Amazon Didn’t Drop That Package Into a Pool on Purpose, but It Should Have. Here’s What Richard Branson Would Have Done (and You Should Too)
It would have been a great publicity stunt, because it brought eyeballs to Amazon’s technology.
In a recent viral video, an Amazon drone flies over a Texas backyard, carefully moves into position, opens its hatch, and drops a package directly into a swimming pool.
Lindsey Austen saved her cat food and kids’ insoles from a watery demise, but she still told a news crew she didn’t want any more drone deliveries. I bet she’ll change her mind, and I bet massive numbers of people who watched that video were inspired to order drone delivery from Amazon as soon as it’s available.
The delivery was technically a failure,
The delivery was technically a “failure,” but it still showcased Amazon’s drone technology. The takeaway was more likely, “Cool! Amazon can fly me my dishwasher pods now” than, “Gee, Amazon is lousy at delivering stuff.”
Amazon isn’t a fly-by-night online retailer. They’ve spent decades backing up their A-Z guarantee. Everyone knows that if something goes wrong with an order, Amazon will make it right. Viewers can enjoy watching the pool caper knowing that no customer wallets were harmed in the making of the film.
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Richard Branson would have done the pool plop on purpose. Elon Musk might have. But Jeff Bezos, while daring in business, is surprisingly subdued when it comes to publicity. He didn’t even milk the mishap after it went viral.
If what Amazon claims was just a rare incident had
If what Amazon claims was just a rare incident had been done on purpose, it would have been a great publicity stunt, because it brought eyeballs to Amazon’s technology and promoted its new service without harming the company’s reputation.
And the timing was perfect! Amazon announced that it was expanding drone delivery into 500 cities and towns, and within 24 hours, the pool video amplified that message with zero advertising budget.
Source: www.inc.com
