflected by the acquisition of Nextel and its transformation and integration within Sprint's business. As a consequence, Sprint has created the idea of a giant for the company, creating a strong impression in consumers' minds. It creates the impression that the company has the technical and financial power to create high quality products designed for helping people.