Wireless Informatics Forum

When will the mobile industry stop overhyping the reality of its products and services?

Remember when WAP first launched, promising users the chance to ’surf the mobile web’? Services were grossly overhyped and one UK operator (BT Cellnet) was famously hauled over the coals by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for its misleading commercials.

Nearly a decade later and nothing much has moved on. Once again the ASA has had to in; this time banning an Apple iPhone 3G commercial that was deemed misleading for “exaggerating the speed of the iPhone 3G”. The commercial shows a user surfing through multiple applications (email, maps, browsing) at lightening speed. The piece quickly drew negative attention from US and European consumers who challenged the reality of the speeds shown. In fact, a nice comparison video here shows the reality of the experience on a 3G network.

It seems that the iPhone advert was edited to speed up the experience.
The argument that “this is advertising, what do expect?”, is not good enough. Setting an expectation in the mind of the consumer and then not delivering on it will only ever lead to dissatisfaction and buyer’s remorse.

In 2000, industry analysts suggested that BT Cellnet’s exaggeration of its WAP services, and the resulting negative attention, resulted in a six month set-back for the industry. Apple’s faux-pas may not be as damaging but it highlights just how easily the mobile industry can fall into the trap of believing its own hype and land-gabbing market share in lieu of long-term brand loyalty.